Opportunities for research on mountain biodiversity under global change

Mountains worldwide host very rich biodiversity, are home to hundreds of millions of people, and provide billions of upland and lowland inhabitants with vital ecosystem services. By altering mountain ecosystems and their biodiversity, global change modifies this picture substantially. We concisely review current knowledge and knowledge gaps on mountain biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human well-being under global change. We argue that our ability to understand, predict, and sustainably manage mountain biodiversity and to support human well-being requires concerted research efforts in natural and social sciences and comparative analyses of biological and social–ecological systems within and across mountain ranges. Specific examples illustrate how the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment will continue to support these efforts in the future.