Sustainable Development of High-Altitude Environments

Dear Colleagues,

High-altitude regions have experienced rapid changes in recent decades in response to ongoing climate change. For example, over the Alps a higher temperature trend than the Earth’s average was documented by the HISTALP database (i.e., a temperature increase of about 1.5°C in the past 150 years). Additionally, precipitation variability and changes in its seasonality have been recognized: an 8.4% reduction per decade in mean snow depth and a 5.6% reduction per decade in snow cover duration were found in the last fifty years over the Alps. Moreover, European glaciers have shrunk by 15% in terms of area from 2003 to 2015–2016. These are only a few of the direct consequences of the current climate crisis, with cascading impacts not just in high-altitude areas but also on the downstream regions.

In this context, it is crucial to deepen knowledge on the current effects of climate change and on the future climate scenarios with the aim of more comprehensive management of high-altitude environments. This point could also be achieved thanks to the development of sustainable strategies with which to reduce the impacts of and adapt to climate change.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: climatology, cryospheric science, ecology, strategies and techniques of analysis, management, and planning of high-altitude areas, all pertaining to the field of sustainability.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Antonella Senese
Guest Editor

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• sustainability
• high-altitude environments
• climate change
• climatology
• cryosphere
• ecology
• management
• planning
• adaptation
• mitigation