(SAULT STE. MARIE, ON – October 3, 2018): Algoma University is pleased to announce that Dr. Brandon Schamp has been published in the preeminent science journal, Nature. This important research demonstrates how taller plant species are moving north into the arctic, due to climate change.

Schamp is an Associate Professor in the University’s Biology Department. He holds a PhD and a Master’s of Science from Queen’s University and an Honours Bachelor of Science from Wilfrid Laurier University. Schamp’s research is supported by a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada. His research focuses on understanding the rules in which natural communities are organized, and he has published extensively on how variation in plant size influences the organization of plant communities.

Schamp is one of 130 collaborators who published “Taller Plants Moving into Arctic because of Climate Change”. The study examined almost 120 arctic-like environments, including in Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Scandinavia, and Siberia, and demonstrates how the warming of tundra climates is allowing taller plant species to thrive. The research also hypothesizes that these new plants may further drive climate change, by insulating the soil, allowing the permafrost to thaw, thereby releasing greenhouse gases.

This is the first time substantial research has been carried out in northern arctic climates that demonstrate the role plants play in climate change.

“Nature is the preeminent science journal worldwide, and it is a significant career milestone for those who publish in it, as only eight per cent of the research submitted for publication is accepted. Dr. Schamp’s co-authored article on how environmental factors shape plant structure and function across the tundra is a significant and original contribution to our knowledge in this area. We are extremely proud of his accomplishment,” said Academic Dean, Dr. Donna Rogers.

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