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ATEAM sector: Mountains
Mountains are treated seperately within ATEAM,
due to the unique nature of mountain ecosystems, e.g. as "water towers of Europe" or the importance of winter tourism for mountain countries.
Ecosystem services:
- Tourism (e.g. winter sports)
- Recreation (e.g. hunting, walking)
- Carbon sequestration (in the light of extensification of agriculture)
- Water supply
Indicators within the ATEAM assessment framework: - Snow (cover time, amount, elevation of snow line)
- Slope stability (risk of landslide)
- landscape partitioning (e.g. forest/meadow)
- Carbon storage in selected ecosystems and catchments
- Water (quantities, peak flows, duration of drought periods)
Principal investigators: Harald Bugmann & Bärbel Zierl (ETH, Switzerland).
Models: RHESSys, FORCLIM.
Main interacting ATEAM sectors: Water, Carbon storage & energy, Biodiversity & nature conservation.
Mountains have attracted major economic investments for tourism, hydropower, and communication routes. The Mountain regions are characterised by sensitive ecosystems and enhanced occurences of extreme weather events. This combination demands for careful management of environmental and socio-economic drivers. What perturbations will sectors such as winter tourism be likely to experience in the future?
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