Journal: Mountain Research and Development

Abbreviation

Mt. res. dev.

Publisher

International Mountain Society

Journal Volumes

ISSN

0276-4741
1994-7151

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Publications1 - 10 of 26
  • Mountain Resilience: A Systematic Literature Review and Paths to the Future
    Item type: Journal Article
    Wyss, Romano; Luthe, Tobias; Pedoth, Lydia; et al. (2022)
    Mountain Research and Development
    Mountains are home to a considerable share of the human population. Around a billion people live in mountainous areas, which harbor rich natural and sociocultural diversity. Today, many people living in mountainous areas worldwide face fundamental changes to their cultural and economic living conditions. At the same time, mountain communities have defied harsh environments in the past by adapting to changing natural conditions and showing remarkable levels of resilience. In this review paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of English-language scientific literature on resilience-related topics in mountain areas based on a systematic review of the Scopust literature database. We propose a structured starting point for science–practice interactions and concrete action-based activities to support livelihoods and strengthen resilience in mountain areas. We suggest that existing knowledge gaps can be addressed by relying on local knowledge and cocreating solutions with communities. In this way, we can build innovative capacity and actively buffer against the impact of crises while supporting deliberate transformation toward sustainability and regeneration to further enhance resilience.
  • Glaciers as a Proxy to Quantify the Spatial Distribution of Precipitation in the Hunza Basin
    Item type: Journal Article
    Immerzeel, Walter Willem; Pellicciotti, Francesca; Shrestha, Arun B. (2012)
    Mountain Research and Development
    Accurate quantification of the spatial distribution of precipitation in mountain regions is crucial for assessments of water resources and for the understanding of high-altitude hydrology, yet it is one of the largest unknowns due to the lack of high-altitude observations. The Hunza basin in Pakistan contains very large glacier systems, which, given the melt, cannot persist unless precipitation (snow input) is much higher than what is observed at the meteorological stations, mostly located in mountain valleys. Several studies, therefore, suggest strong positive vertical precipitation lapse rates; in the present study, we quantify this lapse rate by using glaciers as a proxy. We assume a neutral mass balance for the glaciers for the period from 2001 to 2003, and we inversely model the precipitation lapse by balancing the total accumulation in the catchment area and the ablation over the glacier area for the 50 largest glacier systems in the Hunza basin in the Karakoram. Our results reveal a vertical precipitation lapse rate that equals 0.21 ± 0.12% m−1, with a maximum precipitation at an elevation of 5500 masl. We showed that the total annual basin precipitation (828 mm) is 260% higher than what is estimated based on interpolated observations (319 mm); this has major consequences for hydrological modeling and water resource assessments in general. Our results were validated by using previously published studies on individual glaciers as well as the water balance of the Hunza basin. The approach is more widely applicable in mountain ranges where precipitation measurements at high altitude are lacking.
  • Are we scorpions?
    Item type: Journal Article
    Mason, Simon Jonas Augusto (2005)
    Mountain Research and Development
  • MRI Newsletter 5: GLOCHAMORE Update
    Item type: Other Journal Item
    Greenwood, Greg; Björnsen, Astrid; Drexler, Claudia; et al. (2005)
    Mountain Research and Development
  • Mapping Food Systems: A Participatory Research Tool Tested in Kenya and Bolivia
    Item type: Journal Article
    Jacobi, Johanna; Wambugu, Grace; Ngutu, Mariah; et al. (2019)
    Mountain Research and Development
    Food system research requires an understanding of system actors and activities. To this end, we codesigned and conducted a food system mapping process in 2 regions, one in Kenya and the other in Bolivia, that stretches frommountains to lowlands and involves sites of interconnected food system strategies related to these habitats. We adapted an existing method of mapping local food webs to an approach that subdivides food systems into 4 subsystems: operational, political, information and services, and natural resources. Through the mapping process, a group of local and external researchers and practitioners identified the most important food value chains in the study areas. They also identified the value chains' reach, as well as related actors; flows ofknowledge, information, and finance; and the natural resources the food systems depend on. A power/interest matrix complemented the mapping results with information about different actors' roles in the food systems; this can help to identify the best target groups and entry points for efforts to improve the sustainability of food systems in the diverse habitats forming part of these food systems. Mapping and a brief analysis of actors and interests are first steps toward assessing the sustainability of a food system. The participatory nature of our approach enhanced coordination between projects of research and practice and helped to increase the relevance and applicability of the mapping results and related activities.
  • MRI Newsletter 9: MRI's Global Change Research Network in European Mountains (GCRN_EM)
    Item type: Other Journal Item
    Drexler, Claudia; Tielbörger, Katja (2007)
    Mountain Research and Development
  • Modeling the Biophysical Impacts of Global Change in Mountain Biosphere Reserves
    Item type: Journal Article
    Bugmann, Harald; Björnsen Gurung, Astrid; Ewert, Frank; et al. (2007)
    Mountain Research and Development
  • Agricultural Decline, Landscape Change, and Outmigration
    Item type: Journal Article
    Soliva, Reto (2007)
    Mountain Research and Development
  • Increasing the Resilience of Hillside Communities in Bolivia
    Item type: Journal Article
    Robledo, Carmenza; Fischler, Martin; Patiño, Alberto (2004)
    Mountain Research and Development
  • Global Change and the World's Mountains-Research Needs and Emerging Themes for Sustainable Development
    Item type: Journal Article
    Björnsen Gurung, Astrid; Wymann von Dach, Susanne; Price, Martin F.; et al. (2012)
    Mountain Research and Development
    The conference on Global Change and the World's Mountains held in Perth, Scotland, in 2010 offered a unique opportunity to analyze the state and progress of mountain research and its contribution to sustainable mountain development, as well as to reflect on required reorientations of research agendas. In this paper we provide the results of a three-step assessment of the research presented by 450 researchers from around the world. First, we determined the state of the art of mountain research and categorized it based on the analytical structure of the Global Land Project (GLP 2005). Second, we identified emerging themes for future research. Finally, we assessed the contribution of mountain research to sustainable development along the lines of the Grand Challenges in Global Sustainability Research (International Council for Science 2010). Analysis revealed that despite the growing recognition of the importance of more integrative research (inter- and transdisciplinary), the research community gathered in Perth still focuses on environmental drivers of change and on interactions within ecological systems. Only a small percentage of current research seeks to enhance understanding of social systems and of interactions between social and ecological systems. From the ecological systems perspective, a greater effort is needed to disentangle and assess different drivers of change and to investigate impacts on the rendering of ecosystem services. From the social systems perspective, significant shortcomings remain in understanding the characteristics, trends, and impacts of human movements to, within, and out of mountain areas as a form of global change. Likewise, sociocultural drivers affecting collective behavior as well as incentive systems devised by policy and decision makers are little understood and require more in-depth investigation. Both the complexity of coupled social–ecological systems and incomplete data sets hinder integrated systems research. Increased understanding of linkages and feedbacks between social and ecological systems will help to identify nonlinearities and thresholds (tipping points) in both system types. This presupposes effective collaboration between ecological and social sciences. Reflections on the Grand Challenges in Sustainability Research put forth by the International Council for Science (2010) reveal the need to intensify research on effective responses and innovations. This will help to achieve sustainable development in mountain regions while maintaining the core competence of mountain research in forecasting and observation.
Publications1 - 10 of 26