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Plant communities in Arctic and alpine regions are growing taller as a result of a warming climate. This is according to the results of a huge, collaborative research effort exploring tundra vegetation change, which were published in the journal Nature this week. Rapid climate warming in the Arctic and alpine regions is driving changes in the structure and composition of plant communities, with important consequences for how this vast and sensitive ecosystem functions. A new paper, published in Nature this week, shows that tundra plant communities are getting taller, which is mostly due to new, taller species moving in. “This is the first time that a biome-scale study has been carried out to get to the root of the critical role that plants play in this rapidly-warming part of the planet” says one of the core authors, Dr. Isla Meyers-Smith.of the School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh, UK.
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Research published in the journal Sustainability Science last month uses participatory scenarios to explore the impacts of climate change on traditional farming communities in the East African highlands. Paper author Dr. Claudia Capitani tells us more.
Climate change poses a significant future challenge for many African countries, with an increase in temperature, higher frequency of extreme events, and uncertain precipitation patterns – wetter rainy seasons for some regions, increased aridity for others – anticipated by the middle of this century. This in turn has implications for food security, poverty reduction, and ecosystem conservation and restoration – making tackling climate change a key priority for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals at both a local and country level.
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The University of Lausanne (UNIL) invites applications from candidates trained in the social and/or natural sciences to develop a research and teaching program on issues related to the sustainable management of natural, social, and economic resources in mountain regions.
The University of Lausanne (UNIL) is a higher teaching and research institution composed of seven faculties where approximately 14,300 students and nearly 3,800 collaborators, professors, and researchers work and study. Ideally situated along the Lake of Geneva, near Lausanne’s city center, its campus brings together over 120 nationalities. A small satellite campus in the town of Sion (VS), located along the Rhone River in the heart of the Alps, hosts the administrative team of the new Interdisciplinary Centre for Mountain Research, the research group Cultures and Natures of Tourism, and the MA in Tourism Studies.
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The Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia seeks two students interested in pursuing graduate studies in glacial geology. M.S. and Ph.D. applications are welcome from students with backgrounds in glacial geology, glaciology, sedimentology, geomorphology, earth surface processes, and/or marine geology.
As part of an international collaboration to study Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica, one opportunity is to constrain past change in the position of the glacier's margin and the factors responsible for driving those changes using sedimentological proxies. This student will participate on a research cruise to Antarctica in the austral summer of 2020.
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Mark Carey, Professor of History and Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon, has received the prestigious King Albert Mountain Award for almost two decades of exceptional service to mountain research. We spoke to him about what this award means to him and his ongoing work to protect mountain societies and environments.- Details
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A new working paper compiled jointly by the MRI and the Centre for Development and Environment offers an evidence-informed preliminary assessment of a subset of UN Sustainable Development Goal indicators tailored to a sustainable mountain development context.
To achieve sustainable development, mountain communities and ecosystems must overcome challenges and make the most of opportunities that are specific to the mountain context. Monitoring the progress of mountain regions as they work towards sustainable mountain development therefore needs to be contextualized to effectively guide, coordinate, and assess development efforts. To support this process, the MRI is developing an approach for assessing sustainable mountain development using the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) framework.
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The KiLi project – an incredible, wide-ranging eight year study on Mount Kilimanjaro of the effects of climate and land-use change on biodiversity, biotic interactions, and biogeochemical ecosystem processes – came to an end this year. A new publication summarizes its findings.
Published earlier this month, The KiLi Project: Kilimanjaro Ecosystems Under Global Change – Linking Biodiversity, Biotic Interactions and Biogeochemical Ecosystem Processes presents some of the most important results of the Kilimanjaro Project, a Research Unit funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) from 2010 to 2018. The core objective of the Kilimanjaro project was to understand effects of climate and land-use change on biodiversity, biotic interactions, and biogeochemical ecosystem processes.
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The Scientific Steering Group meets once a year to discuss, guide, and plan the Climate and Cryosphere project. Nominations close 15 October 2018.The Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) project is one of the core projects of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), serving as the focal point for climate science related to the cryosphere, its variability and change, and interaction with the broader climate system. CliC is overseen by a Scientific Steering Group (SSG), which is responsible for overall direction and planning - and which is now looking for new members.
