The 1999 Canadian transect was designed to bring the principle scientists involved in the CAVM to the Canadian Arctic to visit representative sites along the complete north-south climatic gradient in order to:

• discuss zonation concepts in light of our observations and try to develop consensus on zonation terminology for the vegetation map
• better understand vegetation patterns in the least well-documented of the circumpolar regions
• develop a table of major vegetation types along a mesotopographic sequence within the Canadian portion of the Canada-Greenland floristic province
• further interest and research in the Arctic by involving graduate and undergraduate students in the project through a University of Minnesota sponsored field course, Arctic Field Ecology.