December 2009

Newsletter 04 – December 2009
IGU Commission C08.29 Mountain Response to Global Change
Dear Colleagues,
welcome back to the fourth edition of our newsletter. Members of the Steering Committee until
2012 are:
Prof. Dr. Jörg LÖFFLER (Chair) (Germany)
University of Bonn
Department of Geography
Meckenheimer Allee 166
D-53115 Bonn
E-mail: [email protected]
Prof. Dr. Anders LUNDBERG (Secretary) (Norway)
University of Bergen
Department of Geography
Fosswinkelsgt. 6
N-5007 Bergen
E-mail: [email protected]
Prof. Dr. Yuri BADENKOV (Russia)
Institut Geografii Rossijskoy Akademii Nauk
Staromonetnyy pereulok, 29
119017 Moskva
E-mail: [email protected]
Prof. Dr. Yolanda JIMÉNEZ OLIVENCIA (Spain)
Institute for Regional Development
University of Granada
c/ Rector Lopez Argueta, s/n.
E - 18071 Granada
E-mail: [email protected]
Prof. Dr. Monique FORT (France)
Department of Geography
UFR GHSS, Case postale 7001
Université Paris Diderot-Paris 7
F 75 205 Paris Cedex 13
E-mail: [email protected]
Prof. Dr. Donald A. FRIEND (USA)
Department of Geography
Minnesota State University
Armstrong Hall 7
Mankato, MN 56001
E-mail: [email protected]
Prof. Dr. Martin PRICE (UK)
Director, Centre for Mountain Studies
Perth College
UHI Millennium Institute
Crieff Road
Perth PH1 2NX, UK
E-mail: [email protected]
Prof. Dr. Fausto SARMIENTO (USA)
The University of Georgia
212-B GG Building
The University of Georgia, Athens, GA. 30606
email: [email protected]
Prof. Dr. Hans HURNI (Switzerland)
Department of Geography
University of Berne
Hallerstrasse 12
CH-3012 Bern
E-mail: [email protected]
Please send us information on upcoming events, recent publications, organisations, networks, or
research projects that you would like to be announced (email to [email protected]). Please also
visit the Commission’s homepage on www.giub.uni-bonn.de/igu-mountains.de.
Yours,
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Jörg Löffler
International conference: Global Change and the World's Mountains, Perth, Scotland, 26-30
September 2010: Call for papers
Organisers: the UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Mountain Development at the Centre for Mountain
Studies at Perth College UHI, in collaboration with the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), a joint
project of the International Human Dimensions of Global Change Programme (IHDP) and the
International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), funded by the Swiss National Science
Foundation. The conference is also endorsed by the Global Land Project of the IGBP and IHDP, by
UNESCOs MAB programme, and by the IGU Commission C08.29 “Mountain Response to Global
Change”.
The Conference (as a follow-up to the 2005 Open Science Conference of the GLOCHAMORE
project) aims to:
•
present, evaluate and synthesise progress in our understanding of global change in
mountain regions since 2005
•
evaluate progress with regard to the implementation and impacts of the GLOCHAMORE
Research Strategy
•
work proactively on a global agenda for research and action relating to global change and
mountain regions, taking into consideration global assessment and policy processes, such
as those relating to the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The call for papers is open: abstracts for papers for any of the 32 session themes will be accepted
until 1 March 2010. To download an abstract form, please visit the conference website at
www.perth.ac.uk/specialistcentres/cms/Conferences/Perth2010/Pages/SubmitanAbstract.aspx
In addition, there will be possibilities to arrange side meetings, especially over lunch-hours.
Contact: Angela Paterson, The Centre for Mountain Studies, Perth College,
[email protected].
For more information, see www.perth.uhi.ac.uk/mountainstudies/2010
International GMBA-DIVERSITAS conference "Functional significance
biodiversity", Chandolin (Valais), Switzerland, 27-30th July 2010
of
mountain
The Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment of DIVERSITAS is celebrating its 10th year of
activity in 2010 with an international conference in the Swiss Alps, on the overarching theme of
functional significance of mountain biodiversity. Conference contributions are invited on:
1) novel facts and research results on mountain biodiversity
2) the uppermost montane, alpine or nival belt, or cover full elevational transects
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3) functional aspects such as erosion control, grazing resistance, water yield, productivity, nutrient
retention, disease or invasion resistance, multispecies interactions and related topics.
4) the following thematic clusters:
•
Land use and climate change and effects on mountain biodiversity
•
Large scale patterns of mountain biodiversity (including invasives)
•
LTERs in the Alpine and their influence on biodiversity research- the challenge of
converting long term monitoring into science.
•
Testing ecological and evolutionary hypotheses by using archive data
Contact: Eva Spehn, GMBA office ([email protected]).
www.gmba.unibas.ch/2010conference/registration.htm
For
more
information,
see
EGU General Assembly in Vienna (02–07 May 2010) Session on “Mountain Hydrology:
Observations, processes and models” (HS4.13)
Convenors: Daniel Viviroli, Carmen de Jong and Wouter Buytaert; Solicited speaker: John W.
Pomeroy
Mountains are characterised by steep environmental gradients, and hydrological processes in
mountain areas exhibit a high degree of spatial heterogeneity and temporal dynamics. Therefore,
mountains are particularly challenging for hydrological research, and our understanding of the
water balance components in mountains and their interplay is still incomplete. Especially with view
to assessing today's and tomorrow's water resources originating in mountains, there is great need
to improve our knowledge of all aspects of mountain hydrology.
We welcome contributions from all mountain regions of the world, irrespective of scale and
geographic region. Contributions could cover
•
studies of the present state of all components of the water cycle in mountains, including
assessments of water resources
•
projections for states and processes under scenarios of global change
•
reconstruction of past conditions
•
application and development of models, including their parameterisation and verification;
•
observation networks
•
examination of anthropogenic influences on the water cycle in mountains (e.g. dams, land
use change)
•
coupling of mountain hydrology with mountain climatology and meteorology
For submission of contributions (deadline: 18 January 2010) and more information on the session,
see http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2010/session/1998
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For financial support applications (deadline: 04 December 2009), please
http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2010/support_and_distinction/financial_support.html
refer
to
EGU General Assembly in Vienna (02–07 May 2010) Session on “Stability and Functions of
Mountain Soils” (SSS3)
Convenor: Christine Alewell, Co-Convenors: Frank Hagedorn, Michele Freppaz
The extreme topography, climate and remoteness of mountain ecosystems are the origin of high
biodiversity and productivity but cause high instability, fragility and sensitivity of the ecosystems.
One inherent parameter of ecological stability is the status of soils in the ecosystems. Mountain
soils are defined here as soils strongly affected by snow, frost and slope as ecological drivers.
Changes in land-use and climate are currently affecting mountain soils thereby changing
biogeochemical cycles, slope stability, water budgets, vegetation productivity, ecosystem
biodiversity and nutrient production. In the near future, the changes in soil functions might be
dramatically affected by global climate change. Until 2100, mean winter temperature in the alpine
region is expected to increase at least by 3-5°C, reducing the snow cover period by 70-120 days.
These dramatic changes will certainly affect carbon and nutrient cycling in the plant and soil
system and increase soil erosion because of strong leaching with no or sparse vegetation cover in
late fall and early spring. The session addresses the direct and indirect impact of changes in
climate and land-use on the functioning, the degradation, the biogeochemical cycles and the
stability of soils.
For submission of contributions (deadline: 18 January 2010) and more information on the session,
see http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2010/session/2551
For financial support applications (deadline: 04 December 2009), please
http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2010/support_and_distinction/financial_support.html
refer
to
The Science for the Carpathians (S4C) 1st Forum Carpaticum in Kraków, Poland, 15-17th
September 2010
The S4C initiative invites scientists, policy- and decision-makers working on, or interested in the
sustainable development of the Carpathian region to the 1st Forum Carpaticum.
Including a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines from both, the natural and social sciences, as
well as practical knowledge, the Forum Carpaticum is an attempt to integrate different fields of
expertise to generate value for the Carpathian mountain region.
The objectives of Forum Carpaticum are:
•
to link research and practice in the field of coupled human-environmental systems in
mountain regions
•
to support scientifically actions leading towards sustainability in the Carpathian region
•
to increase the visibility of the Carpathian region in the global change research agendas
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For more information, see www.forumcarpaticum.org
MTNCLIM 2010 Mountain Climate Research Conference, Blue River, Oregon, 7-10 June 2010
CIRMOUNT's biennial mountain-climate conference is dedicated to mountain climate sciences and
effects of climate variability on ecosystems, natural resources, and conservation in western North
American mountains. Registration deadline: 16 April 2010.
For more information, see www.fs.fed.us/psw/mtnclim/
Global Land Project (GLP) 2010 Open Science Meeting, 17-19th October 2010, Arizona State
University: 'Land Systems, global change and sustainability'
The Meeting is organized in close cooperation with IHDP’s Urbanization and Global Environmental
Change project (UGEC). UGEC will hold its 1st International Science and Practice Conference
from the 15-17th October, with the 17th October organized jointly with GLP. The aim of the GLP
Open Science Meeting on 'Land Systems, global change and sustainability' is to bring together
large parts of the international research community working on land change issues, showcase the
width and scope of ongoing research, help build a community in this highly interdisciplinary field,
inspire new research and facilitate review, theory building and extrapolation.
Registration and abstract submission will open on the 1th December 2009. As the number of
participants is limited, early registration is recommended.
For more information, see www.glp2010.org
MOUNTLAND – Sustainable land-use practices in mountain regions under global change
(Andreas Rigling, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, CHBirmensdorf, [email protected])
MOUNTLAND deals with the effects of global change, including both socio-economic and climate
change, on mountain ecosystems and the services they provide to society. The project involves
over 50 people from within the ETH Domain spanning from experimental ecology over landscape
modelling to socioeconomic fields and the political sciences. It focuses on three mountain regions
within Switzerland sensitive to different aspects of global change. The aim of the project is to
contribute to adapted land-use practices and innovative policy solutions for mountain regions that
warrant the life-supporting services required for sustainable development and are economically,
socially and institutionally feasible.
For more information, see www.cces.ethz.ch/projects/sulu/MOUNTLAND/
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FLUXPYR: A new research network in the Pyrenees on climate and land use changes
Trans-border network for the assessment and management of water, carbon and energy fluxes
under climate change conditions in agricultural and grassland systems in the Pyrenees
(FLUXPYR): the network includes researchers from the three Pyrenean countries, and will operate
through an EU project from the INTERREG IV-A programme and additional funding from the
Catalan government and various French institutions.
The network will use remote sensing techniques, aerial platform imagery and flux measurement
techniques (eddy-covariance flux towers, tall towers, flight platforms) to establish observatories of
climate and land use changes. FLUXPYR aims at increasing the number of flux infrastructures in
the Pyrenees as well as developing predictive land use, productivity, carbon distribution and snow
cover maps. The use of these techniques, together with empirical and process-based modelling, as
well as assessment of ecosystem patterns and processes, will be used for establishing guidelines
for sustainable management of grasslands and other agroecosystems, including the use of fire
through the development of controlled burning experiments.
The network is open to collaboration with other interested researchers and seeks links with other
similar networks.
For more information, contact the project’s coordinator, Prof. M.-Teresa Sebastià, CTFC-UdL,
[email protected]
Call for Proposals: ERA-Net CIRCLE Funding Initiative 'Climate change impacts (natural and
anthropogenic factors) and response options in mountainous areas'.
The CIRCLE (Climate Impact Research Coordination for Larger Europe) network would welcome
the submission of proposals for transnational collaborative research projects by January 29th 2010.
A total budget of 2.1 M€ is provided by research funders from Austria, France, Greece, Hungary,
Spain, Sweden and Turkey. The aim of this call is to increase knowledge of options, premises and
barriers for climate change impacts and adaptation including the relationship between adaptation
and mitigation in mountainous areas. Special emphasis should be laid on the involvement of
decision makers / developers and relevant stakeholders.
The theme for project proposals is climate change impacts (natural and anthropogenic factors) and
response options in mountainous areas including effects on inter alia water resources,
infrastructure, slope stability, agriculture, tourism, public health and biodiversity.
For more information, see www.circle-era.net/research-calls/circle-mountain-call/
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„Climate Change in the Alps“: Gemeinsames Förderprogramm 2010 von JuniorForschergruppen durch die Herzog-Sellenberg- und Dr. Erich Ritter-Stiftung
Im Kontext des Klimawandels gehören Gebirgsregionen weltweit zu den sensibelsten Räumen. Die
Auswirkungen der durch die Zunahme anthropogener Treibhausgase in der Atmosphäre in Gang
gesetzten Prozesse sind dort bereits heute erkennbar. Während in Deutschland die
durchschnittliche Temperatur in den vergangenen hundert Jahren um 0,9 °C zunahm, betrug die
Erwärmung in den Alpen 1,5 °C. Seit 1850 bis heute haben die alpinen Gletscher rund 50 Prozent
ihrer Fläche eingebüßt. Berechnungen des World Glacier Monitoring Service gehen davon aus,
dass sie bei fortschreitender Erderwärmung bis zum Jahr 2050 vollständig verschwunden sein
werden. Gletscherrückgang, tauende Permafrostböden und die Zunahme extremer
Wetterereignisse führen zu einer Beschleunigung der Erosionsprozesse und zur Instabilität von
Felswänden. In der Folge wird die Häufigkeit von Gerölllawinen, Bergstürzen und
Gletscherseeausbrüchen zunehmen und talwärts liegende Ortschaften gefährden. Die Folgen für
Tourismus, Land- und Forstwirtschaft sowie die Stabilität des Bergökosystems werden erheblich
sein.
Die interdisziplinäre Entwicklung von Perspektiven, Strategien und Konzepten für die nachhaltige
Entwicklung von Umwelt und Gesellschaft in dieser Gebirgsregionen stehen im Zentrum des
Interesses dieser Förderinitiative. Mögliche Forschungsfelder sind z.B.:
•
Anpassungen der Landnutzung in Gebirgsregionen
•
Biomasseverwertung,
Landschaftsentwicklung
•
Prognose und Frühwarnsysteme für Katastrophenereignisse (z.B. Lawinen, Bergstürze)
•
Nachhaltiges Wildbachmanagement und -renaturierung
•
Veränderungen der Gesellschafts- und Siedlungsstrukturen in Gebirgsregionen
•
Anpassung gesellschaftspolitischer Rahmenbedingungen
Energieeffizienz
und
nachhaltige
Siedlungs-
und
Die Junior-Forschergruppen sollen besonders qualifizierten Postdoktoranden/innen und
Doktoranden/innen die Möglichkeit bieten, auf hohem wissenschaftlichem Niveau und in
interdisziplinärer Zusammenarbeit gemeinsam ein aktuelles Programm auf diesen
Forschungsfeldern zu bearbeiten. Damit soll die frühe wissenschaftliche Selbständigkeit der
Nachwuchswissenschaftler/innen unterstützt werden. Das Angebot richtet sich an Vertreter/innen
der Natur- und Ingenieurwissenschaften sowie der Wirtschafts- und Gesellschaftswissenschaften.
Über einen Zeitraum von drei Jahren werden den Junior-Forschergruppen Stipendien für
Postdoktoranden/innen und/oder Doktoranden/innen sowie Reise- und Sachmittel zur Verfügung
gestellt.
Der interdisziplinäre Aspekt muss sich aus der Zusammensetzung der Junior-Forschergruppen
erschließen. Die Gruppen müssen an ausgewiesenen Universitätsinstituten eingerichtet werden,
die eine Integration in ein aktives Forschungsumfeld garantieren. International zusammen gesetzte
7
Forschergruppen sind erwünscht.
verantwortlichen Hochschullehrer/in.
Für
die
Antragstellung
fordern
[email protected] an.
Die
Sie
Beantragung
bitte
das
erfolgt
gemeinsam
entsprechende
mit
dem/der
Merkblatt
bei
Über die Vergabe der Förderung entscheidet die Stiftung auf der Grundlage von Fachgutachten.
Bitte richten Sie Ihre Bewerbung bis zum 28. 02. 2010 an die Herzog-Sellenberg- und RitterStiftung im Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, Barkhovenallee 1, D- 45239 Essen, Tel.:
0049 201 8401 160, Fax: 0049 201 8401-255
Jandl, R., Borsdorf, A., van Miegroet, H., Lackner, R., R. Psenner (eds.) (2009) Global Change and
Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions. Proceedings of the COST Strategic Workshop.
Alpine Space – Man & Environment vol.7, Innsbruck University Press. The conference proceedings
can be ordered from Innsbruck University Press (www.uibk.ac.at/iup) or from Sigrun Heute,
Institute für Gebirgsforschung, Innsbruck ([email protected])
Hofgaard, A., Dalen, L., H. Hytteborn (2009): Tree recruitment above the treeline and potential for
climate-driven treeline change. Journal of Vegetation Science 20: 1133-1144
Mauser, W., H. Bach (2009) PROMET – Large scale distributed hydrological modelling to study the
impact of climate change on the water flows of mountain watersheds. Journal of Hydrology 376:
362-377
Pauchard, A., Kueffer, C., Dietz, H., Daehler, C.C., Alexander, J., Edwards, P.J., Arevalo, J.R.,
Cavieres, L.A., Guisan, A., Haider, S., Jakobs, G., McDougall, K., Millar, C.I., Naylor, B.J., Parks,
C.G., Rew, L.J., T. Seipel (2009) Ain't no mountain high enough: plant invasions reaching new
elevations. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7: 479-486
Schmidt, R., Matulla, C., R. Psenner (eds) (2009) Klimawandel in Österreich, Die letzten 20.000
Jahre…und ein Blick voraus. Vernetzung von Klimasignalen unterschiedlicher Indikatoren und
Zeitskalen sowie instrumenteller Daten (PALDAT), Innsbruck University Press, 184 pp. Contact:
Roland Schmidt Institute for Limnology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, A-5310 Mondsee, Austria,
[email protected];
see
also
www.uibk.ac.at/alpinerraum/publications/
and
www.oeaw.ac.at/limno.
Shahgedanova, M., Hagg, W., Zacios, M., V. Popovnin (2009) An Assessment of the Recent Past
and Future Climate Change, Glacier Retreat, and Runoff in the Caucasus Region Using Dynamical
and Statistical Downscaling. In: Groisman, P. and Ivanov, S. (eds) Regional Aspects of ClimateTerrestrial-Hydrological Interactions in Eastern Europe. Proceedings of the Advanced Science
NATO workshop, 23-28 August 2008, Odessa, Ukraine. 63-72
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Taylor, R.G., Mileham, L., Tindimugaya, C., L. Mwebembezi (2009) Recent glacial recession and
its impact on alpine riverflow in the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda. Journal of African Earth
Sciences 55. 205-213
Zhu, Y., Jiang, Y., Liu, Q.R., Kang, M.Y., Spehn, E.M., C. Körner (2009) Elevational trends of
biodiversity and plant traits do not converge-a test in the Helan Range, NW China. Plant Ecology
205: 273-283
Zinger, L., Shahnavaz, B., Baptist, F., Geremia, R.A., P. Choler (2009) Microbial diversity in alpine
tundra soils correlates with snow cover dynamics. ISME J. 3: 850-859. Contact: Laboratoire
d’Ecologie Alpine and Station Alpine J Fourier, Grenoble, France, [email protected]
Mountain Research and Development has published its third issue, Volume 29 No. 3, in its new
online, open access format. The current issue can be accessed free of charge at
www.Bioone.org/loi/mred. Information about the journal, its publication policies, and advice about
how to submit manuscripts for consideration for publication in MRD can be obtained from
www.mrd-journal.org.
The Mountain Research Initiative Newsletter no. 3, October 2009, can be downloaded from
http://mri.scnatweb.ch/dmdocuments/mri_news_no3_web.pdf
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