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Alpine vegetation in the context of climate change: A global review of past research and future directions
Plant diversity and composition changes along an altitudinal gradient in the Isolated Volcano Sumaco in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Functional diversity changes after selective thinning in a tropical mountain forest in Southern Ecuador
Seasonal shifts of biodiversity patterns and species’ elevation ranges of butterflies and moths along a complete rainforest elevational gradient on Mount Cameroon
Tree diversity patterns, above-ground biomass and carbon assessment along elevational gradient in a tropical forest of the Cameroon volcanic line
Species richness and beta diversity patterns of multiple taxa along an elevational gradient in pastured grasslands in the European Alps
Understanding the importance of spatial scale in the patterns of grassland invasions
Going off trails: How dispersed visitor use affects alpine vegetation
Red list of China's forest ecosystems: A conservation assessment and protected area gap analysis
Red List of vascular plants of Tajikistan – the core area of the Mountains of Central Asia global biodiversity hotspot
Variation patterns of plant composition/diversity in Dacrydium pectinatum communities and their driving factors in a biodiversity hotspot on Hainan Island, China
Contrasting floristic diversity of the Hengduan Mountains, the Himalayas and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau sensu stricto in China
Contrasting patterns of intra-specific trait variability in native and non-native plant species along an elevational gradient on Tenerife, Canary Islands
Contrasting patterns of tree features, lichen, and plant diversity in managed and abandoned old-growth chestnut orchards of the northern Apennines (Italy)
Seasonal influence and local factors affecting macroinvertebrate structure in a high-altitude Andean stream
Synergistic impacts of sediment generation and hydrotechnical structures related to forestry on stream fish communities
Evaluation of ecosystem services in a protected mountain area: soil organic carbon stock and biodiversity in alpine forests and grasslands
Indigenous uses of wild and tended plant biodiversity maintain ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes of the Terai Plains of Nepal
Evolutionary conservation of within-family biodiversity patterns
Massive introgression weakens boundaries between a regionally endemic allopolyploid and a widespread congener
Plasticity in the growth habit prolongs survival at no physiological cost in a monocarpic perennial at high altitudes
Monitoring the seasonal hydrology of alpine wetlands in response to snow cover dynamics and summer climate: a novel approach with Sentinel-2
Plant diversity and composition changes along an altitudinal gradient in the isolated volcano Sumaco in the Ecuadorian Amazon
The first botanical explorations of bryophyte diversity in the Brazilian Amazon mountains: high species diversity, low endemism, and low similarity
Elevation and latitude drives structure and tree species composition in Andean forests: Results from a large-scale plot network
Climate impacts on tree growth in a Neotropical high mountain forest of the Peruvian Andes
Environmental features and dynamics of plankton communities in a mountain glacial moraine lake (Baikal lake basin, Russia)
Land cover drives amphibian diversity across steep elevational gradients in an isolated neotropical mountain range: Implications for community conservation
Biogeographic tools help to assess the effectiveness of protected areas for the conservation of anurans in the Mantiqueira mountain range, Southeastern Brazil
Clinging on to alpine life: Investigating factors driving the uphill range contraction and population decline of a mountain breeding bird
Mountain ecosystems as natural laboratories for climate change experiments
Early evidence of shifts in alpine summit vegetation: a case study from Kashmir Himalaya
Locally-adapted reproductive photoperiodism determines population vulnerability to climate change in burying beetles
Effects of temperature rise on multi-taxa distributions in mountain ecosystems
Global high-resolution mountain green cover index mapping based on Landsat images and Google Earth Engine
Climate change evidence in tree growth and stand productivity at the upper treeline ecotone in the Polar Ural Mountains
Climatic and anthropogenic factors explain the variability of Fagus sylvatica treeline elevation in fifteen mountain groups across the Apennines
Evidence of elevation-specific growth changes of spruce, fir, and beech in European mixed-mountain forests during the last three centuries
Specialized meltwater biodiversity persists despite widespread deglaciation
The buffet is open: Alpine soil macro-decomposers feed on a wide range of litter types in a microcosm cafeteria experiment
A framework for the predictive mapping of forest soil properties in mountain areas
Biodiversity associations of soil fauna and plants depend on plant life form and are accounted for by rare taxa along an elevational gradient
Uncoupled phytoplankton-bacterioplankton relationship by multiple drivers interacting at different temporal scales in a high-mountain Mediterranean lake
Assessing the effects of earlier snow melt-out on alpine shrub growth: The sooner the better?
Some (do not) like it hot: shrub growth is hampered by heat and drought at the alpine treeline in recent decades
Snow as a parameter of bryophyte niche partitioning in snow-beds of the Tatra Mountains (Western Carpathians)
Hotspots of snow cover changes in global mountain regions over 2000–2018
Comparative evaluation of VIIRS daily snow cover product with MODIS for snow detection in China based on ground observations
Mountains of the mist: a first plant checklist for the Bvumba Mountains, Manica Highlands (Zimbabwe-Mozambique)
The Afromontane Research Unit: reaching for new heights
Commercial medicinal plant collection is transforming high-altitude livelihoods in the Himalayas
Regional variations in vegetation patterns on landslides in the snowy mountains of central Japan
Monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem services in Colombia's high andean ecosystems: toward an integrated strategy
Topography and human pressure in mountain ranges alter expected species responses to climate change
Disentangling ecological traits related to plant endemism, rarity and conservation status in the Iberian Peninsula
Distribution, trade-offs and drought vulnerability of a high-mountain Pyrenean endemic plant species, Saxifraga longifolia
Diversity, endemism, and evolutionary history of montane biotas outside the Andean region
Cradles and museums of generic plant diversity across tropical Africa
Contrasting land use legacy effects on forest landscape dynamics in the Italian Alps and the Apennines
Climate change causes critical transitions and irreversible alterations of mountain forests
Guest editors Ieva Misiune, Daniel Depellegrin, and Lukas Egarter Vigl are inviting contributions for a Springer Nature book on Exploring the Multiple Values of Nature - Connecting Ecosystems and People across Landscapes. In a section on mountain systems they are looking for contributions that analyze and promote mountains as integrated systems and deal with the unique challenges of these landscapes to increase their resilience and sustainability. Read more...
The EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) aims to actively involve young people when it is about to make the Alpine Region fit for the future. “PITCH YOUR PROJECT” is a competition for young people and young adults between 16 and 25 years. As experts of your living space, the Alpine Region, you are invited to submit your project ideas for a sustainable development of the Alpine Region individually or as a group. Read more and apply...
The Department of Earth Sciences of the ETH Zurich and the Platform Geosciences of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) cordially invite you to participate in the 18th Swiss Geoscience Meeting to be held on Friday, 6 November and Saturday, 7 November, 2020 in Zurich. Read more and submit an abstract...
Eurac Research’s Centre for Advanced Studies in collaboration with the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security and within the framework of their joint Global Mountain Safeguard Research (GLOMOS) programme, have initiated a Global Mountain Sustainability Forum (GMS Forum) conference series. The first GMS Forum edition will be hosted in Sexten/Steso, Italy, on 5-6 October 2020 and online. Scientists, actors and practitioners as well as students are invited to submit their application to present their research in alignment with this year’s topic being “Sustainability Governance: International Frameworks and Local Contributions”. Abstract submission is extended to June 15! Read more...
Roberto Pizzolotto and Mauro Gobbi, guest editors of the open access journal "Insects" are inviting contributions for a Special Issue on "Insects in Mountain Ecosystems." This Special Issue will broadly address studies on insects in mountain ecosystems across all relevant disciplines, and, in this context, submissions in the form of reviews and original basic or applied research are welcome. Papers may be submitted until 31 March 2021 and accepted contributions will be published on an ongoing basis. Read more...
We all appreciate the fundamental importance of our mountains' biological richness. But what is the functional significance of this diversity? Why does this diversity really matter? These questions have been standing at the cradle of GMBA for the last 20 years and are rightfully asked by politicians, stakeholders, and the broader public alike. Today we invite you to join our new effort to compile examples that help answer them. Read more and contribute...
For this year's International Mountain Day on mountain biodiversity, the Mountain Partnership and the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment have launched the “Tales of Mountain Biodiversity” initiative. The proposal calls for mountain lovers worldwide to submit stories of biodiversity in their mountains until June 30, 2020. Read more...
Papers explore ways of supporting girls’ education in rural Nepal; forest fires on the slopes of Mount Kenya; how commercial medicinal plant collection improves high-altitude livelihoods and how forest use practices impact landscape hydrology, both in Nepal; and how snow affects landslide vegetation patterns in Japan. Two more propose a multiscale transdisciplinary framework for advancing sustainability in mountain agriculture and a strategy for integrated biodiversity monitoring in high mountain ecosystems.
The Mountain Invasion Network MIREN online survey on the perception of alien invasive species in mountains is still open. The aim is to get the perspectives from a broad range of stakeholders worldwide (managers, land-owners, farmers, policy makers, conservation, scientists, etc.) on alien invasive species, their impacts, and their management. Take the survey... (and spread the word)
Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22, to demonstrate support for environmental protection and represents a day of action to shift human behaviour and provoke policy changes. Given the urgency of the shared challenge we are facing on Earth, the main objective of this webinar hosted and organized by Future Earth is to present the link between environmental issues and the current health crisis (COVID-19). The emphasis will be on two main drivers: i) rapid urbanization and ii) loss of biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as the consequences: hotspots of zoonotic diseases. Read more and sign up for April 22...
Wildflowers of Mount Everest is the first-ever wildflower identification app for Nepal. The richly illustrated app includes 557 species of wildflowers, shrubs, and trees and is meant for anybody who wants to identify or learn about plants in the Mount Everest region. Read more...
Mountains host a spectacular diversity of species. Yet current species distribution is only a snapshot in time that bears the memory of past geomorphological and climatic changes. Understanding past changes is key to interpret current patterns and inform mountain biodiversity conservation and management in the future. Read more about it in a short GMBA co-authored contribution in the latest issue of the PAGES magazine. Read more...
The Department of Ecology at the University of Innsbruck invites applications for a PhD position with research and teaching activities in the fields of ecosystem ecology, landscape modelling, ecosystem services. Deadline for applications: 12 May 2020. Read more...
Due to the current situation, the XVIII International Colloquium on Soil Zoology (ICSZ) and the XV International Colloquium on Apterygota (ICA) hosted by Eurac Research in Bolzano has been postponed to March/April 2021! Read more and stay tuned...
The Luc Hoffmann Institute and Future Earth are inviting papers for a Special Issue in the Journal of Environmental Conservation Biodiversity Revisited: Developing new approaches to sustain life on Earth. NEW DEADLINE: 01 June. Read more...
Today, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), GRID-Arendal (GRIDA), Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA), Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), Mountain Partnership, Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention, Secretariat of the Alpine Convention, Government of Austria, Government of Hungary, and Government of Poland are convening country delegates attending the Second meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework in Rome to an informal mountain gathering. This gathering will serve as the occasion to launch the second version of the Policy Brief "Elevating Mountains in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework 2.0" co-developed by UNEP, GRIDA, GMBA, and MRI. Read more...
Abstract submission is still open for the XVIII International Colloquium on Soil Zoology (ICSZ) and the XV International Colloquium on Apterygota (ICA) hosted by Eurac Research in Bolzano. Contribute with your research on "Soil biodiversity from the lowlands to the high mountains" and register! Read more...
The African Journal of Range & Forage Science is preparing a special Issue on "Montane Rangelands in a Changing World". The special issue welcomes contributions on all aspects of montane rangelands, particularly from southern Africa, but will also consider high quality contributions from around the world. The Journal will especially welcome papers on montane rangelands that juggle the same complexities as Southern Africa. Submissions may include original research, reviews and meta-analysis. Abstracts are due on 15 March 2020. Read more...
Abstract submission is still open for the “European Conference of Tropical Ecology” and the Annual Conference of the Society for Tropical Ecology (Gesellschaft für Tropenökologie, gtö) organized in Leipzig, Germany, March 24-27, 2020. This conference includes a session on "mountain biogeography: new insights, challenges, and future directions” chaired by Alexandra Muellner-Riehl, Adrien Favre, Zehao Shen, Suzette Flantua. The deadline is tight (16.01.2020). Read more...
GMBA working group on species distribution models & remote sensing publishes in Remote Sensing of Environment on Monitoring biodiversity in the Anthropocene using remote sensing in species distribution models. The paper first surveys the literature on remote sensing data products available to ecological modelers interested in improving predictions of species range dynamics under global change. Focus is on key biophysical processes underlying the distribution of species in the Anthropocene including climate variability, changes in land cover, and disturbances. The paper then discusses potential synergies between the ecological modeling and remote sensing communities. Specific attention is given to how synergies could lead to new opportunities to report on progress towards global agendas - such as the Agenda 2030 or the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and help guide conservation and management strategies. Get free access to the paper for another until early March...
Exciting PhD opportunity at the University of Bergen to work on impacts of warming, land-use, nitrogen deposition, and invasive plants (with warmer-climate trait) impacts on C fluxes and stocks in the INCLINE and ThreeD field experiments in the SeedClim climate grid in alpine grasslands western Norway. Read more...
PhD opportunity at the University of Bergen to work on exploring soil carbon accumulation in different habitats and land-use regimes in western Norway. Read more...
The JRS Biodiversity Foundation is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for multi-year projects focused upon biodiversity data, knowledge and information services related to (1) freshwater biodiversity, (2) pollinator biodiversity, and (3) biodiversity informatics capacity development. The foundation will award about 1.6 million U.S. dollars among qualifying proposals by July 2020.
Abstract submission for the III National Scientific Conference "Information Technologies in Biodiversity Research" is open until 15 February. The purpose of this conference held at the Ural Federal University in Yekaterinburg, Russia, 20-25 April, 2020 is to discuss and share the experience of using modern informatics technologies for research and analysis of biodiversity. Check out the program online and read more...
The University of Colorado - Boulder offers 10 paid summer research internships for Colorado Community College students interested in Environmental Science, Atmospheric Science, Earth Science, Geology, Ecology, Geochemistry, Climate Science, and Geomorphology. These are independent research projects guided by a science mentor. Read more...
Guest editor Dr. Katarzyna Ostapowicz is inviting contributions for a special issue in Remote Sensing on "Remote Sensing for Biodiversity & Conservation in Mountain and Polar Regions". This special issue is aiming to cover the most recent advances in techniques and algorithms to process remotely sensed information for ecology and conservation in the high-altitude and high-latitude regions. Read more and submit your manuscript by 31 July 2020...
Papers focus on scenario planning in Iceland; risk awareness in Austria; alpine pasture assessment in France; the role of different knowledge sources in adaptation in Venezuela and Colombia, Ecuador, and the Indian Himalaya; local adaptations to water scarcity in the Hindu Kush–Himalaya; declining glacier water in the Mongolian Altai; national glacier monitoring worldwide; and adaptation initiatives in African mountains. Read more...
This Special Issue of Land aims to provide practitioners and policymakers with key information on the dynamics and changes in threatened mountain ecosystems and help them design and implement appropriate management strategies for sustainable mountain futures. Guest editors: Rob Marchant & Aida Cuni-Sanchez. Submission deadline: 30 December 2020. Read more..
The Sustainable Summits conference is being held in Nepal 1-5 June 2020 to showcase the country’s mountain environment, highlight climate change issues and bring international attention to Nepal’s mountain tourism. Read more...
UNFCCC’s Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa officially receives “10 New Insights in Climate Science” as it is launched at COP25, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain. These Insights are a collaborative product of Future Earth and the Earth League. Insight 3 "Climate change leaves no mountain summit behind" is co-authored by GMBA and MRI. Read more...
Several postdoc positions are available with start dates in 2020. Consideration begins in mid December 2019 and continues until the positions are filled. Topics pertain to quantitative ecology and global biodiversity of various taxonomic groups. Check them out!
Eurac Research - Institute for Alpine Environment has a number of research positions as well as internship positions open! Topics are ecosystem services and green infrastructure as well as biodiversity monitoring in South Tyrol. Check them out!
Open position for a Scientific Developer / Technical Coordinator to join the IPBES Technical Support Unit on Data and Knowledge hosted at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Institute in Frankfurt, Germany. Review of applications will begin on December 16th, 2019 and continue until the position is filled. Check it out!
The Biology of Winter Gordon Conference (21-26 June 2020, Waterville Valley, NH, USA) is now open for registration. The GRC aims at three key impacts: 1) bring together winter researchers from a range of disciplines and identify the common threads and significant divergences in winter research; 2) consolidate and coordinate interpretation of the biological impacts of ongoing winter changes; and 3) set an agenda for future winter research that leverages existing partnerships to include a broader array of disciplines and to foster interactions among levels of biological organization, across traditional disciplinary lines, and among taxa. Read more...
On October 31, 2019, 20 scientists and individual actors in charge of formulating and implementing environmental policies for Swiss mountains got together at the Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with integrating research and long-term monitoring data into public policies for environmental management in Swiss mountains. Read more...
The III National Scientific Conference "Information Technologies in Biodiversity Research" is dedicated to the 100 year's anniversary of the birth of academician Pavel Gorchakovsky, the outstanding botanist who first initiated research on the Urals alpine flora. The conference will be held in the Ural Federal University in Yekaterinburg, Russia, 20-25 April, 2020. The purpose is to discuss and share the experience of using modern informatics technologies for research and analysis of biodiversity. Read more...
The Grassroots Institute organizes a 10 days summer field course and workshop on mountain ecosystems and resource management in Ukraine, 06-15.07.2020. The aim is to build perspectives and capacities of young researchers, PhD students, teachers, field practitioners and future leaders on regional mountain ecology, sustainable development, and local livelihoods. Read more...
The Afromontane Research Unit (ARU - South Africa) in collaboration with Wageningen University (The Netherlands) will be running an inter-disciplinary course on past, present, and future trajectories of landscape dynamics and developments. This course will take place 12-23 October 2020, in the northern Maloti-Drakensberg (South Africa-Lesotho). Read more...
On October 02-04, 2019, 22 experts from science and policy got together in the botanical garden of Champex-Lac (Switzerland) to discuss the contribution of Long-Term Social Ecological Research (LTSER) in mountains to global agendas and conventions. The objective of the workshop was to deliver a synthetic overview of how mountain LTSER currently support global policy agendas and UN conventions and how their contribution could be improved and strengthened in the future. Read more...
It is now possible to upload occurrence as well as inventory data directly online! Map of Life’s online tool is designed to help you easily load your biodiversity data to the Map of Life and Mountain Portal database, map them, compare and integrate them with other datasets, set permissions to share them publicly for use in other platforms, and publish them with a minted DOI. Try the tool with your own data!
Future Earth posted a blog that we wrote about our PEGASuS Project entitled "Toward biodiversity-related opportunities for sustainable development: a global social-ecological mountain comparison". Enjoy the read...
An important role for GMBA is to connect mountain biodiversity scientists. For that purpose, we have developed an online tool for the query of our database of members. The beta version is now online! Check it out!
During the past months, the Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) in close collaboration with GMBA has developed an interactive webportal for the query and visualization of information about indigenous mountain communities worldwide. Read more...
On 24.10.2017 USGS releases the Global Mountain Explorer developed in partnership with GMBA, the Center for Development and Environment, the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), and ESRI. This tool was developed to provide a detailed view of the world's mountains according to the three most commonly used definitions of mountains. With this product, MRI, who led the effort, achieves the first objective of the Group on Earth Observations - Global Network for Observation and Information in Mountain Environments (GEO-GNOME) work program. Read the full press release...
The Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) and Map of Life (MOL) launch the Mountain Portal V2.0, now with more data and an improved user experience to the mountain biodiversity science community.
Alpandino (https://www.alpandino.org) is an e-learning course on alpine ecology developed by the University of Basel. The course contains lectures on various aspects of alpine ecology, including climate, microclimate, water issues, and soils, and also offers a photo-excursion to alpine habitats and treeline locations around the globe.
This course is a great entry point for a diverse audience, ranging from alpine zoologists and microbiologists to conservation experts and nature reserve managers. It serves also as an ideal preparation for field excursions or field weeks with students.
The course is available in English and Spanish.
Altenbergrain 21
3013 Bern