The 60th birthday of the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park has
been a suitable occasion to discuss the conservation of high mountain areas; to review
the knowledge acquired on their natural and cultural inheritance, to evaluate their
protecting role, and even to preview their fate under changing scenarios. These issues
define the scope of this book, launched at the workshop “The High Mountain in a
Changing World: Challenges for Conservation” held in Espot, Central Pyrenees, in
November 2015. Like in other National Parks, its scientific knowledge has notably
grown during the last decades, running through long, diversified ways. This progress
may be tracked by browsing across the ten volumes produced in the proceedings
Jornades sobre Recerca al Parc Nacional d’Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici,
based on the Park’s research workshops held once every 3 years. These volumes lead
from the description or cataloguing of the most apparent nature components to the
understanding of the functioning of ecosystems in a changing world, and to the realisation of the extent of the anthropic envelope—including cultural inheritance, protecting policies and changing environment. In fact, the weight of social matters on
nature conservation has become more and more apparent. Thus, nature conservation
remains science-based, but it is definitely a social affair.
Deepening and widening of local knowledge have progressively put it into a much
broader frame, both spatial (i.e. other European high mountains, Boreal biomes) and
temporary—from the far to the near geologic times, and to future. Apart from enabling
the comparative analysis between high mountain reserves, this has also evidenced
how very ancient anthropic activities are still compromising their presumed wilderness; and also how distinct elements of global change (i.e. long-distance pollution,
biological invasion, climate warming) compromise their conservation purpose. The
strength of high mountain reserves remains therefore in the study and monitoring of
nature responses to ancient impacts and global change while keeping the anthropic
influence at the lowest level possible. These new insights have to be the substrate on
which to build a new paradigm on high mountain conservation. The previously
mentioned workshop and this book gather recognised authorities in particular and
emerging scientific fields, although also able to cross-discuss and evaluate the present
opportunity of consistently studying, evaluating and foreseeing high mountain conservation. Most of the book core information is from the Pyrenees, but there are other
chapters focussing in the Alps and Sierra Nevada. Overall, the discussion that emerges
extends worldwide where the high mountain is a valuable concept.
The two first chapters (Part I) set the conceptual scope of the book, review historic
and current conservation issues, and try to connect with the following thematic
chapters. Part II focus on the historical perspective of high mountain systems, centred in
the most influential facts and processes occurred through the last millennia. This
standpoint involves the awareness of the role played by major climatic changes and,
particularly, humans on biota, soils and landscapes. This anthropic heritage poses
particular challenges to the wilderness in protected areas, mostly concerning the
introduction and re-introduction of vertebrates related to fishing or hunting, but also
affecting soil and water biochemistry and processes (Part III). Acknowledging how
natural areas are subjected to global change has led to value the interest in monitoring at
long-term horizons. Chapters in Part IV review distinct biotic and abiotic components
vi
Preface
been a suitable occasion to discuss the conservation of high mountain areas; to review
the knowledge acquired on their natural and cultural inheritance, to evaluate their
protecting role, and even to preview their fate under changing scenarios. These issues
define the scope of this book, launched at the workshop “The High Mountain in a
Changing World: Challenges for Conservation” held in Espot, Central Pyrenees, in
November 2015. Like in other National Parks, its scientific knowledge has notably
grown during the last decades, running through long, diversified ways. This progress
may be tracked by browsing across the ten volumes produced in the proceedings
Jornades sobre Recerca al Parc Nacional d’Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici,
based on the Park’s research workshops held once every 3 years. These volumes lead
from the description or cataloguing of the most apparent nature components to the
understanding of the functioning of ecosystems in a changing world, and to the realisation of the extent of the anthropic envelope—including cultural inheritance, protecting policies and changing environment. In fact, the weight of social matters on
nature conservation has become more and more apparent. Thus, nature conservation
remains science-based, but it is definitely a social affair.
Deepening and widening of local knowledge have progressively put it into a much
broader frame, both spatial (i.e. other European high mountains, Boreal biomes) and
temporary—from the far to the near geologic times, and to future. Apart from enabling
the comparative analysis between high mountain reserves, this has also evidenced
how very ancient anthropic activities are still compromising their presumed wilderness; and also how distinct elements of global change (i.e. long-distance pollution,
biological invasion, climate warming) compromise their conservation purpose. The
strength of high mountain reserves remains therefore in the study and monitoring of
nature responses to ancient impacts and global change while keeping the anthropic
influence at the lowest level possible. These new insights have to be the substrate on
which to build a new paradigm on high mountain conservation. The previously
mentioned workshop and this book gather recognised authorities in particular and
emerging scientific fields, although also able to cross-discuss and evaluate the present
opportunity of consistently studying, evaluating and foreseeing high mountain conservation. Most of the book core information is from the Pyrenees, but there are other
chapters focussing in the Alps and Sierra Nevada. Overall, the discussion that emerges
extends worldwide where the high mountain is a valuable concept.
The two first chapters (Part I) set the conceptual scope of the book, review historic
and current conservation issues, and try to connect with the following thematic
chapters. Part II focus on the historical perspective of high mountain systems, centred in
the most influential facts and processes occurred through the last millennia. This
standpoint involves the awareness of the role played by major climatic changes and,
particularly, humans on biota, soils and landscapes. This anthropic heritage poses
particular challenges to the wilderness in protected areas, mostly concerning the
introduction and re-introduction of vertebrates related to fishing or hunting, but also
affecting soil and water biochemistry and processes (Part III). Acknowledging how
natural areas are subjected to global change has led to value the interest in monitoring at
long-term horizons. Chapters in Part IV review distinct biotic and abiotic components
vi
Preface