Rapid climate change threatens biodiversity – of alpine ecosystems in particular. The EU FP-5 project GLORIA-EUROPE has established a long-term monitoring network to study climate change-induced impacts on Europe's mountains. The major forthcoming step of GLORIA is the extension from the European to the global level. GLORIA is an initiative towards an international research network to assess climate change impacts on mountain environments. The challenge of GLORIA is to establish a long-term observation network that uses a standardised monitoring protocol in all major mountain systems on Earth. The aim of GLORIA's Multi-Summit approach is to establish a long-term observation network to obtain standardised data on alpine biodiversity and vegetation patterns on a global scale. Its purpose is to assess risks of biodiversity losses and the vulnerability of high mountain ecosystems under climate change pressures. ... [Information of the supplier, modified]
