What is G.L.O.R.I.A.? The Global Observation Research Initiative
in Alpine Environments (GLORIA) is a worldwide network of long-
term research sites established to assess the impacts of climate
change in sensitive native alpine communities. There are more
than 60 GLORIA target regions in mountain ranges worldwide,
including several relatively new regions in North America. Many
alpine species face habitat fragmentation and loss, and even
extinction because they are adapted to cold temperatures and
very limited in their geographic distribution. Alpine
communities are also limited to the extent that they can migrate
to higher altitudes or latitudes due to the island nature of
mountain tops. Upward movement of alpine flora with recent
warming has already been observed in the European Alps and
climate change models predict more rapid and larger climate
change at high elevations.