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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Anthropogenic and environmental pressures on mountains result in land degradation, as well as in the loss of species and critical ecological functions and services. Concomitantly, average temperatures continue to rise and fluctuations in the amount and spatiotemporal distribution of precipitation increase (eg Hock et al 2019), exacerbating these trends. Hence, the urgency of restoring mountain ecosystems and landscapes is
indisputable. Action is needed to safeguard mountain species and ecosystems as the fabric of life on which mountain dwellers depend for their livelihoods and from which remote beneficiaries in distant lowlands derive essential ecosystem services, such as climate regulation through carbon sequestration (Parisi et al 2022). Action is needed to ensure that mountain ecosystems as well as mountain societies can adapt to these
novel socio-environmental conditions and are safe in the face of growing uncertainties. However, given the diversity of natural environments in mountains—ranging from arid shrublands to montane wetlands and alpine ecosystems—there is no one-size-fits-all solution to mountain ecosystem restoration. Tailor-made initiatives and approaches are needed that can be as simple as reducing invasive plant presence or removing grazing pressure, such as in the mountains of southern Kyrgyzstan (see FAO and UNEP 2023). At the other end of the spectrum, restoration approaches can be as complex as major geoengineering initiatives to restore large-scale mining scars or necromass incorporation and manure fertilization to improve soil quality in the pa´ramo (Christmann and Oliveras Menor 2021).
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Citation
Urbach, Davnah; Azevedo, João; Belsky, Jill M.; Clark, V. Ralph; Postigo, Julio; Wu, Yanhong (2023). Focus Issue: Restoring Mountain Systems for Social–Ecological Resilience. Mountain Research and Development. ISSN 0276-4741. 43:4, p. 1-3
Publisher
International Mountain Society