Impacts of the Changing Cryosphere in a Warming World: a Mountain Perspective

As the atmosphere warms, the cryosphere has changed, and in mountain regions
around the world, this has impacted many species, ecosystem functions, and people who live in
and depend on services of mountains. Snow both constrains the period of time when plant
growth can occur and provides water to sustain growth in summer, especially where there is no
permafrost and rainfall is variable or low. As a result, earlier snowmelt may or may not lead to
increased plant productivity, i.e. net primary production. We will provide conceptual models
that guide current research on the impact of changing snow on net primary production and
watershed function, placing this in the context of cryospheric changes occurring around the world.

New results, since SROCC, on the consequences of earlier snowmelt on the timing of plant growth will be presented in addition to key findings in SROCC for high mountain areas. High mountain research and SROCC has benefitted greatly from
interdisciplinary collaborations of cryospheric scientists, ecosystem scientists,
hydrologists and social scientists, highlighting a key direction forward to improve understanding of mountain
systems and characterize their diverse responses to cryospheric change around the world.