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The conference on Global Change and the World's Mountains held in Perth, Scotland, in 2010 offered a unique opportunity to analyze the state and progress of mountain research and its contribution to sustainable mountain development, as well as to reflect on required reorientations of research agendas
. In this paper we provide the results of a three-step assessment of the research presented by 450 researchers from around the world. First, we determined the state of the art of mountain research and categorized it based on the analytical structure of the Global Land Project (GLP 2005). Second, we identified emerging themes for future research. Finally, we assessed the contribution of mountain research to sustainable development along the lines of the Grand Challenges in Global Sustainability Research (International Council for Science 2010). Analysis revealed that despite the growing recognition of the importance of more integrative research (inter- and transdisciplinary), the research community gathered in Perth still focuses on environmental drivers of change and on interactions within ecological systems. Only a small percentage of current research seeks to enhance understanding of social systems and of interactions between social and ecological systems. From the ecological systems perspective, a greater effort is needed to disentangle and assess different drivers of change and to investigate impacts on the rendering of ecosystem services. From the social systems perspective, significant shortcomings remain in understanding the characteristics, trends, and impacts of human movements to, within, and out of mountain areas as a form of global change. Likewise, sociocultural drivers affecting collective behavior as well as incentive systems devised by policy and decision makers are little understood and require more in-depth investigation. Both the complexity of coupled social–ecological systems and incomplete data sets hinder integrated systems research. Increased understanding of linkages and feedbacks between social and ecological systems will help to identify nonlinearities and thresholds (tipping points) in both system types. This presupposes effective collaboration between ecological and social sciences. Reflections on the Grand Challenges in Sustainability Research put forth by the International Council for Science (2010) reveal the need to intensify research on effective responses and innovations. This will help to achieve sustainable development in mountain regions while maintaining the core competence of mountain research in forecasting and observation
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Gurung, A. B.; Bokwa, A.; Chelmicki, W.; Elbakidze, M.; Hirschmugl, M.; Hostert, P.; Ibisch, P.; Kuemmerle, T.; Matei, E.; Ostapowicz, K.; Pociask-Karteczka, J.; Schmidt, L.; Linden, S. v.; Zebisch, M.; Kozak, J.
The Carpathian Mountains in Europe are a biodiversity hot spot; harbor many relatively undisturbed ecosystems; and are still rich in seminatural, traditional landscapes
. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Carpathians have experienced widespread land use change, affecting biodiversity and ecosystem services. Climate change, as an additional driver, may increase the effect of such changes in the future. Based on a workshop organized by the Science for the Carpathians network, this paper reviews the current status of global change research in the Carpathians, identifies knowledge gaps, and suggests avenues for future research
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In the context of the EU GLOCHAMORE project (Global Change in Mountain Regions, 2003–2005) a workshop was held on Altitudinal Gradient Studies from 27 to 30 July 2005 in Samedan/Switzerland
. The main topic of the workshop was ecology and ecosystem processes (see “Ecological and land use studies along altitudinal gradients,” Becker et al 2007). Other issues that arose at the workshop, including general aspects and hydrological and geomorphological issues, are presented here in brief
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Mountains and mountain societies provide a wide range of goods and services to humanity, but they are particularly sensitive to the effects of global environmental change
. Thus, the definition of appropriate management regimes that maintain the multiple functions of mountain regions in a time of greatly changing climatic, economic, and societal drivers constitutes a significant challenge. Management decisions must be based on a sound understanding of the future dynamics of these systems. The present article reviews the elements required for an integrated effort to project the impacts of global change on mountain regions, and recommends tools that can be used at three scientific levels (essential, improved, and optimum). The proposed strategy is evaluated with respect to UNESCO's network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves (MBRs), with the intention of implementing it in other mountain regions as well. First, methods for generating scenarios of key drivers of global change are reviewed, including land use/land cover and climate change. This is followed by a brief review of the models available for projecting the impacts of these scenarios on (1) cryospheric systems, (2) ecosystem structure and diversity, and (3) ecosystem functions such as carbon and water relations. Finally, the cross-cutting role of remote sensing techniques is evaluated with respect to both monitoring and modeling efforts. The authors conclude that a broad range of techniques is available for both scenario generation and impact assessments, many of which can be implemented without much capacity building across many or even most MBRs. However, to foster implementation of the proposed strategy, further efforts are required to establish partnerships between scientists and resource managers in mountain areas
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The Global Change and Mountain Regions (GLOCHAMORE) Research Strategy has been developed to guide managers of Mountain Biosphere Reserves (MBRs) and scientists in planning and implementing global change research
. The research strategy is the outcome of 5 workshops and the final Open Science Conference. In December 2005, the Research Strategy was sent to all people who have been involved in the development process and to other individuals interested in the topic inviting further comments. The GLOCHAMORE project responded to the increasing need to understand the causes and impacts of Global Changes in mountain regions. It has been developed to guide managers of Mountain Biosphere Reserves (MBRs) and scientists in planning and implementing global change research. Specifically, the GLOCHAMORE project aimed to develop a research strategy for Global Change research in mountain regions with the explicit goal of implementing the strategy in these sites around the world.
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GLOCHAMORE (GLObal CHAnge in MOuntain REgions), a joint project of UNESCO–MAB and the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) (Becker and Bugmann 2001) is funded under the European Union (EU) Sixth Framework programme ‘Sustainable Development, Global Change and Ecosystems’ to develop and implement a strategy to detect signals of global environmental change in mountain environments across a network of observation sites in selected UNESCO–MAB Biosphere Reserves (MBRs; see the map of MBRs published in MRD vol 25 no 3, August 2005, p 283)
. Following the MAB Biosphere Reserves Integrating Monitoring concept (Lass and Reusswig 2002), these observations will involve both natural and socioeconomic systems (Leeand Schaaf 2004). The present article presents the recommendations of natural scientists and MBR managers based on a workshop held in Vienna, Austria, 9–10 May 2004, entitled “Long-term Monitoring and Analysis of Indicators of Environmental Change in Mountain Regions.”
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