Dr. Steven Mamet is an adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan whose research focuses on how climate and environmental change shape the northern limits of forests. He has conducted research in Churchill since 2001, studying how tree lines respond to shifting conditions across Arctic and subarctic landscapes. He holds a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Alberta.

His work centers on understanding why trees grow where they do—and what controls their ability to expand into tundra environments. By examining tree line dynamics across environmental gradients, he studies how temperature, soil conditions and disturbance influence the distribution and function of species at the edge of their range.

His research contributes to long-term monitoring of northern ecosystems, helping scientists understand how forests may shift as the climate warms and what that means for Arctic landscapes.

In the field, he combines long-term environmental monitoring with field and laboratory experiments, along with bioinformatics approaches that analyze large ecological datasets. Early in his career, fieldwork often meant traveling on snowshoes and carrying equipment into remote sites—a reminder that understanding these systems begins with direct experience on the land.

Through this research, he helps explain how one of the most visible boundaries in the natural world—the edge of the forest—is evolving in response to a changing climate.