ABSTRACT OPP-9630913 STARFIELD UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-TWIN CITIES The proposed research will address a major problem in climate change research in the Arctic. The role of shifts in treeline due to past climate change will be examined using the relationships of modern treeline position with measured climate variables. The results from the study of predicted response of treeline position to climate changes in the past will then be used to examine future changes that could take place due to proposed climate changes in the future. The consequences of feedbacks to climate change due to the movement of the treeline is important to ascertain so that management and policy decisions can be made concerning the impacts of global change and other disturbance factors on human use of forest resources in the Arctic.
