ABSTRACT

The signifi cance of mountains as tourist destinations is illustrated by Ives (1992) who observes that mountains beckon as oases of spiritual calm and peace, a place in which to commune with nature and to rediscover the simple pleasures of life. Greenwood (2008) on the other hand highlights another important aspect of mountains by arguing that mountains are zones where the signals of global change are particularly clear. This is attributed to their verticality. The vertical zonation of habitats in mountains represents a gradual change of habitats from the Equator to the Poles within a short distance between them. Mountains, therefore, represent unique areas for the early detection of climate change and the assessment of climate-related impacts. This is possible because as climate changes rapidly with height over relatively short horizontal distances, so does vegetation and hydrology (Whiteman 2000). As a result of their vertical zonation of habitats, mountains exhibit high biodiversity, often with sharp transitions in vegetation sequences, and equally rapid changes from vegetation and soil to snow and ice (Fig. 8.1).