Definitions and tools

Assessments, comparisons, hypothesis testing or mere communication all require common definitions for shared concepts. These definitions need to be meaningful, useful, and flexible enough for a broad range of applications. GMBA provides the mountain research community at large and the mountain biodiversity community in particular with the following standardized definitions and tools:

• mountain definition
• treeline definition
• bioclimatic belt definition
• inventory of the world's mountains v1
• inventory of the world's mountains v2
• global mountain explorer*
• indigenous mountain peoples database**

* the global mountain explorer is a tool developed in collaboration with the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), the Center for Development and the Environment (CDE), and the US Geological System (USGS) by USGS and ESRI in the context of the Global Earth Observations - Global Network for Observation and Information in Mountain Environments (GEO-GNOME) initative.

** the indigenous mountain peoples database is a tool developed in collaboration with the Mountain Partnership.