mountain observatories: status and prospects for enhancing

Mountain Observatories Status and Prospects forEnhancing and Connecting a Global CommunityMaria Shahgedanova1 Carolina Adler2 Aster Gebrekirstos3 H Ricardo Grau4 Christian Huggel5 Robert Marchant6 NicholasPepin7 Veerle Vanacker8 Daniel Viviroli5 and Mathias Vuille9

Corresponding author mshahgedanovareadingacuk1 Department of Geography and Environmental Science University of Reading Whiteknights PO Box 217 Reading RG6 6AH Berkshire UK2 Mountain Research Initiative co Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) University of Bern Mittelstrasse 43 3012 Bern Switzerland3 World Agroforestry (ICRAF) United Nations Avenue Gigiri PO Box 30677 Nairobi 00100 Kenya4 Instituto de Ecologıa Regional (CONICETndashUniversidad Nacional de Tucuman) Cc 34ndash4107 Yerba Buena Tucuman Argentina5 Department of Geography University of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 8057 Zurich Switzerland6 York Institute for Tropical Ecosystems Department of Environment and Geography University of York Heslington York YO10 5DD UK7 School of the Environment Geography and Geoscience University of Portsmouth Winston Churchill Avenue Portsmouth PO1 2UP Hampshire UK8 Earth and Life Institute University of Louvain 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium9 Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences University at Albany State University of New York Albany NY 12222 USA

2021 Shahgedanova et al This open access article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 40 International License (httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40) Please credit the authors and the full source

Mountainous regions are globally important in part because theysupport large populations and are biodiverse They are alsocharacterized by enhanced vulnerability to anthropogenicpressures and sensitivity to climate change This importancenecessitates the development of a global reference network oflong-term environmental and socioeconomic monitoringmdashmountain observatories At present monitoring is limited andunevenly distributed across mountain regions globally Existingthematic networks do not fully support the generation ofmultidisciplinary knowledge required to inform decisions enactdrivers of sustainable development and safeguard against lossesIn this paper the Mountain Observatories Working Groupestablished by the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) ScienceLeadership Council identifies geographical and thematic gaps aswell as recent advances in monitoring of relevant biophysical and

socioeconomic variables in the mountains We propose principles

and ways of connecting existing initiatives supporting emergingareas and developing new mountain observatory networks

regionally and eventually globally Particularly in the data-poor

regions we aspire to build a community of researchers and

practitioners in collaboration with the Global Network onObservations and Information in Mountain Environments Group

on Earth Observations (GEO) Mountains a GEO Work Programme

Initiative

Keywords mountains long-term monitoring elevation gradients

climate change data networks GEO Mountains

paleoenvironments remote sensing

Received 27 August 2020 Accepted 5 February 2021

Introduction

Mountains are among the worldrsquos most impressivelandscapes and are vital to humanity Depending on thecriteria that are used for defining mountains they occupybetween 12 and 30 of the land surface (Kapos et al 2000Meybeck et al 2001 Sayre et al 2018) They are home tobetween 09 and 12 billion people accounting for 13 (FAO2015a) of the global population These global figures hidelarge regional variations It is estimated that about 90 ofthe mountain population lives in developing and transitionalcountries The average density of the mountain populationin developing countries (40 inhabitantskm2) is about 5 timeshigher than that in developed countries (8 inhabitantskm2)(Huddleston et al 2003) and may even exceed 500inhabitantskm2 on the productive volcanic mountains ofEast Africa (Himeidan and Kweka 2012) Demographictrends in mountain regions are varied There are areaswhere the population continues to increase some areas withtrends toward depopulation and abandonment and areaswhere there is no major demographic change but dramatic

shifts in land cover from traditional land uses to new formssuch as tourism and recreation are observed (FAO 2015a)

Mountains provide valuable environmental functionsthat underpin key ecosystem goods and services a crucialsupporting determinant for sustainable developmentpotential Mountain landscapes characterized by diversenatural and managed systems (eg agricultural land) supportbiocultural diversity food and energy security tourism andrecreation and have spiritual and intrinsic values (Gret-Regamey et al 2012 Mengist et al 2020) Mountainenvironments are directly linked to downstream regionsthrough natural pathways (eg rivers and ecological corridorswhich are themselves important habitats) as well as humaninfrastructure Through these pathways mountains providethe essential water energy food and other resources andservices not only to the communities living in closeproximity but also to the downstream societies Theytherefore play an important role in regional and globalsustainable development Most importantly mountains actas water towers sustaining continuous flow of most of theworldrsquos major rivers (Viviroli et al 2007 2020) At the sametime mountain environments are particularly threatened by

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the impacts of global environmental and climate changeBoth the production and transmission of theseenvironmental services occur in an environmentcharacterized by prominent biophysical elevationalgradients as well as widespread natural hazards and threatsin the form of extreme weather events earthquakeslandslides rock falls avalanches volcanic eruptionswildfires debris flows and glacier lake outburst floods(GLOFs) (Glade 2013 Balthazar et al 2015 Haeberli et al2015) Many of these hazards are modulated by highlyvariable weather conditions and over the longer termclimatic change and its interactions with land cover and landuse change

Mountain environments are expected to experienceparticularly wide-ranging effects from current global climatechange (Hock et al 2019) Rates of warming often depend onelevation (Pepin et al 2015) Although data availability andquality are lower (particularly at high elevations) changes inprecipitation cloud cover wind solar radiation and otherclimatic variables are also likely to be strongly dependent onmountain elevation gradients (Lawrimore et al 2011 Viviroliet al 2011) In most mountain regions snowpack and glaciersare receding (Hock et al 2019) leading to a positive feedbackloop as surface albedo decreases and hydrological regimesdownstream become less predictable (Huss et al 2017) Thecompression of ecological zones means that movements ofspecies upslope can be rapid Some species typically foundin the foothills and low montane zone responding to driverssuch as climate change by shifting upslope may benefitthrough increases in available area (Elsen and Tingley 2015)However there is nowhere to go for the true cold-adaptedspecies on high mountain summits (Nogues-Bravo et al 2007Hagedorn et al 2019) and many may face local extinction(Elsen and Tingley 2015) It is not just impacts of climatechange continued fragmentation of habitats caused bychanges in land use is another key factor leading to local oreven global extinction of mountain species The interactionamong changes in land use fragmentation and changingclimates is challenging the adaptative capacity of species andecosystems

As complex socialndashecological systems mountains exhibitemergent properties nonlinearity and dynamic feedbackmechanisms (Klein et al 2019) Interacting pressures fromchanging climates socioeconomic development populationgrowth competing land uses and national and internationalpolicies threaten the potential future sustainability andresilience of mountain systems across the world (Payne et al2020 Thorn et al 2020) Nowhere are these pressures andthe need to understand the interactions betweencommunities and environment more acute than in themountainous regions in developing countries These regionsface multiple and simultaneous threats spanning climaticpolitical economic institutional and biophysical domainsCompelling evidence has accumulated that theseinteractions should be viewed as a globally interconnectedcomplex adaptive system in which heterogeneitynonlinearity and innovation play formative roles (Clark andHarley 2020 Payne et al 2020) However there are alsoemerging opportunities to foster sustainability that take intoaccount history and the complexity of socialndashecologicalsystems and use novel and inclusive participatory tools basedon good-quality data and insight

Interactions among people ecosystems andenvironments within mountain systems and betweenmountains and other systems urgently require integratedobservation This can be used to quantify the signals ofchange in environmental characteristics compositionstructure and distribution of ecosystems and should bedelivered rapidly and ideally in near real time Suchmonitoring strategies are key to understanding andsupporting actions that aim to address development andlivelihood challenges on a scientifically supported basis Ourpotential to adequately observe monitor and report thesechanges and their complex interactions also offers thechance to identify opportunities for development andinnovation Despite recent advances fully integrated long-term observations of environmental and social systems havereceived little attention This is due to difficulties incombining approaches and methods used in natural andsocial sciences and bias toward specialization within thelimits of established academic disciplines There are alsovarious institutional conceptual and operational challengesto coordinating these efforts (Funnell and Price 2003) whichare still relevant today

The necessity and expectation of engaging humanndashenvironment relationships explicitly in knowledgegeneration are now growing from a policy standpoint(Gleeson et al 2016) Key global policy frameworks haveemerged since 2015 These include but are not limited tothe United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda and its SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) the Intergovernmental Platformon Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services the UN SendaiFramework for Disaster Risk Reduction the UN FrameworkConvention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement aswell as the current post-2020 process to establish a GlobalFramework on Biodiversity under the Convention onBiological Diversity (CBD) These global policy frameworksinfluence the utility of long-term and integrated monitoringcampaigns not least in the mountains They also come withmetrics (ie goals targets andor indicators) that promulgatecertain requirements on the types and formats of data to becollected for monitoring purposes An additionalconsideration is that reporting and assessing against thesemetrics can pose some methodological challenges inmountain-specific contexts such as disaggregated and sparsedata at the relevant spatial and temporal scales (Kulonen etal 2019)

A Global Network of Mountain Observatories (GNOMO)was developed in the 2000s It was spurred forward bymultithematic consistent comparable and reasonablyuniform monitoring with adequate precision and accuracyin mountainous regions providing data for scientificresearch management and policy requirements (Strachan etal 2016) The GNOMO initiative originally grassroots wassupported and coordinated by the Mountain ResearchInitiative (MRI) network In 2016 the Global Network forObservations and Information in Mountain Environments(now known as GEO Mountains) co-led by the MRI wasestablished as a Group on Earth Observations (GEO)initiative It provided additional means to furtherinstitutionalize support and integrate GNOMO as part ofthis broader framework (Adler et al 2018) More recentlyfollowing an initiative from members of the MRI ScienceLeadership Council (SLC) the MRI established a MountainObservatories Working Group (Adler Balsiger et al 2020)

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This working group seeks to extend the work of GNOMOand support GEO Mountains on mountain observatories andobservations through the Mountain Observatoriesinitiativemdashan ongoing effort to coordinate multithematicdata collection in the mountains The MountainObservatories initiative consists of several projects and tasksaimed at the crowd-sourcing of information on existing andemerging observatories identifying gaps (both geographicaland thematic) in data and developing protocols forcollection and processing of relevant data and informationIt aims to build a community of researchers andpractitioners as part of GEO Mountains

The working group defines mountain observatories assites networks of sites or data-rich regions wheremultidisciplinary integrated observations of biophysical andhuman environments are conducted over a lengthy period oftime in consistent ways according to established protocolsusing both in situ and remote observations The purpose ofmountain observatories is to evaluate the current state ofmountain systems and build up an understanding thatcaptures past variations and charts future physicalbiological and social changes in mountain environmentsIdeally mountain observatories need to fulfill a function assupersites or hubs for comprehensive monitoring ofmountain environments

This paper (1) provides a brief review of the currenttrends and challenges of socioenvironmental monitoring inthe mountains and available networks and products (2)assesses challenges for implementing an integrative andholistic approach to monitoring socioenvironmentalsystems and (3) proposes principles and ways of supportingthe development and connection of mountain observatoriesWe stress that this paper is not a structured systematicreview of the available literature but a substantive piece by agroup of experts and their relevant networks based onpublished literature and content presented at multipleworkshops in the past

Monitoring in the mountains status quo

Evolving methods of monitoring mountain environments

Systematic monitoring of mountain environments began inthe European Alps in the 19th century by establishingmeteorological hydrological and glaciological observationsObservations expanded in the 20th century and continuousmonitoring was initiated in many parts of the world duringthe first International Geophysical Year of 1957ndash1958 (Zempet al 2009) At present the World MeteorologicalOrganization (WMO) runs the Polar and High MountainObservations Research and Services (PHORS) programwhich coordinates standardized meteorological observationsby nations and groups of nations The World GlacierMonitoring Service (WGMS) coordinates activities onmonitoring the state of glaciers including long-term massbalance measurements (Zemp et al 2009) The GlobalObservation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments(GLORIA) (Grabherr et al 2000) focuses on monitoringchanges in mountain-top vegetation The global CriticalZone Exploration Network (CZEN httpwwwczenorg) hasa number of mountain sites where chemical physicalgeological and biological processes that shape Earthrsquossurface (Brantley et al 2017) are studied A more recent

campaign to highlight the need to support mountain-specificand relevant observation efforts was a topic of the WMO-hosted High Mountains Summit in 2019 The summitprovided an opportunity to connect scientific andpractitioner communities to take stock of recentdevelopments and discuss prospects for monitoring tosupport climate services thereby supporting efforts tosafeguard mountain communities and ecosystems from thenegative effects of climate change (Adler Pomeroy et al2020)

Currently there are 2 contrasting trends inenvironmental monitoring in mountainous regions On theone hand the density of in situ monitoring sites is decliningas they are costly and difficult to maintain in high-elevationenvironments On the other hand the availability of remote-sensing data with high spatial temporal and spectralresolution is increasing (Weiss and Walsh 2009) Thiscomplements and in many instances replaces in situ dataespecially in the case of land use land cover and specificecological data such as plant productivity or phenologyFurthermore the availability and use of proxy data based onpaleoenvironmental reconstructions of past mountainenvironments are additional sources of information thathave seen important developments lately From a mountainobservation perspective paleoenvironmental data offeropportunities to better quantify the dynamics ofenvironmental systems over longer periods of time Theyalso improve our understanding of environmental processesby putting the current and projected environmental changesin the mountains into a long-term perspective of naturalranges of variability (Marchant et al 2018)

In the following sections we delve into the trends behindin situ and remote-sensing monitoring methods and discussthe availability of mountain-related paleoenvironmentalrecords in more detail

In situ observations spatial limitations and technologicalopportunities There is poor availability of long-termhomogeneous and comparable ground-based observations inmost mountainous regions outside Western Europe andNorth America (Viviroli et al 2011) The density of high-elevation meteorological stations and hydrological gaugingsites with long-term measurements (eg over 50 years)conducted manually has declined in many regions since the1980s This is particularly true in the post-Soviet countriesand also in Africa and in the tropical Andes (Beniston et al1997 Zhou et al 2017 Shahgedanova et al 2018) Howeverthe expansion of automated measurements alleviates thisproblem to some extent (Strachan et al 2016) The GlobalHistorical Climatology Network dataset (GHCN Version 4)includes 27467 meteorological stations of which only 1328(48) are located above 2000 m above sea level (masl) and211 (08) are located above 3000 m Importantly thesestatistics refer to the stations that supplied data to GHCN forany period of time and not necessarily the stations withcontinuing long-term observations Our comparison of theelevational distribution of current meteorological stations(as of June 2020) with global hypsography of the land surfacearea shows that station density is relatively high between2000 and 3000 masl when averaged globally (Figure 1)However it still does not meet the WMO criterion of 4stations per 1000 km2 for measuring precipitation inmountainous areas (WMO 1994 Viviroli et al 2011) The


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geographical distribution of the high-elevation stations isuneven with a higher density in North America and Europe(Figure 2A B) but approximately 10 times lower densityelsewhere especially in Africa Asia and South America(Figure 2C D) This is irrespective of whether all stations(Figure 2A C) or currently operational stations (Figure 2BD) are used The density of meteorological stations declinessharply above 3000 masl and the GHCN dataset does not

feature a single station located above 5000 m (Menne et al2018) In Africa and South America especially there hasbeen a dramatic decline in recent years in station coverage(Figure 2D) which is worrying because there was already amuch lower station density on these continents to beginwith Figure 3 further shows details of the geographicaldistribution and elevation coverage of all GHCN stations Itreveals that high elevations in the Northern Hemisphere arecomparatively better covered especially in parts of NorthAmerica and Europe whereas for Asia more data from highand very high elevations would be highly desirable In theSouthern Hemisphere as well as in low latitudes data forhigh and very high elevations are generally much scarcerHigh-elevation regions constitute a small proportion of theglobal surface area However the lack of stations in AfricaSouth America and some parts of Asia as well as the lack ofultrahigh-elevation stations everywhere cannot be justifiedgiven the populations they support and enhanced rates ofenvironmental change they experience (Pepin et al 2015)

Statistics from another global surface air temperaturedataset Climatic Research Unit Temperature (version 4)(CRUTEM4) are broadly similar (Jones et al 2012 Osbornand Jones 2014 Harris et al 2020) The Global Runoff DataCentre (GRDC) data show that runoff and precipitationmeasurements are underrepresented above 1500 masl(Viviroli et al 2011) The paucity of measurements isespecially evident in Asia where the density of rain gaugesdeclines to 004 per 1000 km2 above 2500 masl that is about

FIGURE 1 Global distribution of the GHCN stations with elevation In this and

other figures stations were mapped by 100 m elevation bands

FIGURE 2 Distribution of GHCN stations with elevation by continent (A C) all GHCN stations (B D) current GHCN stations as of June 2020


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1 of the WMO-recommended density for mountainousregions (WMO 1994)

The lack of spatiotemporal data coverage in themountains results in crucial knowledge gaps and hampersour ability to validate remote-sensing data and models andaddress practical challenges The usefulness of the availableglobal and regional datasets for practical applications (iewatershed management infrastructure developmentimplementation of adaptation options) is limited becausesolutions depend on topographic categories (eg slopeaspect) and these attributes are not represented The lack ofdata from high elevations means that it is all too common fordata from lowland sites to be used to evaluate processes inhigh mountains resulting in uncertainties and poorcharacterization and modeling of high-elevationenvironments Meteorological stations in the mountainstend to be located in valleys and in urban areas because ofaccessibility which has inadvertently created bias in the dataFor example valley stations throughout the world oftenshow strong microclimate effects such as cold air pondingurban heat islands and rain shadows which can makeupslope extrapolation unreliable (Lundquist et al 2008) TheChinese Meteorological Administration currently operates87 stations across the Tibetan Plateau but many of these arelocated in the incised valleys in the south and east of theplateau and often in towns Their data cannot be reliablyused for detecting signals of climate change at higherelevations and cross-referencing these data with remotelysensed data is required to understand temperature trendsabove the highest station (4780 m) (Pepin et al 2019)Similarly in Central Asia streamflow data from gauging siteslocated in the foothills are often used to characterizeimpacts of glacier change on water availability Positioningrunoff gauges at basin outlets was originally designed tointegrate information about runoff from the entire basinincluding higher elevations However water abstraction andchannel modifications often make these data unsuitable for

attribution of the observed changes and modeling impacts(Shahgedanova et al 2018) Information on subsurfacehydrology which is an important component in mountainhydrological services to lowlands is scarce and does notadequately support both research and water managementapplications (Somers and McKenzie 2020)

In situ observations often focus on the abovegroundproperties of mountain ecosystems while long-termmonitoring of soil properties in mountain environments israre Soils deliver various provisioning and regulatingecosystem services (eg carbon sequestration and storagewater storage and regulation provision of food) Thecapacity of soils to deliver these services depends on soilfunctions and properties Soil management and policiessupporting it require accurate and spatially explicit soilinformation to meet present-day and near-future demandsfor food provisioning and regulation of climate and watercycles (Poesen 2018) The GlobalSoilMapnet consortiumaimed to produce standardized soil information at anincreasingly fine resolution including mountainous regionsThe African Soil Information Service created an onlineportal for soil information mapped out across the Africancontinent (httpafricasoilsnetservicesdata) This has beenuseful for many different stakeholder groups from nationaland regional policy development to farm-level landmanagement that require soil and landscape informationHowever despite these efforts soil information from themountainous regions is often limited to local case studiesand is fragmented in space and time (FAO 2015b) Anintegrated landscape approach is crucial in the managementof mountain soils given the variety of land use and soilmanagement systems and the types of soils that can be foundin mountain areas Mountains are important stores ofcarbon and montane rivers export sediment and organiccarbon downstream and to the world ocean (Wohl et al2012) Climate change combined with the naturally highrates of erosion and chemical weathering that characterize

FIGURE 3 Distribution of GHCN stations with data for any period of time (A) Longitudinal profile with station elevations (colored dots) and maximum elevation of the

land mass (gray area) (B) geographical distribution in a Mollweide equal-area projected map with station elevations shown in colors similar to panel (A)


MountainAgenda


montane environments unsustainable management andincreasing frequency of disturbances such as wildfiresfloods and landslides intensify carbon exchanges in themountains A full carbon budget has been quantified in veryfew montane locations and expansion of carbon monitoringis required to assess carbon stores and budgets and theprocesses affecting their dynamics (Hilton and West 2020)

A positive development and indeed an efficient wayforward is the increasing density of automated in situmeasurements (Strachan et al 2016) The automatedapproach is particularly common in hydro-meteorologicaland more recently glaciological and ecological monitoringand is used by long-term monitoring programs such as forexample Glaciers and Observatory of the Climate(GLACIOCLIM) (Shea et al 2015) Stations at High Altitudefor Research on the Environment (SHARE) (Bonasoni et al2008) and the Nevada Climate-Ecohydrological AssessmentNetwork (NevCan) (Strachan et al 2016) Some of theautomated sites (eg GLACIOCLIM) archive the collecteddata Others (eg NevCan) make data publicly available in realtime Despite these advances however the very high-elevation weather stations (4000 m) are again rare (Viviroliet al 2011) The longest records on mountains such asKilimanjaro (~5800 masl) or Quelccaya (~5700 masl) onlyextend back some 15ndash20 years (Yarleque et al 2018) and thishampers our understanding of longer-term climatevariability and change A preliminary global assessment ofthe spatial distribution of known high-elevation automatedmeteorological observations suggests a distinctconcentration of networks in the midlatitudes of theNorthern Hemisphere but also some sites in Africa andSouth America However at present there is no globalcollation of such observations The recent proposal by theMRI to develop a coordinated database of observations fromthe automated sites and their transects across elevationalgradients (the Unified High-elevation Observation Platformor UHOP) is a welcome example but it is in its infancy(Adler et al 2018) This makes it almost impossible to knowhow the number of high-elevation weather stations changesover time and where spatial coverage is particularly poorand the ensuing need is most acute

The automated measurements are often funded andoperated by individual or national-scale organizations andare associated with short-term research and developmentprojects They often provide narrowly focused short timeseries which do not necessarily adhere to standard protocolsof sensor deployment and data collection Problemssurrounding the deployment of automatic stationsincluding their siting continuity of measurements and datatransmission were comprehensively reviewed by Strachan etal (2016) Here we note that within the setting of mountainobservatories uniform observational techniques can beintroduced and procedures for operating and maintainingautomatic stations can be taught For example protocols foruniform observations and data quality control have beenintroduced within the GLORIA network (Pauli et al 2015)

Many research or development initiatives measure(automatically or manually) the same variables but usedifferent metrics and standards resulting in datasets that arenot directly comparable While standards for weather stationdeployment and meteorological data collection (WMO 2008)and guidelines for soil description and classification (FAO2006) have long existed standardization of measurements is

less common in other areas Other examples wheresignificant advances toward methodological uniformity havebeen made include the WGMS (Zemp et al 2009) and theGLORIA (Grabherr et al 2000) networks concerned withglacier mass balance measurements and ecologicalmonitoring respectively However despite the globalsharing of observational protocols GLORIA sites tend to beconcentrated in Europe the tropical Andes (CONDESANregional network Saravia and Bievre 2013) and westernNorth America (CIRMOUNT regional network Millar 2004)with limited monitoring elsewhere

Increasing role of remote sensing in addressing limitationsRemote sensing in general and remote sensing from space inparticular helps to alleviate logistical challenges of high-elevation monitoring It helps to provide multiscale andmultithematic information obtained in a consistent way overlarge areas It is frequently presented as a solution to theproblem of declining in situ observations Depending on thetype of sensors used and questions to be addressedspacebornemdashmost often satellitemdashimagery is available at awide range of scales from highfine (15 m) to mediummoderate (15ndash500 m) and lowcoarse (500 m) pixelresolution Spatial resolution is generally traded off againsttemporal resolution both in terms of frequency of repeatmeasurements and the temporal extent of the time series

The monitoring of mountain environments using remotesensing has expanded significantly since the 1980s whenaerial photography was superseded by spaceborne remotesensing (Weiss and Walsh 2009) Currently howeverairborne measurements from unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) are expanding in monitoring mountainenvironments (eg Piras et al 2017) There has been a growthof products accessibility to data and number of tools withwhich to analyze and visualize satellite and other spacebornedatasets that has led to its more widespread applicationRemote-sensing products particularly the repeated imageryfrom Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS)Landsat ASTER and Sentinel have helped to fill asignificant data void especially in developing countries andin remote regions

Remote sensing however has several importantlimitations when used on its own (Pfeifer et al 2012) Firstremote-sensing products are inherently limited in theirtemporal coverage and are too short to provide acomprehensive long-term monitoring perspectivemdashtheworld did not start in the 1970s Second despite recentadvances some environmental characteristics still cannot bemonitored from space or even from UAV For exampleremote sensing captures spatial and temporal changes invegetation aboveground plant biomass phenology andproductivity well but not soils or animal and plantbiodiversity Progress is being made however in usingspaceborne data for plant biodiversity monitoring(Skidmore et al 2015) Third there are challenges specific tomountain environments These range from spatialresolution which is still too low for many applications andtechnical problems associated with complex mountainoustopography and their radiative properties to lack of qualityground-control data (Weiss and Walsh 2009 Balthazar et al2015)

For example global precipitation datasets such asTropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) (Huffman et al


MountainAgenda


2007) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)(Skofronick-Jackson et al 2017) datasets have spatialresolution of 0258 and 01ndash058 They are available from 1997and 2000 respectively and are widely used in environmentalanalyses However data derived from TRMM and GPM areless helpful in characterization of elevation-dependentprecipitation trends controlled by topography slope aspectand exposure in the mountains These and otherprecipitation datasets derived from satellite observationshave difficulties in estimating orographic precipitationparticularly in southeastern Asia in the Himalayas and inthe Western Ghats (Sun et al 2018) Soil moisture datasetsinclude the European Space Agency (ESA) Soil Moisture andOcean Salinity (SMOS) (Kerr et al 2012) and the NationalAeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) Soil MoistureActive Passive (SMAP) datasets (Entekhabi et al 2010) Theyhave spatial resolutions of 30ndash50 km and 9 km (downscaledto 3 km) respectively which is problematic in mountainregions Efforts are being made to increase the spatialresolution and utility of such datasets For example soilmoisture data at a scale of meters became available recentlyfrom several satellites albeit at the cost of reduced temporalresolution (Mohanty et al 2017) Another example isTAMSAT (Tropical Applications of Meteorology usingSATellite data and ground-based observations) whichprovides daily rainfall estimates for all of Africa at 4 kmresolution (Maidment et al 2014 2017 Tarnavsky et al 2014)The global Land Surface Temperature (LST) datasetavailable from 2010 compiled by ESA is available at 5 kmresolution However many processes in the mountains (egcold air drainage which is critical for ecological responses)are controlled by even smaller-scale topography (Lundquistet al 2008 Morelli et al 2016) In addition a lack of high-elevation ground-truth data hampers the validation ofremote-sensing products in many mountain regions Forexample several sites used for the validation of the LST dataare positioned above 1000 m but none is in complex terrain(Martin et al 2019)

The high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) arederived from spaceborne data They enable mountaintopography to be assessed and are extensively used inenvironmental analyses and models This is particularlyimportant for natural hazard assessments predictive speciesdistribution models (Platts et al 2008) and assessing glacierchange (Marzeion et al 2017) Elevation data were obtainedby the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) in 2000for the region bound by 608N and 548S latitudes These datawere used to generate the 30-m horizontal resolutionSRTM30 DEM representing 80 of Earthrsquos surface with avertical accuracy of at least 16 m at a 90 confidence level(Rodrıguez et al 2006) The DEM captures generaltopographic gradients but not the finer-scale topographicvariations that affect a range of processesmdashfrom ecologicalto glacier changemdashin regions with high topographiccomplexity (Marzeion et al 2017) Another example is amultitemporal global land surface altimetry product(GLA14) generated from the Geoscience Laser AltimeterSystem instrument on the Ice Cloud and Land ElevationSatellite (ICESat) This is designed to measure changes in ice-sheet elevation with 60 m to 70 m resolution (Schutz et al2005) The geolocation accuracy of GLA14 is below 1 m andcan be a valuable supplement to other DEMs The recentsub-meter-resolution optical satellites such as GeoEye

Quickbird WorldView and Pleiades provide higher-resolution spaceborne DEMs on a scale of mountain systemsfor example the High Mountain Asia 8 m DEM (Shean 2017)and for smaller mountain areas worldwide (eg Berthier et al2014)

Many practical problems in the routine use of remotesensing in environmental applications that were common adecade ago have been overcome and spaceborne remotesensing has become a predominant method of monitoring inmany disciplines Most assessments of changes in glacier areaare conducted using satellite remote sensing andcomprehensive regional and global datasets characterizingthe observed glacier change have been developed (Kargel etal 2014 Pfeffer et al 2014) Monitoring seasonal snow cover isanother example This includes both its spatial extent (egGafurov et al 2016) and snow depth using airborne laseraltimetry (Deems et al 2013) and satellite data (Marti et al2016 Lievens et al 2019) However obtaining data aboutsnow water equivalent required in many hydrologicalapplications remains problematic Similarly evaluation ofmany glacier characteristics such as ice thickness the mainconstraint on simulating future glacier evolution andassessment of water resources (Vuille et al 2018Shahgedanova et al 2020) requires ground-basedmeasurements or airborne remote sensing with groundsupport (Geuroartner-Roer et al 2014) combined with glaciermodeling (Linsbauer et al 2012 Farinotti et al 2019) Theevolution of mountain lakes either glacier (eg Gardelle et al2011) or other (eg Casagranda et al 2019) can be easilymeasured using satellite imagery By contrast data on lakebathymetry require field surveys which limits dataavailability to a few regional datasets worldwide (eg Cookand Quincey 2015 Kapitsa et al 2017 Mu~noz et al 2020)

A good example of combining the in situ and satellitemeasurements in a complementary way is the PleiadesGlacier Observatory established by the WGMS incollaboration with the French Space Agency It provides veryhigh-resolution stereo images (05 m) enabling assessment ofglacier thickness change in the WGMS benchmark glaciers(Berthier et al 2014 Kutuzov et al 2019 Kapitsa et al 2020)This approach enables expansion of mass balancemonitoring from individual glaciers to regional scalethrough the application of high-resolution satellite DEMvalidated with ground-control data Another example is theVirtual Alpine Observatory (VAO) operating under theAlpine Convention (httpwwwalpconvorg) as a network of16 high-elevation research stations based in 6 Alpine and 4associated countries The mountain observation sites whichform the backbone of VAO are linked to several high-performing computing centers These enable efficient accessto and visualization of in situ data generated by VAO andrelevant remote-sensing and modeling data for the memberinstitutions wider research community and stakeholdersthrough the Alpine Environmental Data Analysis Centre(Virtual Alpine Observatory 2017)

Some key challenges to using remotely sensed data suchas the fragmentation of products from different agenciesand the range of specialized analytical tools have beenovercome by the Google Earth Engine (Gorelick et al 2017)This combines a wide catalogue of satellite imagery andgeospatial datasets with inbuilt modeling tools to map trendsand quantify landscape changes and the drivers behind these


MountainAgenda


changes (eg Kumar and Mutanga 2018 Kennedy et al 2018Bian et al 2020)

Use of proxy data and paleoreconstructions Understanding howterrestrial ecosystems change at global scales is afundamental challenge that demands datasets with extensivetemporal depth and wide spatial coverage There is growinginterest in harnessing networks of long-term records thatextend past the instrumental records This would allowresearchers to explore contextualize and predict theresponses to abrupt and gradual environmental changeinvestigate the interplay of abiotic and biotic interactionsunderstand rates and direction of change (Bi et al 2015Nolan et al 2018) and characterize mechanisms thatpromote resilience (Rayback et al 2020) All of thesefundamentally require an understanding of response overtime Indeed placing recent global warming andenvironmental change in the context of natural climatevariability requires the long-term perspective that can beprovided only by paleoenvironmental proxy records (Carillaet al 2013 Bi et al 2016 Kaufman et al 2020) This isparticularly important in regions where the availability andquality of long-term environmental and climate data arelimited

Paleoclimatic paleoecological and paleoenvironmentalproxy data are extensively used to reconstruct past changesover a range of different timescales and to examine thechanging relationships between people and theenvironment Paleoenvironmental research is focused onbasins where sediments accumulate over time archivingsignals of their surrounding environment or it uses datarecords extracted from ice cores glacial deposits (moraines)lake cores tree rings speleothems and lichens Many ofthese records are obtained in the mountains where lakesbogs mires glaciers and thermally or hydrologically limitedbiological growth are common features As a result there arenumerous paleoreconstructions focusing on individual sitesor regions (eg Carilla et al 2013 Wirth et al 2013 Solominaet al 2016 Mokria et al 2017 Fan et al 2019 to name but afew) While the value of these records is in describing changelike any observation the value diminishes with distance fromthe observation This is particularly true in the mountainswhere environmental conditions change strongly over smalldistances Although there are numerous archives collatingpaleoenvironmental data a comprehensive database ofpaleoclimate records that focuses on mountains is lackingAs for the datasets compiled for the Arctic (Linderholm et al2018) such a database could be invaluable to place singlerecords into the longer-term and wider spatial context

A recent global compilation of quality-controlledtemperature-sensitive proxy records extends back 12000years through the Holocene from 679 sites many of thesefrom mountain settings (Babst et al 2017) Centralizeddatabases are playing an increasingly important role forexample National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) National Centre for Environmental Informationand datasets therein (httpswwwncdcnoaagovdata-accesspaleoclimatology-datadatasets) Neotoma (Williams et al2018) Forest Inventory and Analysis (US Department ofAgriculture Forest Service httpswwwfiafsfedustools-data) TRY Plant Trait Database (wwwtry-dborg) and theInternational Tree Ring Data Bank (ITRDB httpswwwncdcnoaagovdata-accesspaleoclimatology-datadatasets

tree-ring) (Grissino-Mayer and Fritts 1997) The ITRDB holdsdata from 238 tree species obtained at more than 4000 sitesin 6 continents (Sullivan and Csank 2016) used to quantifyand evaluate the long-term environmental and ecologicalchanges across large regions and environmental gradients(Gebrekirstos et al 2014 Babst et al 2017 Zhao et al 2019)The long-term data with annual resolution collected by theDendro-Ecological Network (DEN httpswwwuvmedufemcdendro) enable scientists to detect and assess slowerecological processes as well as the rare events and linkcurrent environmental change with past human agency andother biological data (Holz et al 2017 Williams et al 2018Stephens et al 2019 Correa-Dıaz et al 2020) There is a recentmove to combine these single proxy databases that isgalvanizing the community For example the multiproxyNeotoma database now holds over 4 million observations ofmicro- and macrofossil distributions from 31000 datasetsand 15000 sites Importantly these new multiproxydatabases include analytical and display functionality toimprove access and use Neotoma data via NeotomaExplorer Google-Datasets-discoverable landing pagesNOAANCEI-Paleoclimatology Flyover Country and theGlobal Pollen Project (Williams et al 2019)

The prospect for stimulating a compilation of relevantpaleoscience and paleodata and information sources in amountain context has long been an aim of the MRI The MRISLC led activities for the 2020ndash2021 period (Adler Balsigeret al 2020) These were coupled with renewed efforts viaGEO Mountains to incorporate paleodata and informationfor mountains to address current gaps

Thematic foci and emerging examples of holistic approaches

Multiple assessments of environmental change withinmountain regions are usually conducted by networks andprograms within subdisciplines Examples include WGMSrsquos(Zemp et al 2009) and GLORIArsquos (Grabherr et al 2000)monitoring of glaciers and vegetation respectively Morerecently other thematic regional and global networks havebeen established with a focus on the cryosphere ecology orbiodiversity such as the Climate and Cryosphere (CliC)project (httpwwwclimate-cryosphereorg) supported by theWorld Climate Research Programme (WRCP) The WorldOverview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies(WOCAT) has regional initiatives that include mountainregions (eg in Ethiopia Bhutan Nepal Uganda) It haslaunched efforts to systematize information on sustainableland management (eg Liniger and van Lynden 2005) Thereare many examples of successful regional thematicmonitoring programs such as the Andean Forest Networkwhich monitors changes in structure and diversity ofmontane forests in this vast region (Malizia et al 2020)

Although thematically and locally focused networks makean important contribution to our understanding ofenvironmental change in the mountains the data theyprovide are fragmented There are ongoing efforts tointegrate meteorological glaciological hydrological andnatural hazard monitoring at high elevations These arecoordinated by the WMO Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW)program Alternatively they may be pursued by regionalnetworks such as GLACIOCLIM (Shea et al 2015) andSHARE (Bonasoni et al 2008) originally established in theHindu Kush Himalaya region but now expanding to Africa


MountainAgenda


Europe and South America In particular SHARE and theGlobal Change in Mountain Regions (GLOCHAMORE)(Grabherr et al 2005) projects have succeeded in overcomingthematic boundaries integrating objectives of natural andsocial sciences long-term observations and modeling

There are examples of integrated multithematicobservations operating on regional and local scales TheVAO operating in the European Alps Scandinavia andsouthern Caucasus and supported by governmental fundingprovides an example of how systematic and consistentobservations are enhancing our understanding of theinteractions among regional development economy andenvironment in the mountains The International Long-termEcological Research (LTER) network which operatesglobally adopts an integrated approach to monitoring andresearch of ecosystem critical zone and socioeconomicaspects of landscape evolution (Rogora et al 2018 Angelstamet al 2019) Another example is the long-term environmentaland socialndashecological monitoring in transboundarylandscapes in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region (Chettri et al2015) An example of an emerging network is MonitoringHigh Andean Ecosystems of Colombia (EMA) which isbuilding on the existing glaciological hydrologicalbiosphere and land cover and land use monitoring facilitiesand network with the aim to build an integrated system oftransdisciplinary socioenvironmental monitoring in theAndes (Llambı et al 2019) A smaller regional networkNevCAN established by the University of Nevada and theDesert Research Institute operates in the southwesternUnited States monitoring climatic conditions snow depthsurface hydrology soil conditions ecology and biodiversity(Strachan et al 2016) while the Mountain Social EcologicalObservatory Network (MntSEON) focuses on thevulnerabilities of mountain systems and the humancommunities they support in the United States (Alessa et al2018) There is a much smaller KiLi Observatory establishedunder the Ecosystems under Global Change project andconfined to the limits of Mount Kilimanjaro KiLi supportsresearch on impacts of climate change land use change anda range of human activities on tropical mountain biota andthe resilience and adaptive capacity of natural and modifiedecosystems to climate change along elevation gradients(Albrecht et al 2018)

Although working at different geographical scales andwithin different funding frameworks these are all tooinfrequent but successful examples of integratedmultithematic observations focusing on socioeconomic aswell as biophysical monitoring

Thematic gaps and suitability of the available datasets

In this paper we briefly reviewed in the context ofmountain environments typical observations and relevantdatasets (regional and global obtained in situ or usingremote sensing) available to and widely used by the academicand stakeholder communities Three important pointsemerge from this analysis First many datasets (eg TRMMGPM SMOS SMAP CRUTEM4) are not mountain-specificand are not designed to address a concept of large change(eg in temperature precipitation species etc) over a finespatial scale Second while some datasets are easilyaccessible (eg via Randolph Glacier Inventory [RGI] andWGMS) many regional datasets both historical and

contemporary remain within institutions and are notshared Better knowledge about existing datasets dataaccess and data rescue is required Third most of the abovediscussion concerns monitoring of the physicalenvironment Very few observatories and networks combinemonitoring of the natural environment with the assessmentof socioeconomic and cultural impacts and associatedindicators even though this is important to develop futurescenarios of environmental and socioeconomic change(Thorn et al 2020) There are however examples ofsuccessful integration of biophysical and socioeconomicmonitoring by such mountain-specific networks such asVAO NevCan MntSEON and KiLi while the EMA (Llambıet al 2019) and other networks explicitly focus oninterdisciplinarity in their development plan In particularLTER has developed a socialndashecological research platform toenhance the links between biophysical and socioeconomicmonitoring and research (Angelstam et al 2019) Socialpolitical and cultural observations are scattered and oftenbased on individual case studies or contexts This largelyreflects a very specific epistemic perspective and set ofresearch questions methods and design that may not beamenable to nor necessarily intended to align or beintegrated with observational data for biophysical variables

The topography of mountains implies that upstream anddownstream regions are connected in terms of impacts mostnotably by gravity-driven water and mass flows Examplesinclude downstream water supply impacted by high-elevation precipitation and snowfall patterns (Viviroli et al2020) and glacier changes (Huss and Hock 2018) or GLOFsand debris flows produced by upstream geomorphologicalprocesses (Haeberli et al 2015) While glacier lakes are oftenreasonably well monitored potential or actual impacts ofrelated hazards are often monitored poorly in the absence ofsocioeconomic data and trends other than national censusdata

Efforts to provide a robust basis for systematiccomparable and coordinated observation frameworksincorporating social dimensions need to capture the uniquesociocultural place-based conditions while allowing forcross-comparisons within and across locations and scalesIntegrating observations in complex socialndashecologicalsystems and contexts is an emerging area that addresses acomplex and fundamental methodological challengeExamples from a few multithematic and mountain-specificinitiatives offer promising prospects for their scaling anddevelopment Typologies and frameworks for capturingrelevant social data and information are an important basisfor designing monitoring systems and networks that are fit-for-purpose and facilitate and respond to these integratedobservation needs in mountain socialndashecological systems (egCollins et al 2011 Altaweel et al 2015)

Finally as highlighted in Hock et al (2019) citingDickerson-Lange et al (2016) and Wikstrom Jones et al(2018) citizen science can also contribute to generating andintegrating diverse observation data complementinginstrumental and modeling efforts Furthermore lessonslearned from community-based observation methods in theArctic offer transferable application prospects for themountains (Griffith et al 2018) These can enhance the valueand integration of human dimensions in observationcampaigns as do observations based on indigenous and localknowledge (Abram et al 2019)


MountainAgenda


Overall and despite many recent efforts there is still alack of datasets for many regions Where such datasets existthey still have a disciplinary focus and their fragmentationand often a lack of accessibility are major challenges(Thornton et al 2021) The question therefore remainswhether existing datasets from high-elevation regions servethe purpose of a holistic approach to understandingenvironmental change in mountains and assessment ofimpacts and vulnerabilities

Mountain observatories quo vadis

The Mountain Observatories initiative coordinated by theMRI Mountain Observatory Working Group is expected tobuild on and go beyond the remits of traditional highlyspecialized monitoring programs operating in mountainousregions It aims to deliver a highly visible and valuableoutput (Box 1) This will stimulate the development of acomprehensive partnership of key stakeholders and triggeractions leading to realization of the goals stipulated in globalframeworks such as the Paris Agreement or the SDGs It willalso support regional and local policymaking andcommunities in the management and governance ofcommon resources in mountains

The remits of the mountain observatories are illustratedby Box 2 This list is not exclusive nor exhaustive andintentionally embraces a wide thematic and spatial scopeWhile it may not be possible or indeed necessary to monitorsuch a system in its entirety monitoring at mountainobservatories should fulfill several criteria creatingcommonality between diverse observational programs Firstobservational programs should be multi- andinterdisciplinary and include components that can bemonitored in a consistent way across the globe (eg climate)as well as those specific to the region (eg glaciers) Secondintegrated monitoring of environmental and social processesshould be achieved Third mountain observatories shouldaim to effectively integrate in situ measurements remotesensing modeling and other forms of data and informationsourced from community-based approaches Fourth theyshould link mountains and downstream regions with regardto both processes and impacts Recognizing the need tomonitor gradient processes for the benefit of both mountaincommunities and dependent lowland zones is important as

previously emphasized by Pepin et al (2015) Strachan et al(2016) and the recent proposal by the MRI on UHOPdevelopment (Adler et al 2018)

Although the reviewed initiatives operate at differentscales their success rests on the same pillars All are designedand maintained as long-term programs supported byshorter-term projects The former enables continuity andconsistency the latter brings in new expertise improvesinstrumentation and communication and ensuresproduction and publication of relevant scientific results in atimely fashion All rely on technology and provide efficientdata access All operate according to the establishedprotocols collecting and storing data in a consistent andcomparable way All work toward building digital and datainfrastructure because generated datasets are too large formanual processing and automation and workflowarchitectures are necessary An important feature is thecollaborative approach and sharing of knowledge andresources between countries institutions academics andpractitioners Institutionalization of observational networksor strong links with public and private stakeholders can helpto secure long-term monitoring

The MRI Mountain Observatories Working Groupworking closely with GEO Mountains will support thedevelopment of regional and eventually global networks ofmountain observatories by focusing on 3 tasks

While the overall concept of mountain observatories hasbeen developed problems and mechanisms of delivery varybetween regions The first task therefore is the formulationof problems at regional network level enabling networkparticipants to express their opinion on the agenda of theMountain Observatories initiative and adjust it to theirneeds At this stage a program of multithematic datacollection along mountain gradients in different mountainregions will be created including but not limited to

Understanding elevation-dependent warming (Pepin et al2015) and its broader conception of elevation-dependentclimate change This can be further evidenced throughanalysis of meteorological and associated datainformation on soil characteristics vegetation and theirresponse patterns obtained systematically along a varietyof elevational gradients

BOX 1 Aims of the Mountain Observatories initiative

1 Crowdsource information including metadata onexisting or emerging observatories

2 Specify or provide guidance for relevant protocols tohelp mountain observatories in operationalizingmountain-relevant data and information for multipleapplications

3 Build capacity through concrete activities in mountainmonitoring and sustainable development includingprovision of on-site courses and training exerciseswith a particular focus on developing countries withfragile mountainous ecosystems

4 Facilitate links between the Mountain Observatoriesinitiative and the GEO Mountains program

BOX 2 Remits of the mountain observatories

Atmosphere and climate

Cryosphere

Hydrology hydrochemistry and water quality

Soils and biogeochemical cycles

Vegetation and biodiversity

Land cover and land use

Hazards and disasters

Quantitative demographic livelihood and householdinformation

Qualitative sociocultural information includinggovernance and land tenure systems


MountainAgenda


Identifying the changing capacity of mountain regions tostore water in its frozen form (snow glacier ice groundice and permafrost) and supply it to the lowlands (eg Husset al 2017)

Characterizing changes in individual components of thewater balance and combined influence of hydrologicalchanges and anthropogenic activities on water availabilityand quality (Viviroli et al 2011 2020)

Using global and regional climate models to characterizethe changing climate of mountainous regions (eg Urrutiaand Vuille 2009 Palazzi et al 2013 Platts et al 2014Kotlarski et al 2015)

Assessing the level of adaptation and vulnerability ofhuman mountain communities and relevant resiliencetraits to climate change and other socioenvironmentalchanges (Lopez et al 2017 Klein et al 2019)

Recording elevation- and topography-dependent changesin humanndashclimatendashecosystem interactions and particularlymonitoring changes that are likely to result in nonlinearand potentially abrupt impacts on human andenvironmental systems (eg changes in mudflows andGLOFs avalanche occurrence etc)

Identifying key changes that impact mountain biodiversityand ecosystems including the capacity to supportecosystem services and interactions between climatechange and land use at the relevant spatial and temporalscales (UNEP et al 2020)

Recognizing changes in human demography livelihoodscultural practices and governance arrangements andtheir interactions with land use ecosystems climatechange and topography

Many of these thematic areas individually comprisemajor scientific communities and long-standing researchand monitoring efforts some of which are institutionalizedin international programs It is therefore vital to recognizeand build on these networks and standards and collaboratewith the respective scientific communities Other thematicareas mentioned above especially the more interdisciplinary(eg adaptation) one have emerged more recently butlikewise require connections to rapidly growing scientificcommunities and networks

The second task is to continue the development ofmetrics and indicators to be monitored by mountainobservatories to ensure consistency and comparability ofdata in collaboration with GEO Mountains and GlobalClimate Observing System (GCOS) programs and thematicnetworks A set of Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) specificto mountain environments is being developed as an activityof GEO Mountains with the inputs of the relevant MRIWorking Groups (Thornton et al 2021) Mountain-specificECVs are defined with respect to different mountainprocesses such as cryospheric change ecological change andthe hydrological cycle building on and complementing theexisting ECVs as defined by GCOS Protocols for how theseare to be measured using in situ observations and remotesensing and in models are being developed in closecollaboration with experts in the different thematic areas ofexisting ECVs (Thornton et al 2021) Principles for the bestpractice for informatics focused on essential biodiversityvariables (EBVs) were compiled recently to support theemerging EBV operational framework (Hardisty et al 2019)Work is ongoing to develop a set of EBVs characterizing

biodiversity specifically in the mountains (Kulonen et al2020)

The third task is that of facilitation Efforts of the MRIMountain Observatories Working Group will focus onprovision of information about mountain observatories viainteractive websites to give access to metadata and in somecases navigate users to individual observatories andnetworks (MRI nd) Importantly the MRI led by theMountain Observatories Working Group will foster andfacilitate the development of regional networks of mountainobservatories through bringing together regionalresearchers practitioners and international expertsexperienced in running successful mountain observatories ina series of regional workshops The following regions will beinitially targeted Central Asia and the Caucasus East Africathe Hindu Kush Himalaya region and the tropicalsubtropical Andes Workshops and targeted campaigns inother regions such as North America and Europe will bepursued with partners in parallel These workshops will focuson the identification of network-level research issues andfoster multidisciplinary observational programs relevant toboth regional needs and research issues of global relevanceWhen possible regional workshops would be complementedwith in situ courses and summer schools or equivalent topromote the use of the data recruit human resources andfacilitate the development of innovative andtransdisciplinary research

Conclusions

This paper provides a brief review of the current state andchallenges of socioenvironmental monitoring in themountains available networks and products Two opposingtrends were identified reduction in high-elevation in situobservations and increase in the coverage and sophisticationof remote sensing The expansion of automatedmeasurements partly alleviates the lack of in situobservations but the datasets they generate are often short-lived and inconsistent in time and methods and there is nodatabase that would compile at least metadata for thesemeasurements There is no mountain-specific paleodatabasealthough many paleo-datasets are obtained from themountains Spatial resolution remains a problem Regionaland global datasets are designed to capture large-scalespatial variability and do not resolve smaller-scale processesand sharp gradients characterizing mountain environmentsAnother major limitation is a lack of integration ofbiophysical and socioeconomic data and transdisciplinaryresearch collaborations We identified a number of emergingsuccessful multithematic observatories and networks actingat different spatial scales and in different financialframeworks However most observations retain thematicfoci and integrated holistic observations are still a rarity inthe mountainous regions This fragmentation hampers ourability to characterize and quantify the observed andprojected climate and environmental change their impactson high-elevation regions and their consequences fordownstream locations relying on ecosystem services tofacilitate sustainable development The MRI MountainObservatories Working Group working in closecollaboration with GEO Mountains as well as researchersand practitioners from various mountain regions in Asia


MountainAgenda


Africa and the tropical Andes aims to facilitate thedevelopment of multithematic mountain observatories byidentifying mountain-specific essential biophysical andsocioeconomic indicators to be monitored therebycontributing to the development of monitoring protocolsand provision of information about mountain observatoriesand importantly helping to build regional mountainobservatories network communities that can inform ourunderstanding of mountain socialndashecological andenvironmental processes and meet future managementchallenges

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

The authors acknowledge support from their institutions We acknowledge theMRI for its support of the Mountain Observatories Working Group and for theresources provided to host the relevant workshops at which these ideas emergedand where the corresponding activities were proposed The paper itself wassupported by funds (open access fees) provided the MRI The authors are gratefulto Dr Jo~ao Azevedo and Dr Scotty Strachan for their detailed and supportivereviews and to Dr James Thornton MRI Scientific Project Officer for his helpfulcomments all of which helped to improve the original manuscript

O P E N P E E R R E V I E W

This article was reviewed by Jo~ao Azevedo and Scotty Strachan The peer reviewprocess for all MountainAgenda articles is open In shaping target knowledgevalues are explicitly at stake The open review process offers authors andreviewers the opportunity to engage in a discussion about these values

R E F E R E N C E S

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review The GeographicalJournal 169183ndash190 httpsdoiorg1011111475-495900083Gafurov A Leuroudtke S Unger-Shayesteh K Vorogushyn S Scheuroone T Schmidt SKalashnikova O Merz B 2016 MODSNOW-Tool An operational tool for dailysnow cover monitoring using MODIS data Environmental Earth Sciences 751078httpsdoiorg101007s12665-016-5869-x


MountainAgenda


Gardelle J Arnaud Y Berthier E 2011 Contrasted evolution of glacial lakes alongthe Hindu Kush Himalaya mountain range between 1990 and 2009 Global andPlanetary Change 7547ndash55 httpsdoiorg101016jgloplacha201010003Geuroartner-Roer I Naegeli K Huss M Knecht T Machguth H Zemp M 2014 Adatabase of worldwide glacier thickness observations Global and PlanetaryChange 122330ndash344 httpsdoiorg101016jgloplacha201409003Gebrekirstos A Breuroauning A Sass Klassen U Mbow C 2014 Opportunities andapplications of dendrochronology in Africa Current Opinion in EnvironmentalSustainability 648ndash53Giglio L Randerson JT van der Werf GR Kasibhatla PS Collatz GJ Morton DCDeFries RS 2010 Assessing variability and long-term trends in burned area bymerging multiple satellite fire products Biogeosciences 71171ndash1186 httpsdoiorg105194bgd-6-11577-2009Glade T 2013 Landslide occurrence as a response to land use change A reviewof evidence from New Zealand Catena 51297ndash314Gleeson EH Wymann von Dach S Flint CG Greenwood GB Price MF Balsiger JNolin A Vanacker V 2016 Mountains of our future Earth Defining priorities formountain research Mountain Research and Development 36(4)537ndash548httpsdoiorg101659MRD-JOURNAL-D-16-000941Gorelick N Hancher M Dixon M Ilyushchenko S Thau D Moore R 2017 GoogleEarth Engine Planetary-scale geospatial analysis for everyone Remote Sensing ofEnvironment 20218ndash27 httpsdoiorg101016jrse201706031Grabherr G Bjeuroornsen Gurung A Dedieu J-P Haeberli W Hohenwallner D LotterAF Nagy L Pauli H Psenner R 2005 Long-term environmental observations inmountain biosphere reserves Recommendations from the EU GLOCHAMOREProject Mountain Research and Development 25376ndash385 httpsdoiorg1016590276-4741(2005)025[0376LEOIMB]20CO2Grabherr G Gottfried M Pauli H 2000 GLORIA Global Observation ResearchInitiative in Alpine Environments Mountain Research and Development 20190ndash191 httpsdoiorg1016590276-4741(2000)020[0190GAGORI]20CO2Gret-Regamey A Brunner SH Kienast F 2012 Mountain ecosystem servicesWho cares Mountain Research and Development 32(S1)S23ndashS34 httpsdoiorg101659MRD-JOURNAL-D-10-00115S1Griffith DL Alessa L Kliskey A 2018 Community-based observing for socialndashecological science Lessons from the Arctic Frontiers in Ecology and theEnvironment 16S44ndashS51 httpsdoiorg101002fee1798Grissino-Mayer HD Fritts HC 1997 The International Tree-Ring Data Bank Anenhanced global database serving the global scientific community The Holocene7235ndash238 httpsdoiorg101177095968369700700212Haeberli W Whiteman C Shroder JF editors 2015 Snow and Ice-RelatedHazards Risks and Disasters London United Kingdom ElsevierHagedorn F Gavazov K Alexander JM 2019 Above- and belowground linkagesshape responses of mountain vegetation to climate change Science 3651119ndash1123 httpsdoiorg101126scienceaax4737Hardisty AR Michener WK Agosti D Alonso Garcıa E Bastin L Belbin L BowserA Buttigieg PL Canhos DAL Egloff W et al 2019 The Bari Manifesto Aninteroperability framework for essential biodiversity variables EcologicalInformatics 4922ndash31 httpsdoiorg101016jecoinf201811003Harris I Osborn TJ Jones PD Lister DH 2020 Version 4 of the CRU TS monthlyhigh-resolution gridded multivariate climate dataset Scientific Data 7(1)109httpsdoiorg101038s41597-020-0453-3Hilton RG West AJ 2020 Mountains erosion and the carbon cycle NatureReviews Earth and Environment 1284ndash299 httpsdoiorg101038s43017-020-0058-6Himeidan YE Kweka EJ 2012 Malaria in East African highlands during the past30 years Impact of environmental changes Frontiers in Physiology 3315httpsdoiorg103389fphys201200315Hock R Rasul G Adler C Caceres B Gruber S Hirabayashi Y Jackson M Keuroaeuroab AKang S Kutuzov S et al 2019 High mountain areas In Peuroortner H-O Roberts DCMasson-Delmotte V Zhai P Tignor M Poloczanska E Mintenbeck K Alegrıa ANicolai M Okem A et al editors IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryospherein a Changing Climate Geneva Switzerland IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change] pp 131ndash202Holz A Paritsis J Mundo IA Veblen TT Kitzberger T Williamson GJ Araoz EBustos-Schindler C Gonzalez ME Grau HR et al 2017 Southern Annular Modedrives multicentury wildfire activity in southern South America Proceedings of theNational Academy of Science of the United States of America 1149552ndash9557httpsdoiorg101073pnas1705168114Huddleston B Ataman E de Salvo P Zanetti M Bloise M Bel J Franceschini GFe drsquoOstiani L 2003 Towards a GIS-Based Analysis of Mountain Environments andPopulations Rome Italy FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations]Huffman GJ Bolvin DT Nelkin EJ Wolff DB Adler RF Gu G Hong Y Bowman KPStocker EF 2007 The TRMM Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA)Quasi-global multiyear combined-sensor precipitation estimates at fine scalesJournal of Hydrometeorology 838ndash55 httpsdoiorg101175JHM5601Huss M Bookhagen B Huggel C Jacobsen D Bradley RS Clague JJ Vuille MBuytaert W Cayan DR Greenwood G et al 2017 Toward mountains withoutpermanent snow and ice Earthrsquos Future 5418ndash435 httpsdoiorg1010022016EF000514Huss M Hock R 2018 Global-scale hydrological response to future glacier massloss Nature Climate Change 8(2)135ndash140 httpsdoiorg101038s41558-017-0049-x

Jones PD Lister DH Osborn TJ Harpham C Salmon M Morice CP 2012Hemispheric and large-scale land surface air temperature variations An extensiverevision and an update to 2010 Journal of Geophysical Research 117D05127httpsdoiorg1010292011JD017139Kapitsa V Shahgedanova M Machguth H Severskiy I Medeu A 2017Assessment of evolution of mountain lakes and risks of glacier lake outbursts inthe Djungarskiy (Jetysu) Alatau Central Asia using Landsat imagery and glacierbed topography modelling Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 71837ndash1856 httpsdoiorg105194nhess-17-1837-2017Kapitsa V Shahgedanova M Severskiy I Kasatkin N White K Usmanova Z2020 Assessment of changes in mass balance of the Tuyuksu group of glaciersnorthern Tien Shan between 1958 and 2016 using ground-based observationsand Pleiades satellite imagery Frontiers in Earth Science 8259 httpsdoiorg103389feart202000259Kapos V Rhind J Edwards N Price MF Ravilious C 2000 Developing a map ofthe worldrsquos mountain forests In Price MF Butt N editors Forests in SustainableMountain Development A State of Knowledge Report for 2000 IUFRO ResearchSeries Vol 5 New York NY CAB International pp 4ndash9Kargel JS Leonard GJ Bishop MP Kaab A Raup B editors 2014 Global Land IceMeasurements from Space Chichester United Kingdom Springer-PraxisKaufman D McKay N Routson C Erb M Davis B Heiri O Jaccard S Tierney JDeuroatwyler C Axford Y et al 2020 A global database of Holocenepaleotemperature records Scientific Data 7(1)115 httpsdoiorg101038s41597-020-0445-3Kennedy RE Yang Z Gorelick N Braaten J Cavalcante L Cohen WB Healey S2018 Implementation of the LandTrendr algorithm on Google Earth EngineRemote Sensing 10(5)691 httpsdoiorg103390rs10050691Kerr YH Waldteufel P Richaume P Wigneron J-P Ferrazzoli P Mahmoodi A BitarAA Cabot F Gruhier C Juglea SE et al 2012 The SMOS soil moisture retrievalalgorithm Geoscience and Remote Sensing 50(5)1384ndash1403 httpsdoiorg101109TGRS20122184548Klein JA Tucker CM Steger CE Nolin A Reid R Hopping KA Yeh ET PradhanMS Taber A Molden D et al 2019 An integrated community and ecosystem-based approach to disaster risk reduction in mountain systems EnvironmentalScience and Policy 94143ndash152 httpsdoiorg101016jenvsci201812034Kotlarski S Leurouthi D Scheuroar C 2015 The elevation dependency of 21st centuryEuropean climate change An RCM ensemble perspective International Journal ofClimatology 353902ndash3920 httpsdoiorg101002joc4254Kulonen A Adler C Bracher C von Dach SW 2019 Spatial context matters inmonitoring and reporting on sustainable development goals Reflections based onresearch in mountain regions GAIAndashEcological Perspectives on Science and Society2890ndash94 httpsdoiorg1014512gaia2825Kulonen A Adler C Palazzi E 2020 Identifying Essential Biodiversity Variables(EBVs) and Essential Societal Variables (ESVs) in Mountain Environments GEO-GNOME [Global Network for Observations and Information in MountainEnvironments] Workshop Report Bern Switzerland MRI [Mountain ResearchInitiative] httpsdoiorg107892boris144872Kumar L Mutanga O 2018 Google Earth Engine applications since inceptionUsage trends and potential Remote Sensing 10(10)1509 httpsdoiorg103390rs10101509Kutuzov S Lavrentiev I Smirnov A Nosenko G 2019 Volume changes of Elbrusglaciers from 1997 to 2017 Frontiers in Earth Science 7153 httpsdoiorg103389feart201900153Lawrimore JH Menne MJ Gleason BE Williams CN Wuertz DB Vose RS RennieJ 2011 An overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network monthly meantemperature dataset version 3 Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres1161ndash18 httpsdoiorg1010292011JD016187Lievens H Demuzere M Marshall H-P Reichle RH Brucker L Brangers I deRosnay P Dumont M Girotto M Immerzeel WW et al 2019 Snow depthvariability in the Northern Hemisphere mountains observed from space NatureCommunications 104629 httpsdoiorg101038s41467-019-12566-yLinderholm HW Nicolle M Francus P Gajewski K Helama S Korhola A SolominaO Yu Z Zhang P DrsquoAndrea WJ et al 2018 Arctic hydroclimate variability duringthe last 2000 years Current understanding and research challenges Climate ofthe Past 14473ndash514 httpsdoiorg105194cp-14-473-2018Liniger H van Lynden G 2005 Building up and sharing knowledge for betterdecision-making on soil and water conservation in a changing mountainenvironmentmdashThe WOCAT experience In Stocking H Hellemann H White Reditors Renewable Natural Resources Management for Mountain RegionsKatmandu Nepal International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development pp103ndash114Linsbauer A Paul F Haeberli W 2012 Modeling glacier thickness distributionand bed topography over entire mountain ranges with GlabTop Application of afast and robust approach Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface 117F03007 httpsdoiorg1010292011JF002313Llambı LD Becerra MT Peralvo M Avella A Baruffol M Flores LJ 2019Monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem services in Colombiarsquos high Andeanecosystems Toward an integrated strategy Mountain Research and Development39A8ndashA20 httpsdoiorg101659MRD-JOURNAL-D-19-000201Lopez S Jung JK Lopez MF 2017 A hybrid-epistemological approach to climatechange research Linking scientific and smallholder knowledge systems in theEcuadorian Andes Anthropocene 1730ndash45 httpsdoiorg101016jancene201701001


MountainAgenda


Lundquist JD Pepin NC Rochford C 2008 Automated algorithm for mappingregions of cold-air pooling in complex terrain Journal of Geophysical ResearchAtmospheres 113D22107 httpsdoiorg1010292008jd009879Maidment RI Grimes D Allan RP Tarnavsky E Stringer M Hewison T RoebelingR Black E 2014 The 30 year TAMSAT African Rainfall Climatology and Timeseries (TARCAT) dataset Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres119(18)10619ndash10644 httpsdoiorg1010022014JD021927Maidment RI Grimes D Black E Tarnavsky E Young M Greatrex H Allan RPStein T Nkonde E Senkunda S et al 2017 A new long-term daily satellite-basedrainfall dataset for operational monitoring in Africa Scientific Data 4170063httpsdoiorg101038sdata201763Malizia A Blundo C Carilla J Acosta OO Cuesta F Duque A Aguirre N Aguirre ZAtaroff M Baez S et al 2020 Elevation and latitude drives structure and treespecies composition in Andean forests Results from a large-scale plot networkPLoS One 151ndash18 httpsdoiorg101371journalpone0231553Marchant R Richer S Boles O Capitani C Courtney-Mustaphi CJ Lane PPrendergast ME Stump D De Cort G Kaplan JO et al 2018 Drivers andtrajectories of land cover change in East Africa Human and environmentalinteractions from 6000 years ago to present Earth Science Reviews 178322ndash378 httpsdoiorg101016jearscirev201712010Marti R Gascoin S Berthier E Pinel MD Houet T Laffly D 2016 Mapping snowdepth in open alpine terrain from stereo satellite imagery Cryosphere 101361ndash1380 httpsdoiorg105194tc-10-1361-2016Martin MA Ghent D Pires AC Geuroottsche FM Cermak J Remedios JJ 2019Comprehensive in situ validation of five satellite land surface temperaturedatasets over multiple stations and years Remote Sensing 11(5)479 httpsdoiorg103390rs11050479Marzeion B Champollion N Haeberli W Langley K Leclercq P Paul F 2017Observation-based estimates of global glacier mass change and its contributionto sea-level change Surveys in Geophysics 38105ndash130 httpsdoiorg101007s10712-016-9394-yMengist W Soromessa T Legese G 2020 Ecosystem services research inmountainous regions A systematic literature review on current knowledge andresearch gaps Science of the Total Environment 702134581 httpsdoiorg101016jscitotenv2019134581Menne MJ Williams CN Gleason BE Rennie JJ Lawrimore JH 2018 The GlobalHistorical Climatology Network monthly temperature dataset Version 4 Journalof Climate 31(24)9835ndash9854 httpsdoiorg101175JCLI-D-18-00941Meybeck M Green PA Veurooreuroosmarty CJ 2001 A new typology for mountains andother relief classes An application to global continental water resources andpopulation distribution Mountain Research and Development 21(1)34ndash45Millar CI 2004 The Consortium for Integrated Climate Research in WesternMountains (CIRMOUNT) In Lee C Schaaf T editors Global Change Research inMountain Biosphere Reserves Proceedings of the International LaunchingWorkshop 10ndash13 November 2003 Paris France UNESCO [United NationsEducational Scientific and Cultural Organization] pp 154ndash158Mohanty BP Cosh MH Lakshmi V Montzka C 2017 Soil moisture remotesensing State-of-the-science Vadose Zone Journal 16(1)vzj2016100105httpsdoiorg102136vzj201610010Mokria M Gebrekirstos A Abiyu A Van Noordwijk M Breuroauning A 2017 Multi-century tree-ring precipitation record reveals increasing frequency of extreme dryevents in the upper Blue Nile River catchment Global Change Biology 235436ndash5454 httpsdoiorg101111gcb13809Morelli TL Daly C Dobrowski SZ Dulen DM Ebersole JL Jackson ST LundquistJD Millar CI Maher SP Monahan WB et al 2016 Managing climate changerefugia for climate adaptation PLoS ONE 11(8)e0159909 httpsdoiorg101371journalpone0159909MRI [Mountain Research Initiative] nd Working groups Mountainobservatories Mountain Research Initiative httpsmountainresearchinitiativeorgactivitiescommunity-led-activitiesworking-groups2097-mountain-observatories accessed on 15 March 2021Mu~noz R Huggel C Frey H Cochachin A Haeberli W 2020 Glacial lake depthand volume estimation based on a large bathymetric dataset from the CordilleraBlanca Peru Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 451510ndash1527 httpsdoiorg101002esp4826Nogues-Bravo D Araujo MB Errea MP Martınez-Rica JP 2007 Exposure ofglobal mountain systems to climate warming during the 21st century GlobalEnvironmental Change 17420ndash428 httpsdoiorg101016jgloenvcha200611007Nolan C Overpeck JT Allen JRM Anderson PM Betancourt JL Binney HA BrewerS Bush MB Chase BM Cheddadi R et al 2018 Past and future globaltransformation of terrestrial ecosystems under climate change Science361(6405)920ndash923 httpsdoiorg101126scienceaan5360Osborn TJ Jones PD 2014 The CRUTEM4 land-surface air temperature datasetConstruction previous versions and dissemination via Google Earth Earth SystemScience Data 661ndash68 httpsdoiorg105194essd-6-61-2014Palazzi E Von Hardenberg J Provenzale A 2013 Precipitation in the Hindu-KushKarakoram Himalaya Observations and future scenarios Journal of GeophysicalResearch Atmospheres 11885ndash100 httpsdoiorg1010292012JD018697Pauli H Gottfried M Lamprecht A Niessner S Rumpf S Winkler M Steinbauer KGrabherr G coordinating authors and editors 2015 The GLORIA Field ManualmdashStandard Multi-Summit Approach Supplementary Methods and Extra Approaches5th edition Vienna Austria GLORIA [Global Observation Research Initiative INAlpine Environments]-Coordination Austrian Academy of Sciences and Universityof Natural Resources and Life Sciences

Payne D Snethlage M Geschke J Spehn EM Fisher M 2020 Nature and peoplein the Andes East African Mountains European Alps and Hindu Kush HimalayaCurrent research and future directions Mountain Research and Development40(2)A1ndashA4 httpsdoiorg101659MRD-JOURNAL-D-19-000751Pepin N Bradley RS Diaz HF Baraer M Caceres EB Forsythe N Fowler HGreenwood G Hashmi MZ Liu XD et al 2015 Elevation-dependent warming inmountain regions of the world Nature Climate Change 5424ndash430 httpsdoiorg101038nclimate2563Pepin N Deng H Zhang H Zhang F Kang S Yao T 2019 An examination oftemperature trends at high elevations across the Tibetan Plateau The use ofMODIS LST to understand patterns of elevation-dependent warming Journal ofGeophysical Research Atmospheres 1245738ndash5756 httpsdoiorg1010292018JD029798Pfeffer WT Arendt AA Bliss A Bolch T Cogley JG Gardner AS Hagen J-O HockR Kaser G Kienholz C et al 2014 The Randolph Glacier Inventory A globallycomplete inventory of glaciers Journal of Glaciology 60 (221)537ndash552 httpsdoiorg1031892014JoG13J176Pfeifer M Disney M Quaife T Marchant R 2012 Terrestrial ecosystems fromspace A review of earth observation products for macroecology applicationsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography 21(6)603ndash624 httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100712xPiras M Taddia G Forno MG Gattiglio M Aicardi I Dabove P Russo SL Lingua A2017 Detailed geological mapping in mountain areas using an unmanned aerialvehicle Application to the Rodoretto Valley NW Italian Alps Geomatics NaturalHazards and Risk 8137ndash149 httpsdoiorg1010801947570520161225228Platts PJ Garcia RA Hof C Foden W Hansen LA Rahbek C Burgess ND 2014Conservation implications of omitting narrow-ranging taxa from speciesdistribution models now and in the future Diversity and Distributions 201307ndash1320 httpsdoiorg101111ddi12244Platts PJ McClean CJ Lovett JC Marchant R 2008 Predicting tree distributionsin an East African biodiversity hotspot Model selection data bias and envelopeuncertainty Ecological Modelling 218(1ndash2)121ndash134 httpsdoiorg101016jecolmodel200806028Poesen J 2018 Soil erosion in the Anthropocene Research needs Earth SurfaceProcesses and Landforms 4364ndash84 httpsdoiorg101002esp4250Rayback SA Duncan JA Schaberg PG Kosiba AM Hansen CF Murakami PF2020 The DendroEcological Network A cyberinfrastructure for the storagediscovery and sharing of tree-ring and associated ecological dataDendrochronologia 60125678 httpsdoiorg101016jdendro2020125678Rodrıguez E Morris CS Belz JE 2006 A global assessment of the SRTMperformance Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 72249ndash260httpsdoiorg1014358PERS723249Rogora M Frate L Carranza ML Freppaz M Stanisci A Bertani I Bottarin RBrambilla A Canullo R Carbognani M et al 2018 Assessment of climate changeeffects on mountain ecosystems through a cross-site analysis in the Alps andApennines Science of the Total Environment 6241429ndash1442 httpsdoiorg101016jscitotenv201712155Saravia A Bievre D 2013 CONDESAN Better knowledge better decisionsSupporting sustainable Andean mountains development Mountain Research andDevelopment 33339ndash342 httpsdoiorg101659MRD-JOURNAL-D-13-000561Sayre A Breyer S Aniello P Wright DJ Payne D 2018 A new high-resolution mapof world mountains and an online tool for visualizing and comparingcharacterizations of global mountain distributions Mountain Research andDevelopment 38240ndash249 httpsdoiorg101659MRD-JOURNAL-D-17-001071Schutz BE Zwally HJ Shuman CA Hancock D DiMarzio JP 2005 Overview ofthe ICESat mission Geophysical Research Letters 321ndash4 httpsdoiorg1010292005GL024009Shahgedanova M Afzal M Hagg W Kapitsa V Kasatkin N Mayr E Rybak OSaidaliyeva Z Severskiy I Usmanova Z et al 2020 Emptying water towersImpacts of future climate and glacier change on river discharge in the northernTien Shan Central Asia Water 12627 httpsdoiorg103390w12030627Shahgedanova M Afzal M Severskiy I Usmanova Z Saidaliyeva Z Kapitsa VKasatkin N Dolgikh S 2018 Changes in the mountain river discharge in thenorthern Tien Shan since the mid-20th century Results from the analysis of ahomogeneous daily streamflow dataset from seven catchments Journal ofHydrology 5641133ndash1152 httpsdoiorg101016jjhydrol201808001Shea JM Wagnon P Immerzeel WW Biron R Brun F Pellicciotti F 2015 Acomparative high-altitude meteorological analysis from three catchments in theNepalese Himalaya International Journal of Water Resources Development 31174ndash200 httpsdoiorg1010800790062720151020417Shean D 2017 High Mountain Asia 8-meter DEMs Derived from Cross-Track OpticalImagery Version 1 Boulder CO NASA [National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration] National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active ArchiveCenter httpsdoiorg1050670MCWJJH5ABYO accessed on 12 August2020Skidmore AK Pettorelli N Coops NC Geller GN Hansen M Lucas R Meuroucher CAOrsquoConnor B Paganini M Pereira HM et al 2015 Environmental science Agreeon biodiversity metrics to track from space Nature 523403ndash405 httpsdoiorg101038523403aSkofronick-Jackson G Petersen WA Berg W Kidd C Stocker EF Kirschbaum DBKakar R Braun SA Huffman GJ Iguchi T et al 2017 The Global Precipitation


MountainAgenda


Measurement (GPM) mission for science and society Bulletin of the AmericanMeteorological Society 981679ndash1695 httpsdoiorg101175BAMS-D-15-003061Solomina ON Bradley RS Jomelli V Geirsdottir A Kaufman DS Koch J McKayNP Masiokas M Miller G Nesje A et al 2016 Glacier fluctuations during thepast 2000 years Quaternary Science Reviews 14961ndash90 httpsdoiorg101016jquascirev201604008Somers LD McKenzie JM 2020 A review of groundwater in high mountainenvironments WIREs Water 7e1475 httpsdoiorg101002wat21475Stephens L Fuller D Boivin N Rick T Gauthier N Kay A Marwick B ArmstrongCG Barton CM Denham T et al 2019 Archaeological assessment revealsEarthrsquos early transformation through land use Science 365897ndash902 httpsdoiorg101126scienceaax1192Strachan S Kelsey EP Brown RF Dascalu S Harris F Kent G Lyles B McCurdyG Slater D Smith K 2016 Filling the data gaps in mountain climateobservatories through advanced technology refined instrument siting and afocus on gradients Mountain Research and Development 36518ndash527 httpsdoiorg101659MRD-JOURNAL-D-16-000281Sullivan PF Csank AZ 2016 Contrasting sampling designs among archiveddatasets Implications for synthesis efforts Tree Physiology 361057ndash1059httpsdoiorg101093treephystpw067Sun Q Miao C Duan Q Ashouri H Sorooshian S Hsu KL 2018 A review of globalprecipitation datasets Data sources estimation and intercomparisons Reviewsof Geophysics 5679ndash107 httpsdoiorg1010022017RG000574Tarnavsky E Grimes D Maidment R Black E Allan RP Stringer M Chadwick RKayitakire F 2014 Extension of the TAMSAT satellite-based rainfall monitoringover Africa and from 1983 to present Journal of Applied Meteorology andClimatology 532805ndash2822 httpsdoiorg101175JAMC-D-14-00161Thorn JPR Klein JA Steger C Hopping KA Capitani C Tucker CM Nolin AW ReidRS Seidl R Chitale VS et al 2020 A systematic review of participatory scenarioplanning to envision mountain socialndashecological systems futures Ecology andSociety 25(3)6 httpsdoiorg105751ES-11608-250306Thornton JM Palazzi E Pepin N Cristofanelli P Essery R Kotlarski S Giuliani GGuigoz G Kulonen A Li X et al 2021 Toward a definition of Essential MountainClimate Variables One Earth 4(6)S2590-3322(21)00248-7 httpsdoiorg101016joneear202105005UNEP [United Nations Environment Programme] GRID-Arendal GMBA and MRI2020 Elevating Mountains in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework 20Policy Brief Bern Switzerland MRI [Mountain Research Initiative] httpswwwmountainresearchinitiativeorgimagesArticles_Newsletters_2020FEB_2020ElevatingMountainsPolicyBriefpdf accessed on 20 July 2020Urrutia R Vuille M 2009 Climate change projections for the tropical Andes usinga regional climate model Temperature and precipitation simulations for the endof the 21st century Journal of Geophysical Research 114D02108 httpsdoiorg1010292008JD011021Virtual Alpine Observatory 2017 Strategy Virtual Alpine Observatory MunichGermany Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protectionhttpswwwvaobayerndedocvao_strategy_v18pdf assessed on 20 July2020Viviroli D Archer DR Buytaert W Fowler HJ Greenwood GB Hamlet AF Huang YKoboltschnig G Litaor MI Lopez-Moreno JI et al 2011 Climate change andmountain water resources Overview and recommendations for researchmanagement and policy Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 15471ndash504httpsdoiorg105194hess-15-471-2011

Viviroli D Deurourr HH Messerli B Meybeck M Weingartner R 2007 Mountains ofthe world water towers for humanity Typology mapping and global significanceWater Resources Research 431ndash13 httpsdoiorg1010292006WR005653Viviroli D Kummu M Meybeck M Kallio M Wada Y 2020 Increasingdependence of lowland populations on mountain water resources NatureSustainability 3917ndash928 httpsdoiorg101038s41893-020-0559-9Vuille M Carey M Huggel C Buytaert W Rabatel A Jacobsen D Soruco AVillacis M Yarleque C Elison Timm O et al 2018 Rapid decline of snow and icein the tropical Andes Impacts uncertainties and challenges ahead Earth-ScienceReviews 176195ndash213 httpsdoiorg101016jearscirev201709019Weiss DJ Walsh SJ 2009 Remote sensing of mountain environments GeographyCompass 31ndash21 httpsdoiorg101111j1749-8198200800200xWikstrom Jones K Wolken GJ Hill D Crumley R Arendt A Joughin J Setiawan L2018 Community Snow Observations (CSO) A citizen science campaign tovalidate snow remote sensing products and hydrological models InternationalSnow Science Workshop Proceedings Proceedings International Snow ScienceWorkshop Innsbruck Austria 2018 httparclibmontanaedusnow-scienceitem2566 accessed on 26 March 2021Williams JW Blois J Goring SJ Grimm EC Smith AJ Uhen MD 2019 TheNeotoma Paleoecology Database and EarthLife Consortium Building communitydata resources to mobilize dark long-tail records of past biodiversity dynamicsAbstract B53O-2614 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 9ndash13 December2019 San Francisco USA Astrophysics Data System httpsuiadsabsharvardeduabs2019AGUFMB53O2614Wabstract accessed on 26 March 2021Williams JW Grimm EC Blois JL Charles DF Davis EB Goring SJ Graham RWSmith AJ Anderson M Arroyo-Cabrales J et al 2018 The Neotoma PaleoecologyDatabase a multiproxy international community-curated data resourceQuaternary Research 89(1)156ndash177 httpsdoiorg101017qua2017105Wirth SB Gilli A Simonneau A Ariztegui D Vanniere B Glur L Chapron E MagnyM Anselmetti FS 2013 A 2000 year long seasonal record of floods in thesouthern European Alps Geophysical Research Letters 404025ndash4029 httpsdoiorg101002grl50741WMO [World Meteorological Organization] 1994 Guide to Hydrological PracticeData Acquisition and Processing Analysis Forecasting and Other Applications WMOPublication 168 Geneva Switzerland WMOWMO [World Meteorological Organization] 2008 Guide to MeteorologicalInstruments and Methods of Observation WMO No 8 7th edition (1st edition1954) Geneva Switzerland WMOWohl E Dwire K Sutfin N Polvi L Bazan R 2012 Mechanisms of carbon storagein mountainous headwater rivers Nature Communications 31263 httpsdoiorg101038ncomms2274Yarleque C Vuille M Hardy DR Timm OE Cruz JD Ramos H Rabatel A 2018Projections of the future disappearance of the Quelccaya ice cap in the CentralAndes Scientific Reports 815564 httpsdoiorg101038s41598-018-33698-zZemp M Hoelzle M Haeberli W 2009 Six decades of glacier mass-balanceobservations A review of the worldwide monitoring network Annals of Glaciology50101ndash111 httpsdoiorg103189172756409787769591Zhao S Pederson N DrsquoOrangeville L HilleRisLambers J Boose E Penone CBauer B Jiang Y Manzanedo RD 2019 The International Tree-Ring Data Bank(ITRDB) revisited Data availability and global ecological representativity Journalof Biogeography 46355ndash368 httpsdoiorg101111jbi13488Zhou H Aizen E Aizen V 2017 Constructing a long-term monthly climate datasetin Central Asia International Journal of Climatology 38(3)1463ndash1475 httpsdoiorg101002joc5259


MountainAgenda


the impacts of global environmental and climate changeBoth the production and transmission of theseenvironmental services occur in an environmentcharacterized by prominent biophysical elevationalgradients as well as widespread natural hazards and threatsin the form of extreme weather events earthquakeslandslides rock falls avalanches volcanic eruptionswildfires debris flows and glacier lake outburst floods(GLOFs) (Glade 2013 Balthazar et al 2015 Haeberli et al2015) Many of these hazards are modulated by highlyvariable weather conditions and over the longer termclimatic change and its interactions with land cover and landuse change

Mountain environments are expected to experienceparticularly wide-ranging effects from current global climatechange (Hock et al 2019) Rates of warming often depend onelevation (Pepin et al 2015) Although data availability andquality are lower (particularly at high elevations) changes inprecipitation cloud cover wind solar radiation and otherclimatic variables are also likely to be strongly dependent onmountain elevation gradients (Lawrimore et al 2011 Viviroliet al 2011) In most mountain regions snowpack and glaciersare receding (Hock et al 2019) leading to a positive feedbackloop as surface albedo decreases and hydrological regimesdownstream become less predictable (Huss et al 2017) Thecompression of ecological zones means that movements ofspecies upslope can be rapid Some species typically foundin the foothills and low montane zone responding to driverssuch as climate change by shifting upslope may benefitthrough increases in available area (Elsen and Tingley 2015)However there is nowhere to go for the true cold-adaptedspecies on high mountain summits (Nogues-Bravo et al 2007Hagedorn et al 2019) and many may face local extinction(Elsen and Tingley 2015) It is not just impacts of climatechange continued fragmentation of habitats caused bychanges in land use is another key factor leading to local oreven global extinction of mountain species The interactionamong changes in land use fragmentation and changingclimates is challenging the adaptative capacity of species andecosystems

As complex socialndashecological systems mountains exhibitemergent properties nonlinearity and dynamic feedbackmechanisms (Klein et al 2019) Interacting pressures fromchanging climates socioeconomic development populationgrowth competing land uses and national and internationalpolicies threaten the potential future sustainability andresilience of mountain systems across the world (Payne et al2020 Thorn et al 2020) Nowhere are these pressures andthe need to understand the interactions betweencommunities and environment more acute than in themountainous regions in developing countries These regionsface multiple and simultaneous threats spanning climaticpolitical economic institutional and biophysical domainsCompelling evidence has accumulated that theseinteractions should be viewed as a globally interconnectedcomplex adaptive system in which heterogeneitynonlinearity and innovation play formative roles (Clark andHarley 2020 Payne et al 2020) However there are alsoemerging opportunities to foster sustainability that take intoaccount history and the complexity of socialndashecologicalsystems and use novel and inclusive participatory tools basedon good-quality data and insight

Interactions among people ecosystems andenvironments within mountain systems and betweenmountains and other systems urgently require integratedobservation This can be used to quantify the signals ofchange in environmental characteristics compositionstructure and distribution of ecosystems and should bedelivered rapidly and ideally in near real time Suchmonitoring strategies are key to understanding andsupporting actions that aim to address development andlivelihood challenges on a scientifically supported basis Ourpotential to adequately observe monitor and report thesechanges and their complex interactions also offers thechance to identify opportunities for development andinnovation Despite recent advances fully integrated long-term observations of environmental and social systems havereceived little attention This is due to difficulties incombining approaches and methods used in natural andsocial sciences and bias toward specialization within thelimits of established academic disciplines There are alsovarious institutional conceptual and operational challengesto coordinating these efforts (Funnell and Price 2003) whichare still relevant today

The necessity and expectation of engaging humanndashenvironment relationships explicitly in knowledgegeneration are now growing from a policy standpoint(Gleeson et al 2016) Key global policy frameworks haveemerged since 2015 These include but are not limited tothe United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda and its SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) the Intergovernmental Platformon Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services the UN SendaiFramework for Disaster Risk Reduction the UN FrameworkConvention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement aswell as the current post-2020 process to establish a GlobalFramework on Biodiversity under the Convention onBiological Diversity (CBD) These global policy frameworksinfluence the utility of long-term and integrated monitoringcampaigns not least in the mountains They also come withmetrics (ie goals targets andor indicators) that promulgatecertain requirements on the types and formats of data to becollected for monitoring purposes An additionalconsideration is that reporting and assessing against thesemetrics can pose some methodological challenges inmountain-specific contexts such as disaggregated and sparsedata at the relevant spatial and temporal scales (Kulonen etal 2019)

A Global Network of Mountain Observatories (GNOMO)was developed in the 2000s It was spurred forward bymultithematic consistent comparable and reasonablyuniform monitoring with adequate precision and accuracyin mountainous regions providing data for scientificresearch management and policy requirements (Strachan etal 2016) The GNOMO initiative originally grassroots wassupported and coordinated by the Mountain ResearchInitiative (MRI) network In 2016 the Global Network forObservations and Information in Mountain Environments(now known as GEO Mountains) co-led by the MRI wasestablished as a Group on Earth Observations (GEO)initiative It provided additional means to furtherinstitutionalize support and integrate GNOMO as part ofthis broader framework (Adler et al 2018) More recentlyfollowing an initiative from members of the MRI ScienceLeadership Council (SLC) the MRI established a MountainObservatories Working Group (Adler Balsiger et al 2020)


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mountain observatories: status and prospects for enhancing

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