Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
and.Brown.1992)..Some.species.may.only.be.restricted.to.mountains.because.human.
land-use.intensity.is.now.so.great.at.lower.elevations.(Nogués-Bravo.et.al..2008)..It.
is.now.essential.to.minimize.threats.such.as.these.to.the.high-elevation.habitats.to.
which.species.are.being.progressively.restricted.by.climate.change.
Whether.most.species.will.shift.predictably.toward.mountain.summits,.as.well.as.
the.area.requirements.for.long-term.persistence.by.mountain.species,.are.also.uncer-
tain.(e.g.,.see.Randin.et.al..2009;.Tingley.et.al..2009)..To.counter.this.uncertainty,.
conservation.managers.need.to.use.the.heterogeneity.in.topography.and.vegetation.at.
their.disposal.to.maintain.as.wide.a.variety.of.microclimates.as.possible..This.might.
involve.ensuring.that.regional.protected.areas.include.representative.samples.at.dif-
ferent. altitudes. of. habitats. ranging. from. open. to. wooded,. as. well. as. a. wide. range.
of. aspects,. slopes,. and. exposures. (hilltops. and. valleys).. Such. an. approach. should.
increase.the.likelihood.that.suitable.microclimates.are.available.to.species,.even.if.
their.altitudinal.or.vegetation.associations.shift.as.the.climate.changes..For.example,.
the. butterly.
Parnassius apollo
in. central. Spain. is. associated. with. more. shrubby.
habitats. at. lower. elevations. and. more. open. habitats. at. high. elevations,. probably.
related. to. prevailing. climatic. conditions. (Ashton. et. al.. 2009).. Another. instructive.
example.comes.from.the.mountains.of.Utah,.where.small.mammal.species.associ-
ated.with.cool.and.moist.habitats.have.increased.in.abundance.and.distribution.rela-
tive.to.xeric.species,.despite.warming.temperatures.and.increased.drought.in.recent.
decades. (Rowe. 2007).. The. driver. of. this. change. appears. to. be. reduced. livestock.
grazing.pressure.since.the.early.twentieth.century,.showing.how.land.management.
could.mitigate.against.the.effects.of.climate.warming.
Climate.change.could.alter.the.pressures.or.priorities.of.conservation.in.moun-
tains.for.reasons.ranging.from.socioeconomic.to.ecological..For.example,.in.some.
regions.pressure.from.ski.developments.may.be.alleviated.as.snowfall.becomes.less.
reliable,. but. reduced. snowfall. could. itself. have. negative. consequences. for. many.
alpine. plants. (Giménez-Benavides. et. al.. 2007).. High-altitude. plant. communities.
could.also.be.threatened.by.increased.competition.from.new.high-elevation.colonists.
such.as.shrubs.and.trees.(e.g.,.Sanz-Elorza.et.al..2003)..Indeed,.managers.of.moun-
tain.habitats.may.need.to.develop.strategies.for.conserving.new.arrivals.or.emergent.
communities,.following.the.kinds.of.uphill.range.shifts.described.in.this.chapter.
Overall,.the.composition.of.ecological.communities.may.be.increasingly.dynamic.
as. a. result. of. climate. change,. particularly. in. mountains. where. species. can. track.
climatic. conditions. over. relatively. small. distances.. Such. dynamism. presents. both.
new.opportunities.and.new.challenges.for.conservation.managers,.who.may.need.to.
set.increasingly.lexible.targets.and.prioritize.the.conservation.of.heterogeneity.as.a.
means.to.conserve.mountain.biodiversity.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Víctor.J..Monserrrat,.Javier.Gutiérrez,.Sonia.B..Díez,.David.Andrés,.David.Martínez,.
Rosa.Agudo,.Miriam.Jiménez,.and.Irene.Martínez.assisted.with.research.on.Spanish.
butterly.distributions,.which.was.funded.by.the.Spanish.Ministry.for.Education.and.
Science.(grant.reference.CGL2005-06820/BOS).and.the.British.Ecological.Society.
(ECPG0410)..Erik.Beever.and.three.anonymous.referees.gave.helpful.comments.on.
