Global Change and Mountain Regions: An Overview of Current Knowledge

ISBN-13: 9781402035074 / Angielski / Miękka / 2005 / 652 str.

Uli M. Huber; Harald K. M. Burgmann; Mel A. Reasoner

Opis

Mountain regions occupy about a quarter of the global terrestrial land surface and provide goods and services to more than half the humanity. Global environmental change threatens the integrity of these systems and their ability to provide the goods and services upon which humanity has come to depend. This book gives an overview of the state of research in fields pertaining to the detection, understanding and prediction of global change impacts in mountain regions. More than 60 contributions from paleoclimatology, cryospheric research, hydrology, ecology, and development studies are compiled in this volume, each with an outlook on future research directions.

Recenzje

From the reviews:

"The challenge of global climate change is engaging scientists across a wide range of disciplines and has become an important issue for politicians and environmental agencies around the world. ... This book is an essential collection of papers on important mountain-directed themes. ... The editors and contributors are to be congratulated on the production of this timely book which will be a key text in tackling the challenges posed by climate change." (Wishart Mitchell, Mountain Research and Development, Vol. 27 (1), 2007)

Spis treści

Introduction

T. Hofer; The International Year of Mountains, Challenge and opportunity for mountain research

Part I: Paleoenvironmental Changes

K. Alverson, C. Kull, G.W.K. Moore and P. Ginot; A dynamical perspective on high altitude paleoclimate proxy timeseries

S.L. Shafer, P.J. Barlein and C. Whitlock; Understanding the spatial heterogeneity of global environmental change in mountain regions

L.G. Thompson, M.E. Davis, P.-N. Lin, E. Mosley-Thompson and H.H. Brecher; Ice cores from tropical mountain glaciers as archives of climate change

J.C. Goose; The contribution of cosmogenic nuclides to unraveling alpine paleoclimate histories

A. Nesje, S. O. Dahl, Ø. Lie and J. Bakke; Holocene glacier fluctuations and winter precipitation variations in southern Norway

O.N. Solomina; Glacier and climate variability in the mountains of the former Soviet Union during the last 1000 years

H. Kershner; Glacier-climate models as palaeoclimatic information sources: examples from the Alpine Younger Dryas Period

J. Overpeck, K.B. Liu, C. Morrill, J. Cole, C. Shen, D. Anderson and L. Tang; Holocene environmental change in the Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau Region: Lake sediments and the future

M. Grosjean, H. Veit; Water resources in the arid mountains of the Atacama Desert: Past climate changes and modern conflicts

A.F. Lotter; Paleolimnological investigations in the Alps: The long-term development of mountain lakes

B.W. Batterbee, S. Patrick, M. Kernan, R. Psenner, H. Thies, J. Grimalt, B.O. Rosseland, B. Wathne, J. Catalan, R. Mosello, A. Lami, D. Livingstone, E. Stuchlik, V. Straskrabova, G. Raddum; High mountain lakes and atmospherically transported pollutants

N. Rose, H. Yang, P. Fernández, J.O. Grimalt; Trace metals, fly-ash particles and persistent organic pollutants in European remote mountain lakes

W. Tinner, B. Ammann; Long-term responses of mountain ecosystems to environmental changes: Resilience, adjustment, and vulnerability

A. Lara, A. Wolodarsky-Franke, J.C. Aravena, R. Villalba, M.E. Solari, L. Pezoa, A. Rivera, and C. LeQuesne; Climate fluctuations derived from tree-rings and other proxy-records in the Chilean Andes: State of the art and future prospects

R. Villalba, M.H. Masiokas, T. Kitzberger, J.A. Bominsegna; Biogeographical consequences of recent climate changes in the southern Andes of Argentina

Part II: Cryospheric Changes

W. Haeberli; Mountain glaciers in global climate-related observing systems

M.B. Dyurgerov; Mountain glaciers are at risk of extinction

G. Kaser, Ch. Georges, I. Juen, T. Mölg; Low latitude glaciers: Unique global climate indicators and essential contributors to regional fresh water supply. A conceptual approach

B. Francou, P. Ribstein, P. Wagnon, E. Ramirez, B. Pouyaud; Glaciers of the tropical Andes: Indicators of global climate variability

B.G. Mark, G.O. Seltzer; Glacier recession in the Peruvian Andes: Climatic forcing, hydrologic impact and comparative rates over time

C. Harris; Climate change, mountain permafrost degradation and geotechnical hazard

A. Kääb, J.M. Reynolds, W. Haeberli; Glacier and permafrost hazards in high mountains

E. Martin, P. Etchevers; Impact of climatic changes on snow cover and snow hydrology in the French Alps

R. Hock, P. Jansson, L.N. Braun; Modelling the response of mountain glacier discharge to climate warming

Part III: Hydrological Changes

C. Schär, C. Frei; Orographic precipitation and climate change

H.F. Diaz; Monitoring climate variability and change in the western United States

L. Menzel, H. Lang; Spatial heterogeneity of snow conditions and evapotranspiration in the Swiss Alps

A. Becker; Runoff processes in mountain headwater catchments: Recent understanding and research challenges

S. Uhlenbrook, J. Didszun, C. Leibundgut; Runoff generation processes on hillslopes and their susceptibility to Global Change

R. Kirnbauer, G. Blöschl, P. Haas, G. Müller, B. Merz; Identifying space-time patterns of runoff generation: A casestudy from the Löhnersbach catchement, Austrian Alps

J.M. Garcia-Ruiz, T. Lasanta, B. Valero, C. Marti, S. Begueria, J.I. López-Moreno, D. Regüés, N. Lana-Renault; Soil erosion and runoff generation related to land use changes in the Pyrenees

B.L. McGlynn; The role of riparian zones in steep mountain watersheds

J. Gurtz, H. Lang, M. Verbunt, M. Zappa; The use of hydrological models for the simulation of climate change impacts on mountain hydrology

L.R. Leung; Effects of climate variability and change on mountain water resources in the Western U.S.

Part IV: Ecological Changes

Ch. Körner; The green cover of mountains in a changing environment

W.D. Bowman; The response of alpine plants to environmental change. Feedbacks to ecosystem function

H. Pauli, M. Gottfried, D. Hohenwallner, K. Reiter, G. Grahherr; Ecological climate impact research in high mountain environments: GLORIA (Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments) – its roots, its purpose and the long-term perspectives

E.M. Spehn, Ch. Körner; A global assessment of mountain biodiversity and its function

R.J. Williams, C-H. Wahren; Potential impacts of global change on vegetation in Australian Alpine landscapes: Climate change, landuse, vegetation dynamics and biodiversity conservation

E. Tasser, U. Tappeiner, A. Cernusca ; Ecological effects of land-use changes in the European Alps

J. Harte; Climate interactions in mountain meadow ecosystems

J.S. Baron, K.R. Nydick, H.M. Rueth, B. Moraska Lafrançois, A.P. Wolfe; High elevation ecosystem responses to atmospheric deposition of Nitrogen in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, U.S.A,

R.D. Vinebrooke, P.R. Leavitt; Mountain lakes as indicators of the cumulative impacts of ultraviolet radiation and other environmental stressors

D. Schimel, B.H. Braswell; The role of mid-latitude mountains in the carbon cycle: Global perspective and a Western U.S. case study

H.H. Shugart; Remote sensing detection of high elevation vegetation change

A. Guisan, J.-P. Theurillat; Monitoring networks for testing model-based scenarios of climate change impact on mountain plant distribution

H. Bugmann, B. Zierl, S. Schumacher; Projecting the impacts of climate change on mountain forests and landscapes

D. Fagre, S. W. Running, R.E. Keane, D.L. Peterson; Assessing climate change effects on mountain ecosystems using integrated models: A case study

L.J. Graumlich, L.A. Waggoner, A.G. Bunn; Detecting global change at Alpine treeline: Coupling paleoecology with contemporary studies

Part V: Human Dimensions

M. Beniston; The risks associated with climatic change in mountain regions

M.F. Price; Forests in sustainable mountain development

L. Lebel; Institutional dynamics and interplay: Critical processes for forest governance and sustainability in the mountain regions of Northern Thailand

X. Jianchu, A. Wilkes; State simplifications of land use and biodiversity in the Uplands of Yunnan, Eastern Himalayan Region

P.S. Ramakrishnan; Mountain biodiversity, land use dynamics and traditional ecological knowledge

J. Hansen, R.S. DeFries; Land use intesification around nature reserves in Mountains: Implications for biodiversity

D.I. McCracken, S. Huband; Nature conservation value of European mountain farming systems

N.S. Jodha; Economic globalization and its repercussions for fragile mountains and communities in the Himalayas

H. Hurni, H.P. Liniger, U. Wiesmann; Research partnerships for mitigating syndromes of global change in mountain regions

I. Macmillan, H.P. Liniger; Monitoring and modelling for the sustainable management of water resources in Tropical mountain basins: The Mount Kenya example

H. Schreier; Challenges in mountain watershed management

M.R. v. Biebersten Koch-Wieser; Overcoming the vertical divide: Legal, economic, and compensation approaches for sustainable management of mountain watersheds

Synthesis

A. Björnsen, U.M. Huber, M. Reasoner, B. Messerli, H. Bugmann; Future research direction