About this Research Topic
This Research Topic explores the relationships between climate change and montane ecosystems. Mountain ecosystems, with unique climatic gradients and habitats, are highly sensitive to climate fluctuations. Global warming, changing precipitation patterns, and altered seasonal cycles pose significant threats to montane flora and fauna. Our aim is to compile research on the extent, implications, and adaptive strategies of montane biodiversity facing climate change.
Montane ecosystems host a rich biodiversity, including endemic species adapted to specific climatic niches. These ecosystems offer insights into species interactions, evolutionary processes, and ecosystem functioning. However, rapid climate change disrupts these balances, causing habitat shifts, altered species distribution, and potential biodiversity loss. Understanding these changes is critical for conservation and predicting broader ecological impacts.
Key Areas of Focus:
- Impact of Temperature and Precipitation Changes
- Species Range Shifts: How rising temperatures and altered precipitation cause upward or poleward shifts in montane species ranges
- Phenological Changes: Shifts in flowering, breeding, and migration patterns and their effects on species interactions and ecosystem dynamics
- Habitat Fragmentation and Connectivity
- Ecosystem Fragmentation: Climate change-induced habitat fragmentation’s effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services
- Corridors for Movement: Effectiveness of ecological corridors and conservation strategies to maintain connectivity and facilitate species movements
- Adaptation and Resilience
- Genetic and Phenotypic Adaptations: Capacity of montane species to adapt to changing climate conditions
- Community and Ecosystem Resilience: Factors enhancing or undermining the resilience of montane communities and ecosystems to climate stressors
- Conservation Strategies and Policy Implications
- Adaptive Management: Successful conservation and adaptive management practices safeguarding montane biodiversity
- Policy Frameworks: Role of policy and international cooperation in addressing climate change challenges in montane ecosystems
- Case Studies and Long-term Monitoring
- Regional Case Studies: Insights from different montane regions on local impacts and responses to climate change
- Monitoring Programs: Importance of long-term ecological monitoring for understanding trends and informing conservation strategies
This Research Topic aims to foster multidisciplinary dialogue integrating ecology, climate science, conservation biology, and policy studies. Contributions will enhance scientific knowledge and inform conservation efforts and policy-making, guiding targeted interventions and promoting resilient landscapes. Understanding vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities of montane species and ecosystems can serve as a model for addressing climate change impacts on biodiversity in other regions.
We invite contributions from various disciplines to create a comprehensive collection of research on this critical issue.
Montane ecosystems host a rich biodiversity, including endemic species adapted to specific climatic niches. These ecosystems offer insights into species interactions, evolutionary processes, and ecosystem functioning. However, rapid climate change disrupts these balances, causing habitat shifts, altered species distribution, and potential biodiversity loss. Understanding these changes is critical for conservation and predicting broader ecological impacts.
Key Areas of Focus:
- Impact of Temperature and Precipitation Changes
- Species Range Shifts: How rising temperatures and altered precipitation cause upward or poleward shifts in montane species ranges
- Phenological Changes: Shifts in flowering, breeding, and migration patterns and their effects on species interactions and ecosystem dynamics
- Habitat Fragmentation and Connectivity
- Ecosystem Fragmentation: Climate change-induced habitat fragmentation’s effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services
- Corridors for Movement: Effectiveness of ecological corridors and conservation strategies to maintain connectivity and facilitate species movements
- Adaptation and Resilience
- Genetic and Phenotypic Adaptations: Capacity of montane species to adapt to changing climate conditions
- Community and Ecosystem Resilience: Factors enhancing or undermining the resilience of montane communities and ecosystems to climate stressors
- Conservation Strategies and Policy Implications
- Adaptive Management: Successful conservation and adaptive management practices safeguarding montane biodiversity
- Policy Frameworks: Role of policy and international cooperation in addressing climate change challenges in montane ecosystems
- Case Studies and Long-term Monitoring
- Regional Case Studies: Insights from different montane regions on local impacts and responses to climate change
- Monitoring Programs: Importance of long-term ecological monitoring for understanding trends and informing conservation strategies
This Research Topic aims to foster multidisciplinary dialogue integrating ecology, climate science, conservation biology, and policy studies. Contributions will enhance scientific knowledge and inform conservation efforts and policy-making, guiding targeted interventions and promoting resilient landscapes. Understanding vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities of montane species and ecosystems can serve as a model for addressing climate change impacts on biodiversity in other regions.
We invite contributions from various disciplines to create a comprehensive collection of research on this critical issue.
Keywords: Climate Change, Montane Biodiversity, Mountain Ecosystems, Climatic Gradients, Global Warming, Precipitation Patterns, Seasonal Cycles, Endemic Species, Species Interactions
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
