I am specifically interested in the impacts climate change and changing seasonality have on the vegetation and soil environment in the Arctic tundra. I am also interested in the effect increasing deciduous shrub cover has on plant phenology and overall plant communities in the Arctic tundra.

Working with a team of researchers from three universities, we aim to better understand multi-trophic consequences of climate change and increasing deciduous shrub cover in the Arctic tundra.  Our research focuses on the impacts of changing seasonality in the Alaskan Arctic tundra: from plants, to arthropods, to migratory songbirds.  To better understand the interactions between these trophic levels, and the cascading effects of climate change, we use a wide range of techniques, including satellite and in-situ remote sensing techniques; vegetation, migratory songbird community, and arthropod monitoring; and weather, snow-cover, and bioacoustic monitoring.

Photos:  Upper left:  Shannan Sweet at Aufeis (sheet-like mass of iced formed from successive flows of freezing groundwater) near Toolik Field Station Alaska.  Middle Left:  Shannan Sweet getting ready to dig out the tripod that has been snowed in over the winter.  The tripod houses the MET station, snow camera, and bioacoustic recording station used to record data throughout the field season.  The solar panel charges the batteries that runs the quipment (an incredibly handy piece of technology in the arctic tundra since there is nearly 24-hours of daylight during the short growing season).  Lower Left: Jesse Krause (front) and Shannan Sweet (back) measuring dwarf deciduous shrub (dwarf birch and tea-leaf willow) leaf dimensions.  Below: Shannan Sweet identifying nest site characteristics for Lapland Longspurs (an obligate tundra breeding songbird).