Andreas Haller

Climate Change and Biodiversity in the Tropical Andes

as the Bohemo-Austrian geographer and botanist Thaddäus Haenke wrote in 1810 (published posthumously in Haenke 1901: IX), with reference to the tropical Andes. More than 200 years later, climate change is affecting the ‘‘inestimable treasure’’ of biodiversity, as the title of this book suggests. The book is published under the Creative Commons Public License and includes 4 chapters on cross-cutting topics and 19 that provide background information. At first glance, this free publication stands out due to its online-only characteristic; a printed version in English is not available. In the introduction, the editors state that the aim is to provide a synthesis of the tropical Andes’ biodiversity patterns and highlight their importance for humans by linking them to ecosystem services. Chapter 1 introduces the topic of climate change patterns in the tropical Andes by linking it with observed and hypothesized effects on different ecosystems: from cloud forests to dry and humid puna grasslands. Provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural ecosystem services are distinguished, and their strong relationship to human societies is underlined. Chapter 2 analyzes the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on the biodiversity of the tropical Andes and offers a synthesis on conservation management tools and methods. With respect to possible obstacles that face biodiversity conservation, the authors mention a lack of institutional capacities, for example, that the Comunidad Andina de Naciones should play a decisive role in promoting practices of climate change adaptation. The authors of chapter 3 draw on the previous discussions, turning their attention to the effects of range shifts that may increase the risk of extinction to species. In addition, the authors request the—probably meaningful—adaptation of existing management tools to the geographic peculiarities of the tropical Andes, although without reasoning why. Part I finishes with a contribution on the impacts of climate change on phenology and interspecific interactions of Andean organisms, highlighting the differentiation between proximate and ultimate causes, and underlining the importance of long-term monitoring and predictive modeling. Chapters 5–7 have a clear focus on the climate of the Andes; after some introductory notes on paleo-climate by Holm Tiessen, an overview of the current understanding of tropical Andean climatology is given through an analysis of decadal, interannual, and seasonal variability, followed by some explanations on the diurnal cycle. The authors distinguish between the very moist climate of the northern part (Colombia, Ecuador) and the tropical Andes’ drier south (Peru and Bolivia). Subsequently, insights on climate-change evidence and future scenarios are offered. The contribution also includes several useful summary tables, which enable a comparative view on climatic tendencies, glacier retreat, and change projections. Chapters 8–12 treat topics that relate to land use and ecosystem services. The ‘‘Introduction to Andean Geographies’’ aims at facilitating the assessment of the impacts of global change on plants, animals, and ecosystems. The authors cover aspects of geomorphology, atmospheric peculiarities, soil conditions, and Andean hydrogeography. However, the human dimension of ‘‘Andean Geographies’’ is reduced to the doubtlessly important impacts of rural land use on biodiversity; the manifold effects of Andean urbanization on local or regional climatic conditions, as well as on biodiversity, are simply ignored. Chapter 9 gives an interesting overview of Andean land use, which ranges from pre-Columbian to present times but, again, is confined to rural activities. After an interesting contribution on plant geography and floristic regions of the northern and central Andes, a well-structured overview on the vulnerability and resilience of Andean ecosystems is offered (for aquatic habitats, páramo, humid and dry puna as well as for cloud, seasonal, and dry Andean forest). Finally, climatic stress is exemplified by the Colombian Cordillera Central. Chapters 13–20 address research on biodiversity. Articles on plant-diversity patterns are followed by others about climate-change impacts on fungi and mosses, insects, birds, and small mammals, and on the biodiversity of aquatic systems (lakes, rivers, and wetlands). Most of these contributions emphasize the existing elevation gradients and patterns; identify knowledge gaps; and, against the background of climate change, propose future directions of biodiversity research. The final chapters, 21–23, concentrate on adaptation and mitigation strategies that relate to changes in climate and biodiversity. First, the limits and opportunities of species distribution modeling for biodiversity management are examined. Second, the role of protected areas as a tool for addressing global change is underlined, with an emphasis on these protected areas’ suitability as monitoring sites. The last chapter identifies 5 priorities for sustainable flow management of Andean rivers, a need that MountainMedia Mountain Research and Development (MRD) An international, peer-reviewed open access journal published by the International Mountain Society (IMS) www.mrd-journal.org

Spell of the Urubamba: Anthropogeographical Essays on an Andean Valley in Space and Time

A fascinating witness of Incan culture in the Peruvian Andes, the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, situated in the Urubamba Valley, is not only one of South America’s most visited tourist destinations, but also one of only two mixed—natural and cultural—UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the subcontinent (the other being the R ıo Abiseo National Park in northern Peru). Yet if the Santuario Hist orico de Machu Picchu, an IUCN Category III protected area, is to be understood, the relation of nature and culture in this area created by the presence of people has to be seen in a broader geographical context. This is the last œuvre of culturalhistorical geographer Daniel W. Gade (1936–2015), the author of Plants, Man and the Land in the Vilcanota Valley of Peru (Gade 1975) and Nature and Culture in the Andes (Gade 1999). This monograph on the Urubamba Valley—consisting of 354 pages, with several instructive maps and photographs—clearly contributes to a better understanding of the nature/ culture gestalt in the southern Peruvian Andes. It consists of 10 rather independent essays mostly situated at the interface of geography and anthropology (thus ‘‘anthropogeographical’’). Each has an abstract and a list of references, plus a useful glossary and a short list of variations of proper names. In ‘‘The Urubamba in Panoptic Perspective’’ (Chapter 1), Gade provides an overview of the Urubamba River and its valley’s landforms, climate, vegetation, and human settlement. Drawing on his own experiences in the valley since 1963, he also considers changes, for ‘‘only years after a field experience does the realization sink in that the research one has conducted captures a particular time’’ (p 48). The concluding very interesting reflections on his personal fieldwork in the area over 50 years are followed by Chapter 2, ‘‘Urubamba Travelers as Generators of Knowledge.’’ Similar to his 2011 monograph (Gade 2011), this chapter presents a series of short biographies of curiosity-driven individuals (mainly from the 19th century) traveling the Urubamba Valley, including the Vienna-born explorer Charles Wiener, Italian Naturforscher Antonio Raimondi, and American geographer Isaiah Bowman. Of particular interest are the short biographies of Peruvians such as the explorer Jos e Benigno Samanez y Ocampo and the botanist C esar Vargas Calder on. In Chapter 3, ‘‘Urubamba Verticality: Reflections on Crops and Diseases,’’ Gade focuses, from a cultural ecology perspective, on the hypsometric variations of geographic forms, a topic central to scholars such as Alexander von Humboldt, Carl Troll, Olivier Dollfus, John Murra, or Javier Pulgar Vidal. He then takes the Urubamba Valley as an example and reflects on crop boundaries, diseases, and land use differences/ecological exchange between the valley’s upper and lower parts. Chapter 3 also includes an interesting section on verticality and exemplary photographs. Chapter 4, ‘‘The Sacred Valley as a Zone of Productivity, Privilege and Power,’’ is a regional geographic essay focusing on agricultural land use and settlement in the middle part of the Urubamba Valley. More recent socioeconomic changes, often driven by tourism development, are mentioned and will make the self-reflective traveler think about his or her own actions. Chapters 5 and 6 focus on plant use and human–animal relations, using the examples of the legume vilca (Anadenanthera colubrina) and the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), and also raise issues of conservation. In Chapter 7, ‘‘Urubamba Ramble: Hiram Bingham (1875–1956) and His Artful Encounter with Machu Picchu,’’ the famous ‘‘lost city’’ of the Inca and its ‘‘discovery’’ by Bingham are at the center of interest. Parts of this essay also address the social intercourse between scholars and the human need for admiration or Geltung existent in some cases—a timely topic. Gade’s fieldwork in the cordillera of Vilcabamba is at the center of Chapter 8, ‘‘Vilcabamba: Fabled Redoubt of the Urubamba Region.’’ This is a reflection on his own experiences (partly presented in the form of a log), interesting to read, but perhaps the least relevant to mountain researchers or managers. Chapter 9, ‘‘Highland and Lowland Peoples in Contact in the Tropical Urubamba,’’ concentrates on interactions between inhabitants from the upper and lower parts of the Urubamba Valley, giving special attention to the Matsigenka and Piros people. What perceptions did the Incas have of the lowlands? How did contacts between ‘‘lowlanders’’ and ‘‘highlanders’’ evolve over time? Which economic and demographic changes were induced, particularly in the 20th century? This chapter is highly recommended to scholars and practitioners in the field of mountain research, for it exemplifies how highland–lowland interactions, different forms of worldviews, and exogenous ideas of land use alter humans and their environment. In ‘‘Conclusion: The Spell is Cast’’ (Chapter 10), Gade summarizes the aim of this book to combine ‘‘survey information, personal experiences, landscape descriptions, commentaries on trends, analyses of past events, and detailed studies of specific elements to convey a diachronic semi-personalized view of a compelling region’’ (p 333): an objective he definitely reached. Mountain Research and Development (MRD) An international, peer-reviewed open access journal published by the International Mountain Society (IMS) www.mrd-journal.org MountainMedia

Abandoned altitudes? Decrease and expansion of grassland in the hinterland of Popayán, Southern Colombian Andes

Due to their ecological disadvantages, many mountain regions have experienced land-use abandonment and shrub encroachment on former grassland at higher altitudinal zones-especially during recent decades of urbanization. But does this trend also apply to the hinterland of urban settlements? By using the Southern Colombian example of Popayán, a medium-sized city located in the Northern Andes, we can show that the landscape changes observed between 1989 and 2010 can hardly be related to agricultural abandonment. Hypsometric variations of land-cover change indicate that, until 2001, woods or shrubland expanded faster at the lower altitudinal range adjacent to the city than at the more remote higher zones. In contrast, after 2001 grassland areas increased on former woods or shrubland at all altitudinal belts. Both periods thus present developments that can be interpreted as the result of land-use expansion below 2000 m asl and land-use persistence in the tierra fría of the mountain city’s hinterland.

Web-based instruments for strengthening sustainable regional development in the Alps

Web-based information and communication technologies enable the inclusion of all stakeholders in sustainable regional development and raise hopes that these processes will be accomplished from the bottom up and with broad public participation. This article synthesizes, presents, and critically discusses solutions for the Alps that use web 2.0 technologies, in particular: (a) GALPIS and DIAMONT with databases and an interactive webGIS, (b) mountain.TRIP as an efficient communication and information system to link research with practice, and (c) mountain wikis as tools for collaborative regional planning and development. The results indicate that new information and communication instruments enhance the implementation, promotion, assessment, and steering of sustainable regional development in the Alps.