Dr. Bruce Forbes

Research Professor Bruce C. Forbes (PhD Geography, 1993, McGill University) founded the Global Change Research Group at the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland. He is also a Docent in Plant Ecology/Biogeography at the Faculty of Science, University of Oulu. Prof. Forbes has a background in applied ecology and geography in northern high latitudes, with special emphasis on permafrost regions. His experience is circumpolar, encompassing studies of rapid land use and climate change in Alaska, the Canadian High Arctic, various regions of northern Russia, northernmost Fennoscandia, and most recently South Greenland. His approach is strongly interdisciplinary and participatory, aiming for the co-production of knowledge, particularly concerning local and Indigenous stakeholder-driven research questions. He has conducted fieldwork throughout all seasons in the Arctic for the past 39 years. For the past 25 years his research has focused on: (1) resilience in social-ecological systems in close cooperation with Indigenous Nenets and Sámi reindeer herders; and (2) analyses of proxy data sources for climate change, including extreme weather events, and vegetation productivity/biodiversity in Northwest Eurasian tundra ecosystems. He currently coordinates a large, interdisciplinary consortium project funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Programme (CHARTER, Drivers and Feedbacks of Changes in Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity), with 21 partner institutions across 9 European countries, plus China. He is also the Eurasian lead for a consortium project funded by the US National Science Foundation’s Navigating the New Arctic Program (AROSS, Arctic Rain on Snow Study).