A Humboldtian Approach to Mountain Conservation and Freshwater Ecosystem Services

Abstract

Tackling complex environmental issues requires transdisciplinary solutions that cannot be achieved, unless we integrate scientific disciplines and communicate science directly with civil society actors, decision-makers, and stakeholders. Alexander von Humboldt offered an approach to integrate knowledge across disciplines aiming to broadly understand human-environmental issues, yet current scientific practices largely ignore that holistic transdisciplinary approach. Here, we develop a conceptual framework for sustaining mountain environmental integrity and securing their ecosystem services based on transdisciplinarity. We use headwater systems located in old tropical mountains as examples of meta-ecosystems because they supply water for multiple human uses and are home to disproportionately high levels of species richness and endemism. We describe the vulnerability of mountains to global changes in the Anthropocene and discuss difficulties in implementing sustainable development goals for them. Specifically, we indicate the importance of mountains to human water supplies and the conflicts between anthropogenic disturbances and riparian stream meta-ecosystems for providing ecosystem services particularly failures. We also argue that the interplay between academia and other sectors of society must improve and increase the permeability of scientific knowledge into policy-and decision-making, which is crucial for improving natural resource management and sustaining ecosystem services. We argue that the prioritization of tropical montane headwater systems is a feasible, desirable and strategic issue to be included in the global sustainability agenda. Failure to implement sustainable development goals in global mountains is likely to continue resulting in catastrophic events with harsh consequences for both humans and global biodiversity.

Beta diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages associated with leaf patches in neotropical montane streams

“…This is because, the same elevation across different sky islands supports more similar taxa than different elevations within the same stream. (Callisto, Solar, et al, 2019;Gueuning et al, 2017;Nicolson, 1987).…”

“…The waters of mountain streams combine to form hydrographic basins that connect landscapes along the river continuum, supplying ecosystem goods and services to half the human population on Earth (Callisto, Solar, et al, 2019).…”

“…The synergy among environmental filters, geographical barriers related to changes in altitude and slope, and interactions between species is an important driving force for a wide variety of floral and faunal adaptations and speciation in the CR (Castro et al., 2019; Fernandes, 2016; Fernandes et al., 2018; Silveira et al., 2016). The CRs have been destroyed at alarming rates and these disturbances are reflected in their springs and headwater streams (Callisto et al., 2019; Callisto, Solar, et al., 2019). The CRs are located in the oldest South American mountains and are characterized by endemism and relict populations.…”

“…The CRs are located in the oldest South American mountains and are characterized by endemism and relict populations. Their headwater streams and riparian zones form meta‐ecosystems forming natural corridors draining sky islands within the CR landscape matrix (Callisto, Solar, et al., 2019).…”

Representativeness of national parks in protecting freshwater biodiversity: A case of Brazilian savanna

“…Additionally, mountain headwater streams provide important ecosystem services, such as providing water recharge of rivers, including water supply for human use (e.g. agriculture, subsistence, industry) (Callisto et al, 2019; Hoorn, Perrigo, & Antonelli, 2018). Despite their potential importance in harbouring small‐sized species in the world's richest country in terms of freshwater fish species (Nogueira et al, 2010), many Neotropical stream‐dwelling fish species remain unknown (Casarim, Bueno, & Pompeu, 2012).…”