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Journals
Geosciences
Special Issues
Climate Variability and Landscape Dynamics in Mountain Ecosystems
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Climate Variability and Landscape Dynamics in Mountain Ecosystems

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2020) | Viewed by 5503

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jussi Grießinger

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Wetterkreuz 15, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany
Interests: effects of climate change on forest ecosystems; landscape history; δ18O and δ13C in tree rings; high mountain areas
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, mountain ecosystems have generally been characterized by a high degree of spatiotemporal changes, mainly driven by climate change. Enhanced rainfall variability, elevation-dependent changes, in temperature and an increase in extreme events coupled with enhanced morphodynamic activity and profound changes in the hydrosphere and cryosphere highly affect mountain ecosystems. Still, a profound data basis for the verification of climate change, long-term climate variability, and the quantification on the specific impacts of climate change on mountain landscapes is fragmentary. Therefore, I would like to invite you to submit articles about your recent studies, experimental research, and specific case studies with respect to the following topics of great interest for research on mountain ecosystems:

  • Quantification of (elevation dependent) climate change in mountain ecosystems;
  • Past climate variability using proxy records;
  • Glacier dynamics and corresponding processes caused by climate variability and recent climate change in mountain areas;
  • GIS-based analyses on morphodynamics in mountain landscapes;
  • Studies on natural risks and hazards;
  • Effects of climate variability on local land-use systems.

Dr. Jussi Grießinger
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Mountain ecosystems
  • Climate variability
  • Time-series analysis
  • Enhanced morphodynamics
  • Impacts of climate change
  • Climate-induced risks and hazards
  • Remote sensing of glacier dynamics
  • Paleoclimate variability

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 5793 KiB  
Article
Glacier Changes in the Semi-Arid Huasco Valley, Chile, between 1986 and 2016
by Katharina Hess, Susanne Schmidt, Marcus Nüsser, Carina Zang and Juliane Dame
Geosciences 2020, 10(11), 429; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10110429 - 29 Oct 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2709
Abstract
In the semi-arid and arid regions of the Chilean Andes, meltwater from the cryosphere is a key resource for the local economy and population. In this setting, climate change and economic activities foster water scarcity and resource conflicts. The study presents a detailed [...] Read more.
In the semi-arid and arid regions of the Chilean Andes, meltwater from the cryosphere is a key resource for the local economy and population. In this setting, climate change and economic activities foster water scarcity and resource conflicts. The study presents a detailed glacier and rock glacier inventory for the Huasco valley (28–29° S) in northern Chile based on a multi-temporal remote sensing approach. The results indicate a glacier-covered area of 16.35 ± 3.06 km2 (n = 167) and, additionally, 50 rock glaciers covering an area of about 8.6 km2 in 2016. About 81% of the ice-bodies are smaller than 0.1 km2, and only four glaciers are larger than 1 km2. The change analysis reveals a more or less stable period between 1986 and 2000 and a drastic decline in the glacier-covered area by about 35% between 2000 and 2016. The detailed assessment of six subregions indicates a more pronounced glacier decrease in the vicinity of the Pascua Lama mining project. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Variability and Landscape Dynamics in Mountain Ecosystems)
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24 pages, 5072 KiB  
Article
Water Soil Erosion Evaluation in a Small Alpine Catchment Located in Northern Italy: Potential Effects of Climate Change
by Francesca Berteni and Giovanna Grossi
Geosciences 2020, 10(10), 386; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10100386 - 27 Sep 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2442
Abstract
Water erosion and evaluation of the average annual soil loss considering the potential effects of climate change are the focus of this study, based on the application of two empirical models, the RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) and the EPM (Erosion Potential [...] Read more.
Water erosion and evaluation of the average annual soil loss considering the potential effects of climate change are the focus of this study, based on the application of two empirical models, the RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) and the EPM (Erosion Potential Method), to an Italian case study. A small mountain basin, the Guerna creek watershed, is located in the Central Southern Alps (Lombardy, Southern Alps, Bergamo), and it has been affected in the past by flooding and erosion events, which stressed the hydraulic weaknesses of the study area. Three different future climate scenarios were built for the middle of this century (from 2041 to 2060) on the basis of CORDEX data and Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) set by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) future scenarios: RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5. As concerns climate, precipitation and air temperature are the variables used in the empirical models. On the other hand, potential effects on land use were also considered. Computed soil loss of 87 t/ha/year and 29.3 t/ha/year was achieved using the RUSLE equation and EPM method respectively, without considering the potential effects of climate change. The results achieved showed that climate change impacts on water erosion may not be negligible even by the middle of the current century (the annual average soil loss could change by 6–10% on a basin scale), and a major role is being played by seasonality in rainfall peak intensity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Variability and Landscape Dynamics in Mountain Ecosystems)
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