Welcome to GMBA
The Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) is a cross-cutting network of DIVERSITAS with the task to explore and explain the great biological richness of the mountains of the world.
2013-05-16GMBA Steering Committee Meeting
Mount Rigi, Switzerland, 24-26 April 2013
Members of the GMBA Steering committee met in the Swiss Alps to discuss achievements, the future development strategy, plans and collaborations with other organisations.
From left to right: Markus Fischer, Nigel Yoccoz, Christoph Küffer, Eva Spehn (Science officer), Christian Körner (Chair), Greg Greenwood, Katrin Rudmann-Maurer (Scientific coordinator), Ken Green
2013-05-02Conference: International Tundra Experiment ITEX More than 20 years of tundra vegetation change research
September 17-21 2013, in Bergün, Switzerland
The ITEX network has focused on the impacts of climate change on plant species in tundra and alpine vegetation. All researchers who are interested in changes in arctic and alpine tundra are welcome to this conference. Contributions are welcome that range from observations of variability to experimental manipulations. A post-conference excursion will be organised on September 21 2013. A special issue of Alpine Botany open to contributions of conference participants will be published in 2014.
Dates and deadlines for both conferences (see also announcement below)
15 April 2013 Call for papers starts, Registration starts
1 June 2013 Early bird registration ends
1 July 2013 Abstract submission ends
15 July 2013 Decision on talks and posters and support for early-career scientists
1 Aug 2013 Registration ends
First Circular and Call for Papers: http://www.wsl.ch/alpine-arctic-flora
2013-05-02Conference: Faster, Higher, More? Past, Present and Future Dynamics of Alpine and Arctic Flora under Climate Change
September 22-25 2013, in Bergün, Switzerland
The conference aims at presenting current research in climate-driven changes in species distribution in alpine and arctic environments. It further intends to link research efforts across disciplines and regions and to discuss potential implications on conservation efforts and land management in the respective areas. The conference is open to all interested researchers and practitioners. A post-conference excursion will be organised on September 25 2013. A special issue of Alpine Botany open to contributions of conference participants will be published in 2014.
First Circular and Call for Papers: http://www.wsl.ch/alpine-arctic-flora
2013-04-04Conference: Swiss-Austrian Mountain Days 2013
June 11-13 2013, in Mittersill, Austria
The Mountain Days 2013 address mountain researchers working in Switzerland and/or Austria, including early-career scientists, to share their visions and experience. The conference is organized in coordination with the Symposium for Research in Protected Areas (June 10-12). The Swiss-Austrian Mountain Days are a departure point for exchanging information on ongoing and planned research activities in Switzerland and Austria, fostering existing and stimulating new research partnerships, designing and developing thematic crossboarder research networks, developing research priorities and strategies in concert with existing research agendas and more. The conference is free of charge and registration is open until Mid-May.
For more information see http://www.chat-mountainalliance.eu/en/mountain-days.html
For more information about the Symposium for Research in Protected Areas see http://www.hohetauern.at/en/research/forschungssymposien.html
2013-03-14Mountain Research and Development, Volume 33, Issue 1 available online and open access
This Open Issue of MRD offers insights into institutional and ecological aspects of rangeland management in Nepal; examines the effects of air pollution on spruce in the Krkonoše Mountains, Czech Republic, and of various abiotic habitat conditions on dwarf pine in the Tatra Mountains, Slovakia; and presents an improved method of vegetation classification in the Spanish Pyrenees. Further topics include adaptive capacity in Himalayan hill farming, geospatial selection of reforestation areas in Mexico, downscaling of climate projections in Colorado, land surface temperature assessment in Tibet, and effects of weather on glacial debris flows in Tibet.
Volume 33, Issue 1 is available online and open access: http://www.bioone.org/toc/mred/33/1
2013-03-04Postdoctoral position on resilience of mountain grasslands in a globalization context
Prof. Eric Lambin seeks applications for a 2-year full-time postdoctoral research position to work on a new collaborative research project on human-environment interactions in marginal grasslands and their resilience to global environmental and social changes in mountain environments of Europe. The research will focus on whether regional integration and globalization enhance or threaten resilience of these grasslands through their effects on movements of goods, people and information. Study sites are located in the French and Austrian Alps, where other teams will also conduct research as part of the project.
The successful candidate will be based at the Earth and Life Institute of the University of Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium). Applicants will have research experience in the field of land use change and human-‐environmental studies and should speak English and French. Expected starting date is summer 2013. Candidates should send a curriculum vitae, recent publications, and the name of three persons who could provide recommendations to Professor Eric Lambin: eric.lambin[at]uclouvain.be. The search will remain open until a suitable candidate is found.
Description of the research team at: http://www.elic.ucl.ac.be/repomodx/elic/index.php?id=92