2.7 General Concluding Remarks
Conservation practice involves making decisions with only a limited knowledge of
complex systems, uncertainty about the future and scarcity of resources.
Management decisions often reflect opportunistic reactions to urgent problems or,
alternatively, routines followed without any regular evaluation or updating.
I advocate that these actions will gain in consistency and effectiveness if they are
designed and put into practice within a rational framework based on resource
allocation, in accordance with the functional outcomes of the alternative management options that affect an integrated ecological or social entity. The application of
this approach to conservation in high mountain ecosystems should take into account
their particular characteristics of isolation, environmental harshness and steep
gradients. Generally speaking, the minimisation of exposure to detrimental
anthropogenic agents can be enhanced by the isolation of these habitats, but the
latter can become particularly sensitive due to their limited extension and their
legacy of selection for specific, extreme conditions. This general approach,
exemplified by the concept of ecological trade-offs and associated with basic
economic principles, can be developed and modelled for any specific case, incorporating the complex interactions between ecological processes and social agents,
as well as the temporal dimension that takes into account both the legacy of the past
and future scenarios.
Acknowledgements I thank AGAUR, Generalitat de Catalunya for support for project 2014 SGR
453 and Spanish MEC for Project CGL2015-67419-R.
References
Ager A, Vaillant N, McMahan A (2013) A restoration of fire in managed forests: a model to
prioritize landscapes and analyze tradeoffs. Ecosphere 4:1–19
Allen CD (2007) Interactions across spatial scales among forest dieback, fire, and erosion in
northern New Mexico landscapes. Ecosystems 10:797–808
Allen CD et al (2010) A global overview of drought and heat-induced tree mortality reveals
emerging climate change risks for forests. For Ecol Manage 259:660–684
Allen CD, Breshears DD, McDowell NG (2015) On underestimation of global vulnerability to tree
mortality and forest die-off from hotter drought in the anthropocene. Ecosphere 6 art129
Anderegg LDL, Anderegg WRL, Abatzoglou J et al (2013) Drought characteristics’ role in
widespread aspen forest mortality across Colorado, USA. Glob Change Biol 19:1526–1537
Armitage D, Marschke M, Plummer R (2008) Adaptive co-management and the paradox of
learning. Glob Environ Change 18:86–98
Balthazar V, Vanacker V, Molina A et al (2015) Impacts of forest cover change on ecosystem
services in high Andean mountains. Ecol Indic 48:63–75
Bell DM, Bradford JB, Lauenroth WK (2014) Forest stand structure, productivity, and age mediate
climatic effects on aspen decline. Ecology 95:2040–2046
Beniston M (2003) Climatic change in mountain regions. Clim Change 59:5–31
Bennet EM, Peterson GD, Gordon LJ (2009) Understanding relationships among multiple
ecosystem services. Ecol Lett 12:1394–1404
2 Trade-offs in High Mountain Conservation
55
Conservation practice involves making decisions with only a limited knowledge of
complex systems, uncertainty about the future and scarcity of resources.
Management decisions often reflect opportunistic reactions to urgent problems or,
alternatively, routines followed without any regular evaluation or updating.
I advocate that these actions will gain in consistency and effectiveness if they are
designed and put into practice within a rational framework based on resource
allocation, in accordance with the functional outcomes of the alternative management options that affect an integrated ecological or social entity. The application of
this approach to conservation in high mountain ecosystems should take into account
their particular characteristics of isolation, environmental harshness and steep
gradients. Generally speaking, the minimisation of exposure to detrimental
anthropogenic agents can be enhanced by the isolation of these habitats, but the
latter can become particularly sensitive due to their limited extension and their
legacy of selection for specific, extreme conditions. This general approach,
exemplified by the concept of ecological trade-offs and associated with basic
economic principles, can be developed and modelled for any specific case, incorporating the complex interactions between ecological processes and social agents,
as well as the temporal dimension that takes into account both the legacy of the past
and future scenarios.
Acknowledgements I thank AGAUR, Generalitat de Catalunya for support for project 2014 SGR
453 and Spanish MEC for Project CGL2015-67419-R.
References
Ager A, Vaillant N, McMahan A (2013) A restoration of fire in managed forests: a model to
prioritize landscapes and analyze tradeoffs. Ecosphere 4:1–19
Allen CD (2007) Interactions across spatial scales among forest dieback, fire, and erosion in
northern New Mexico landscapes. Ecosystems 10:797–808
Allen CD et al (2010) A global overview of drought and heat-induced tree mortality reveals
emerging climate change risks for forests. For Ecol Manage 259:660–684
Allen CD, Breshears DD, McDowell NG (2015) On underestimation of global vulnerability to tree
mortality and forest die-off from hotter drought in the anthropocene. Ecosphere 6 art129
Anderegg LDL, Anderegg WRL, Abatzoglou J et al (2013) Drought characteristics’ role in
widespread aspen forest mortality across Colorado, USA. Glob Change Biol 19:1526–1537
Armitage D, Marschke M, Plummer R (2008) Adaptive co-management and the paradox of
learning. Glob Environ Change 18:86–98
Balthazar V, Vanacker V, Molina A et al (2015) Impacts of forest cover change on ecosystem
services in high Andean mountains. Ecol Indic 48:63–75
Bell DM, Bradford JB, Lauenroth WK (2014) Forest stand structure, productivity, and age mediate
climatic effects on aspen decline. Ecology 95:2040–2046
Beniston M (2003) Climatic change in mountain regions. Clim Change 59:5–31
Bennet EM, Peterson GD, Gordon LJ (2009) Understanding relationships among multiple
ecosystem services. Ecol Lett 12:1394–1404
2 Trade-offs in High Mountain Conservation
55