Bylot Island in Nunavut is home to a fossilized forest that scientists estimate is between two and three million years old. Once upon a time, the North's cold and barren landscape featured a lush forest of oak, pine, spruce and hickory.

If temperatures in the North continue their upward climb, that forest could return within a century, Alexandre Guertin-Pasquier of the University of Montreal says.

"According to the data model, climate conditions on Bylot Island will be able to support the kinds of trees we find in the fossilized forest that currently exist there, such as willow, pine and spruce. I've also found evidence of a possible growth of oak and hickory near the study site during this period," Guertin-Pasquier said in a press release.

"Although it would of course take time for a whole forest to regrow, the findings show that our grandchildren should be able to plant a tree and watch it grow."

This is exciting for scientists who know very little about these ancient forests except what they can glean from wood samples preserved by permafrost. Those samples suggest Nunavut once featured growth that thrives in temperatures that sit around 0 C. Nowadays, the average temperature on Bylot Island is -15 C.

"There is so much mystery that surrounds this forest. For example, how these trees managed to survive the relentless dark of the Arctic winter," Guertin-Pasquier said.

The geographer was scheduled to present his findings Friday at the Canadian Paleontology Conference in Toronto.