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Provides an authoritative overview of the use of palaoenvironmental records to study environmental change in mountain areas.
Part 1 Mountains and uplands - an introduction: mountain regions of the world; importance of mountain regions to humankind; current environmental and socio-economic information and statistics; environmental stresses - the emergence of the human factor; global environmental change - fundamental issues. Part 2 Characterization of mountain environments: climate; hydrological systems; cryosphere; soils; ecological systems and biodiversity; human environments; data for research on mountain environments. Part 3 Past environmental change in mountains and uplands; proxy data - reconstructing the past; environmental change in the distant past; mountain environments during the last major glaciation; mountain environments during the holocene; climate change in the 20th century. Part 4 Modelling approaches to assess environmental change; the significance of modelling; spatial and temporal scales; global and regional climate models; semi-empirical methods and statistical downscaling techniques; ecosystem models; integrated assessment models (IAM); limits and range of application of models. Part 5 Natural forcings: the causal mechanisms of anthropogenic pressures on the environment; environmental pollution; land-use changes; climate change. Part 6 Impact of environmental change on natural systems; challenges for impacts assessments; impact on hydrology; impact on mountain cryosphere; extreme events and their impacts on geomorphologic features.
Not only serves as a primary reference and standard concerning mountain research but also transmits the spirit of collective responsibility for a fragile part of our planet. -- Bulletin of the World Meteorological Organization Provides some valuable and generally accessible insight into issues related to environmental change in general and mountain environments in particular. it is therefore not only a useful book to complement undergraduate courses addressing environmental change and/or mountain environments, but is also of value to readers with a range of backgrounds who seek an introductory text to these themes, be they environmentalists, people involved in outdoor education or just mountain enthusiasts. -- The Holocene ...a broad but interesting book. The author should be pleased to have produced one of few teaching-level texts that will inspire and support students of all abilities and provide the better students with an excellent entry point to the more advanced literature. -- Progress in Physical Geography
