Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA)

GLORIA-EUROPE is the European dimension of the Global Observation
Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA) - a contribution
to GTOS.

Climatic changes, atmospheric warming in particular, will affect all
ecosystems in Europe. Ecosystems of the alpine life zone are
considered to be particularly sensitive to warming. Direct effects
(e.g. the ongoing upward-migration of species) and indirect effects
(e.g. increased slope instability) may lead to the extinction of a
variety of species. The severity of such "extinction scenarios",
however, can only be documented by direct long-term
monitoring. Compositional and structural changes of alpine ecosystems
can be taken as excellent indicators for the ecological implications
of climate change.

The observation network will consist of 18 target regions, each with 4
summits as reference units. On each site, the basic sampling design of
GLORIA - the Multi-Summit approach - will be applied. Based on these
data, impact scenarios will be developed. They will outline the manner
in which and extent to which the biodiversity of European mountain
regions may be threatened by projected climate change.

Information taken from:
"http://www.gloria.ac.at/res/gloria_europe/default.cfm"

Link to data "http://www.gloria.ac.at/res/fielddatabase/"