Abstract
Human activities have shaped cultural landscapes in the European Alps over centuries. During the last decade, massive land-use changes, in particular the abandonment of mountain grassland, are responsible for ongoing landscape changes and related shifts in the supply of ecosystem services (ESs) with huge consequences for the local populations as well as the people living in the surrounding lowlands. For most ESs, the spatial flow is directed from mountain regions toward lowland areas, including areas far beyond the regional level, and will become even more important in the future. Such teleconnections need to be integrated into decision- and policy-making for developing sustainable management strategies across landscapes and at different scales. Moreover, climate change leads to a higher vulnerability of ESs, requiring an adapted and more flexible management. However, the ability of management to control ES supply decreases sharply with the severity of future climate change, if no decisive actions to mitigate climate change are taken. Hence, climate change may severely hamper the management of mountain ecosystems, but value-based visions of local communities may help define adaptive pathways.