A new article from the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) reviews existing knowledge and knowledge gaps on mountain biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human well-being under global change.

Published in the journal Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability (Volume 29, December 2017), the article ‘Opportunities for Research on Mountain Biodiversity Under Global Change’ highlights that mountains worldwide host rich biodiversity, are home to hundreds of millions of people, and provide billions of upland and lowland inhabitants with vital ecosystem services. By altering mountain ecosystems and their biodiversity, global change modifies this picture substantially.

The paper’s authors, Davnah Payne, Eva M Spehn, Mark Snethlage, and Markus Fischer of the GMBA, argue that our ability to understand, predict, and sustainably manage mountain biodiversity and to support human well-being requires concerted research efforts in natural and social sciences and comparative analyses of biological and social–ecological systems within and across mountain ranges. Specific examples given illustrate how the GMBA will continue to support these efforts in the future.

The full article is available for download here.