Expert survey data on key challenges, drivers, and ecosystem services across mountains worldwide
Date
2019
Authors
Klein, J. A.
Tucker, C. M.
Nolin, A. W.
Hopping, K. A.
Reid, R. S.
Steger, C.
Grêt-Regamey, A.
Lavorel, S.
Müller, B.
Yeh, E. T.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Mountain social-ecological systems (MtSES) are vital to humanity, providing ecosystem services to over half the planet's human population. Despite their importance, there has been no global assessment of threats to MtSES, even as they face unprecedented challenges to their sustainability. With survey data from 57 MtSES sites worldwide, we test a conceptual model of the types and scales of stressors and ecosystem services in MtSES and explore their distinct configurations according to their primary economic orientation and land use. We find that MtSES worldwide are experiencing both gradual and abrupt climatic, economic, and governance changes, with policies made by outsiders as the most ubiquitous challenge. Mountains that support primarily subsistence-oriented livelihoods, especially agro-pastoral systems, deliver abundant services but are also most at risk. Moreover, transitions from subsistence- to market-oriented economies are often accompanied by increased physical connectedness, reduced diversity of cross-scale ecosystem services, lowered importance of local knowledge, and shifting vulnerabilities to threats. Addressing the complex challenges facing MtSES and catalyzing transformations to MtSES sustainability will require cross-scale partnerships among researchers, stakeholders and decision-makers to jointly identify desired futures and adaptation pathways, assess tradeoffs in prioritizing ecosystem services, and share best practices for sustainability. These transdisciplinary approaches will allow local stakeholders, researchers and practitioners to jointly address MtSES knowledge gaps while simultaneously focusing on critical issues of poverty and food security.
Description
Data are survey responses collected between 2014-2016 from experts working in 57 different mountain systems around the world, assessing threats to mountain social-ecological systems (MtSES) and the cross-scale ecosystem services MtSES provide.
Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability
Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability
Rights Access
Subject
social-ecological systems
mountains
sustainability
drivers
ecosystem services
Citation
Associated Publications
Klein, J. A., Tucker, C. M., Nolin, A. W., Hopping, K. A., Reid, R. S., Steger, C., et al. (2019). Catalyzing transformations to sustainability in the world's mountains. Earth's Future, 7, 547–557. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018EF001024
Klein, J.A., Tucker, C.M., Steger, C.E., Nolin A., Reid R., Hopping K.A., Yeh E.T., Pradhan M.S., Taber, A., Molden, D., Ghate, R., Dhrupad Choudhuryh, Alcántara-Ayala, I., Lavorel, S., Müller, B.,Grêt-Regamey, A., Boone, R.B., Bourgeron, P., Castellanos E., Chen, X., Dong, S., Keiler, M. , Seidl, R., Thorn, J., Yager, K. An integrated community and ecosystem-based approach to disaster risk reduction in mountain systems. (2019). Environmental Science & Policy. 94: 143-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2018.12.034
Klein, J.A., Tucker, C.M., Steger, C.E., Nolin A., Reid R., Hopping K.A., Yeh E.T., Pradhan M.S., Taber, A., Molden, D., Ghate, R., Dhrupad Choudhuryh, Alcántara-Ayala, I., Lavorel, S., Müller, B.,Grêt-Regamey, A., Boone, R.B., Bourgeron, P., Castellanos E., Chen, X., Dong, S., Keiler, M. , Seidl, R., Thorn, J., Yager, K. An integrated community and ecosystem-based approach to disaster risk reduction in mountain systems. (2019). Environmental Science & Policy. 94: 143-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2018.12.034