The Arctic is undergoing widespread vegetation change driven by rapid regional warming and satellites records indicate an extensive greening. 

Feedback mechanisms link vegetation change to the global climate system through permafrost thaw dynamics, surface reflectance and carbon cycling. Answering questions of when, where and why vegetation has changed is critical to understanding the mechanisms behind that change, but the scale of observation is key. I will summarise research being conducted by my research group in the Western Canadian North and around the circumpolar Arctic looking at questions of climate change impacts from tundra vegetation change, altered habitat for focal wildlife, permafrost thaw and coastal flooding. I will share findings of cross- site and collaborative research involving field and lab studies through to satellite remote sensing conducted in collaboration with Northern community partners. I will also introduce the Canada Excellence Research Chair on the global change ecology of northern ecosystems and highlight interdisciplinary research connections. We are finding that vegetation change is widespread and dynamic in the Arctic, but accounting for scale of observation improves our understanding of the causes and consequences of this change.