interesting research topics about mountains

Mountain communities are undergoing rapid sociocultural change, caused by drivers like outmigration, urbanization, and .
The collection of evidence and.
T.S. In the fifties and sixties. It’s fairly recent. But before this, there was the inter-war period, which was marked by a phase of interdisciplinary research. Then we had a period when the disciplines such as geology, pedology, and botany – and the social and human sciences perhaps less – developed a systematic approach. We looked for correlations between different factors; we developed, for example, the sociology of plants, not by describing a species but with the aim of conducting an integral study. Generally it was the Swiss who conducted this type of study. There were two or three researchers who developed a system of pedological analysis, and they worked with others who studied the sociology of plants and these two interdisciplinary approaches were global approaches with a systematic perspective. It was really very interesting, but after that it disappeared.
T.S. I think it was the International Biosphere Program (IBP) that was very important because there we began to organise scientists and disciplines around a theme, around a problem. To begin with it was the biological cycles: how do they function? And it was from there that the systematic approaches developed, the ecosystems, etc. from this international programme at the beginning of the 1970s. Then from there, the MAB (Man in Biosphere) approach was developed which was, I think, for all alpine research and was important. But unfortunately we didn’t have projects in every country. There were some in Austria, Germany and Switzerland but I don’t believe there were any in France, Italy or Slovenia. This approach really provided a base for global studies on man-nature interactions. Let’s say these approaches were really scientific approaches, not specifically developed for the Alps, and that they were adapted by finding favourable areas.

The Rocky Mountains and the Himalayan Mountains are examples of mountain ranges.
A group of mountain ranges is called a mountain system. For example, the mountain systems of the United States include the Rockies and the Appalachians.
The research of Prof. Michela Maione focuses on the changing composition of the atmosphere, and in particular on the atmospheric budget of ozone depleting and climate altering gases based on long-term observations. In this frame, M. Maione is responsible of monitoring programmes in remote and semi-remote sites, such as the WMO-GAW O. Vittori Station on Monte Cimone (Italy), the WMO-GAW NCO-P Station in the Himalayan Range (Nepal) and Dome C Station (Antarctica). The activity at Monte Cimone is conducted in collaboration with the AGAGE network, of which Monte Cimone is an affiliated station. Although the instrumentation used for halocarbon measurements is not the same as used at the other AGAGE stations, measurements are linked to the AGAGE calibration scale and the same calibration protocol as the AGAG E stations is used. The research covers a wide range of compounds, including all the Montreal Gases (CFCs, Halons, HCFCs, CH3Br, CH3CCl3), several Kyoto gases (HFCs, PFCs, SF6, CH4, N2O), short-lived brominated species (CH2Br2, CHBr3), chlorinated solvents, CO, COS, SO2F2, and anthropogenic NMHCs. These studies have been conducted in the frame of several National and International projects in which M. Maione has been involved acting as Principal Investigator of the research unit. Moreover, from 2004 to 2009 M. Maione has been in charge for the scientific secretariat of the European Network of Excellence ACCENT, involving 42 European partners and 123 associated partners, dealing with research activities concerning the role of atmospheric composition changes in climate change and air quality. Such activity is now conducted in the frame of a EU funded Coordinated Action, ACCENT Plus, funded by the EU-FP7. M. Maione participated in four scientific expeditions to Antarctica and in two scientific expeditions to the Arctic. She authored ca 80 publications in peer-reviewed journals and a number of book chapters and conference presentations. She is co-editor of the Atmospheric Environment Special Issue “Atmospheric Composition Change” (Atmos Environ, 43, 2009).
Paolo Cristofanelli, researcher at the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC) of the Italian National Research Council of Research (CNR), is head of the Climate Observatory “O. Vittori” ) at Mt. Cimone (2165 m a.s.l., Italy), one of the 31 global stations belonging to the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) programme by WMO and PI of investigation programmes on reactive gases at the WMO/GAW regional station of Capo Granitola (Italy). Currently, in the framework of ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System) European Research Infrastructure, he is PI for observations of CO2 and CH4 at Mt. Cimone. He is also working within the EU Project ACTRIS-2 (Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network). He is involved on research about detection and attribution of atmospheric composition variability (trace gases and aerosol) with a special emphasis on climate-altering and pollutant compounds (i.e. SLCF/P and well mixed greenhouse gases). Paolo Cristofanelli has more than 10 year experience in educational and outreaching activities by project related to primary and secondary schools, popularization events, seminars, public events and scientific outreaching by web. He is authors or co-authors in more than 55 peer-reviewed papers.

Susceptibility of young pine stands to beetle attack and protection
Opportunity
The expanding threat of the Mountain Pine Beetle in Alberta has intensified efforts to manage the spread and to protect younger pine stands. It is generally accepted and supported by science that beetles preferentially select larger trees to attack, and if they successfully colonize the tree, the tree invariably dies.
Research provides convincing evidence of the relationship between stand characteristics and their susceptibility to attack during population expansion. Larger and older trees generally have thicker bark. When site resources are ample on a per tree basis, tree crowns are larger and fuller and possess a thicker, more nutritious phloem layer than larger, less thrifty trees. During a mass-attack episode, younger, smaller and seemingly less desirable trees are also attacked. Forest managers are concerned over the safety of young regenerating pine stands in age classes from 20 to 40 years of age. There is a heavy reliance on these stands to support timber supply, and their loss would cause a critical fibre supply shortage in the future. Young trees exhibit nutritious but thinner bark than larger trees, which are not equally conducive to supporting successful brood production as in large trees and as often happens, there is a breach in the bark during larval feeding to the outside that can lead to an abandonment of the tree. Nevertheless, beetle boreholes may subsequently encourage other insects or pathogens, rendering them susceptible to further damage.
The question that arises is what indicators can be used to determine the susceptibility of young stands to beetle attack and what, if anything, can be undertaken to provide a cloak of protection over young stands during periods of high beetle activity.
If you wish to submit an Expression of Interest in response to one of the specific research topics outlined in this announcement, please note that you are not being asked for a full proposal, but rather, for your ideas surrounding the opportunity of the topic. However, we require an indication of your objectives, methodology, budget requirements, time frame and deliverables. Apart from formal deliverables such as research papers, technical reports etc. other reporting responsibilities are required, for example, quarterly reports, Quick Notes, participation in Research Sessions / Webinars.
References:
http://journals.openedition.org/rga/634
http://www.jcme.ca/mountains.htm
http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319611266
http://friresearch.ca/news/mountain-pine-beetle-ecology-program-request-expressions-interest-research
http://blog.prepscholar.com/argumentative-essay-topics-ideas