Topografian, maaperän ja geomorfologian vaikutukset putkilokasvien paikalliseen lajirunsauteen arktis-alpiinisessa ympäristössä

Arktis-alpiinisen kasvillisuuden taustalla vaikuttavat lukuisat ympäristötekijät, ja pienikin spatiaalinen tai temporaalinen muutos ympäristöoloissa voi vaikuttaa merkittävästi koko kasviyhteisöön. Tässä työssä tarkastelen, miten paikalliset ympäristömuuttujat topografia, maaperätekijät ja geomorfologinen häiriö vaikuttavat putkilokasvien lajirunsauteen paljakalla. Tutkin myös ovatko vaikutukset erilaisia toiminnallisten kasviryhmien välillä. Aineisto kerättiin kesällä 2011 Saanatunturin rinteeltä Kilpisjärveltä. Kasvilajistosta sekä erilaisista abioottisista ja bioottisista muuttujista kerättiin tietoa yhteensä 960 neliömetrin ruudulta, jotka sijaitsivat kuudella yhtenäisellä ruudukolla. Tutkimusasetelmassa minimoitiin alueellisten muuttujien vaihtelu ja maksimoitiin kasvipeitteen ja topografian paikallinen vaihtelu. Aineistoa analysoitiin monimuuttujamenetelmillä. Putkilokasveille ja niiden toiminnallisille ryhmille etsittiin hajonnan osituksella lajirunsauden alueellista vaihtelua parhaiten selittävät GLM ja GEE-mallit. Abioottisilla muuttujilla pystyttiin selittämään jopa 75 % lajirunsauden vaihtelusta tutkimusalueella, mikä osoittaa, että stressi on merkittävin paikallista lajirunsautta rajoittava ilmiö paljakalla. Myös tutkituilla häiriömuuttujilla on kasvillisuuteen stressivaikutuksia. Yksittäisistä muuttujista maankosteus selittää lajirunsautta ylivoimaisesti parhaiten, mutta myös muut maaperätekijät ovat tärkeitä. Maaperätekijät ovat vahvasti yhteydessä myös mesotopografiaan ja gemorfologiseen häiriöön, joiden itsenäiset merkitykset osoittautuivat pieniksi. Mesotopografia ja fluviaalinen häiriö olivat kuitenkin yksinään tärkeitä muuttujia kaikille lajirunsauksille. Lähes kaikki muuttujat ovat mukana parhaissa malleissa, eli myös yksinään vähäpätöisiltä vaikuttavat muuttujat ovat lajirunsaudelle merkityksellisiä, mutta niiden merkitys saattaa ilmetä vasta muiden muuttujien kautta. Tulos tukee aiempaa teoriaa siitä, että abioottisten muuttujien välillä vaikuttaa monimutkaisia vuorovaikutussuhteita. Eri toiminnalliset ryhmien lajirunsaudet reagoivat abioottisten muuttujien vaihteluun yllättävän samankaltaisesti. Suurimmat erot ilmenivät ruohojen ja ainavihantien varpujen välillä. Tulos johtuu ennenkaikkea ruohojen kapeasta sietoalueesta kosteus-, pH- ja lumenpaksuusgradienteilla, kun ainavihannat varvut taas sietävät paremmin kuivuutta ja hapanta maaperää, eivätkä ole tarkkoja lumenpaksuuden suhteen. Kaikki toiminnalliset ryhmät esiintyvät lähes koko tutkimusalueella rinnakkain, ja niiden väliset erot tulevat näkyviin vasta lajirunsauksien maksimeissa. Toiminnallisten ryhmien morfologisista ja fysiologisista eroista huolimatta ne ovat sopeutuneet ennenkaikkea paljakan karuihin ympäristöoloihin, mikä tekee niiden ympäristövasteista samankaltaisia

Monitoring mountains in a changing world: new horizons for the Global Network for Observations and Information on Mountain Environments (GEO-GNOME)

Mountains are globally distributed environments that provide significant societal benefits, a function that is increasingly compromised by climatic change, environmental stress, political and socioeconomic transformations, and unsustainable use of natural resources. Gaps in our understanding of these processes and their interactions limit our capacity to inform decisions, where both generalities of mountain regions (eg climate processes) and specificities (eg context-specific manifestations of climate risks) matter. The Global Network for Observations and Information on Mountain Environments (GEO-GNOME), a Group on Earth Observations initiative, aims to fill these gaps through accessible Earth Observation (EO) as well as in-situ data and information on global change drivers, conditions, and trends. A workshop convened by the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) revised GEO-GNOME's work plan, galvanizing a network that promotes relevant monitoring of global change in mountains and is responsive to the integrated knowledge needs of policy, research, and management

Toward a set of essential biodiversity variables for assessing change in mountains globally

Mountain regions harbor unique and rich biodiversity, forming an important part of our global life support system. This rich biodiversity underpins the ecological intactness and functioning of mountain ecosystems, which are imperative for the provision of key ecosystem services. A considerable amount of data are required to assess ecological intactness and ecosystem functioning and, given the profound anthropogenic pressures many mountain regions are being subjected to, are urgently needed. However, data on mountain biodiversity remain lacking. The essential biodiversity variables (EBVs) framework can help focus efforts related to detecting, investigating, predicting, and managing global biodiversity change, but has not yet been considered in the context of mountains. Here, we review key biological processes and physical phenomena that strongly influence mountain biodiversity and ecosystems and elucidate their associations with potential mountain EBVs. We identify seven EBVs of highest relevance for tracking and understanding the most critical drivers and responses of mountain biodiversity change. If they are implemented, the selected EBVs will contribute useful information to inform management and policy interventions seeking to halt mountain biodiversity loss and maintain functional mountain ecosystems

GEO-GNOME ‘Status and Scoping Workshop’

Since being incorporated into the GEO Work Programme 2017-2019 as a GEO Initiative, GEO-GNOME (Global Network for Observations and Information on Mountain Environments) has sought to connect and facilitate access to diverse sources of mountain observation data and information regarding drivers, conditions, and trends in biophysical and socio-economic processes of change at different scales. In 2017, following a change in leadership, the original 2016 GEO-GNOME Work Plan was revised with a view to consolidating tasks. In order to further refine and bring the work plan to fruition during 2018-2019, it was necessary to jointly review the GEO-GNOME work plan with active participants of the GEO-GNOME effort, as well as others identified as having key expertise on the subject matter. During the three-day Status and Scoping Workshop in Bern, the focus of the discussions lay in the spatial and thematic needs for mountain observation data and the role of GEO-GNOME in curating and making this data available. It was decided that all GEO-GNOME work should be legitimated by policy information needs. GEO-GNOME should operate at two levels: 1) communicating the global importance of mountains and the need for mountain-specific working instruments and data resources, and promoting GEO-GNOME work and products; and 2) providing mountain observation data and knowledge to meet the policy information needs. GEO-GNOME will improve the data delivery by providing a clean metadata catalogue via its GEOSS portal, currently in beta; by ensuring the collection of meaningful new data by establishing a global network for elevation transects; and by producing a new data layer capturing socio-ecological aspects. The key output and outcome of this workshop was the revised work plan, with planned actions flagged such as two targeted GEO-GNOME workshops in 2019

GEO-GNOME Workshop “Essential Climate Variables for Observations in Mountains”

At the GEO-GNOME Status and Scoping Workshop held in Bern in May 20181 , key objectives and tasks listed on its work plan 2017-2019 were revised (see also Adler et al, 2018). The importance of climate as one key driver of environmental change in mountains, with relevant consequences for social-ecological systems, was reiterated. Given already existing initiatives on essential climate variables from observations and modelling, an opportunity was identified to focus attention on mountain-specific needs of key variables allowing from understanding and tracking changes in mountains and their consequences. A transect network of in-situ climate data over elevation gradients (Unified High Elevation Observing Platform, UHOP3 ), together with consistent time series of EO (satellite) data, was suggested as a means to address key observational data gaps and to improve our understanding of processes of elevation-dependent warming (EDW) and elevation-dependent climate change (EDCC) in mountains, and support a systematic strategy for identifying and collecting new observation data. Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) relevant for mountains were identified as a first starting point. They include “pure climate” variables like temperature, precipitation, snow, radiation, wind, etc., as well as other important variables/drivers such as land-cover. With the support from the European Space Agency (ESA), Future Earth (FE), and the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), the 2019 GEO-GNOME workshop aimed at identifying and selecting ECVs required in high elevation contexts for the monitoring and better understanding of ‘mountain climate change’, including considerations for integration between in-situ measurements, EO satellite data and modelling. The WMO/GCOS existing catalogue of ECVs was used as initial basis for compiling our list of essential mountain variables. The possibility to use ESA’s existing datasets on ECVs within its Climate Change Initiative (CCI) program was also considered. The key output and outcome of this workshop is a list of ECVs required to observe the processes of elevation-dependent climate change in mountains. In addition, a data collection protocol with identified existing data-sources and criteria for required data quality (particularly the spatial and temporal resolution required) for selected key processes was produced. There are huge observational and information gaps in mountain environments and agreeing on joint protocols and data resolution needed for each relevant process would allow filling these gaps. Collecting data on other environmental processes in addition and in relation to strictly climate-related processes will strengthen GEO-GNOME’s ability to identify relevant data and information that meet the needs of management, policy and scientific research. Making this data discoverable and accessible via suitable data portals, such as the GEO-GNOME Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEO-GNOME GEOSS, under development), will further facilitate data use and research collaborations

GEO-GNOME Workshop “Identifying Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) and Essential Societal Variables (ESVs) in Mountain Environments”

The Global Network on Observations and Information in Mountain Environments (GEO-GNOME) convened the GEO-GNOME Workshop “Identifying Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) and Essential Societal Variables (ESVs) in Mountain Environments”, on 20-21 February 2020, in Zürich, Switzerland. The workshop was a key activity identified and prioritized at the GEO-GNOME Status and Scoping Workshop held in Bern in May 2018), and listed as part of GEO-GNOME’s Implementation Plan under the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Work Programme for 2020-2022. The workshop was led and coordinated by the GEO-GNOME co-leads Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) and the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council (ISAC-CNR) with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the MRI. GEO-GNOME contributing organizations, including the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) and the US Geological Survey (USGS), contributed to the design and preparation of this workshop. The GEO-GNOME workshop aimed to identify and select processes that account for and improve understanding of key ecological and social-ecological changes in mountain systems and to identify EBVs and ESVs needed to monitor and report on these changes in biodiversity and society in mountains. The workshop was structured around invited inputs from experts, followed by a series of activities in which participants had the opportunity to discuss, elaborate and provide additional feedback and share their expertise and perspectives in the identification of key processes of change and relevant EVs for selection. The key outcome of the workshop is a preliminary selection of EBVs and ESVs required to observe, monitor and inform on changes in mountain biodiversity and mountain social-ecological systems. The final results will be presented in a peer-reviewed publication. Based on the outcomes of the discussions at this workshop, GEO-GNOME will start a process towards building an integrative framework around mountain specific Essential Variables addressing Mountain Social-Ecological Systems

Spatial context matters in monitoring and reporting on Sustainable Development Goals Reflections based on research in mountain regions

By committing to the 2030 Agenda, countries have promised to work towards sustainable development through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), pledging to leave no one behind. Yet, there is a risk of exclusion for those living in remote regions or those who fall through the cracks. Data collection methodologies and review schemes that account for SDGs at sub-national and regional levels need to be developed, which would facilitate decision-making and allow the growth of development agendas that are better aligned to the targets. However, so far little guidance is available for countries to account for spatial considerations.ISSN:0940-555

Spatial context matters in monitoring and reporting on Sustainable Development Goals: Reflections based on research in mountain regions

By committing to the 2030 Agenda, countries have promised to work towards sustainable development through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), pledging to leave no one behind. Yet, there is a risk of exclusion for those living in remote regions or those who fall through the cracks. Data collection methodologies and review schemes that account for SDGs at sub-national and regional levels need to be developed, which would facilitate decision-making and allow the growth of development agendas that are better aligned to the targets. However, so far little guidance is available for countries to account for spatial considerations

Mountain freshwater ecosystems and protected areas in the tropical Andes: insights and gaps for climate change adaptation

Although protected areas (PAs) play an important role in ecosystem conservation and climate change adaptation, no systematic information is available on PA protection of high-elevation freshwater ecosystems (e.g., lakes and watersheds with glaciers), their biodiversity and their ecosystem services in the tropical Andes. We therefore combined a literature review and map analysis of PAs of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and national systems of PAs and freshwater ecosystems. We found that seven national parks were created for water resources protection but were not designed for freshwater conservation (i.e., larger watersheds). High-value biodiversity sites have not been protected, and new local PAs were created due to water resource needs. We quantified 31 Ramsar sites and observed that PAs cover 12% of lakes, 31% of glacial lakes and 12% of the total stream length in the tropical Andes. Additionally, 120 watersheds (average area 631 km2) with glaciers and 40% of the total glacier surface area were covered by PAs. Future research into the role of PAs in ecosystem services provision and more detailed freshwater inventories within and around PAs, especially for those dependent on glacier runoff, will fill key knowledge gaps for freshwater conservation and climate change adaptation in the tropical Andes