Beyond Ice: The Role of Glacier Retreat in Shaping Ecosystem Services in High Mountain Regions

Glacier retreat in high mountain regions is accelerating globally due to anthropogenic climate change, yet the implications for ecosystem services in newly exposed landscapes remain underexplored. While much of the research has focused on glacier retreat’s impact on vegetation and soil succession, its effects on the provision of ecosystem services, particularly in proglacial environments, have received less attention. This study systematically reviews the literature to identify the ecosystem services mediated by plant communities and soils in post-glacial ecosystems, and to assess how glacier retreat influences these services. Our findings reveal both the loss and gain of multiple ecosystem services, with a particular focus on their spatial distribution within proglacial landscapes. We identify over ten distinct soil-plant mediated services, including natural hazard mitigation, slope stability, climate regulation, air quality improvement, and nutrient cycling. These services show contrasting trends in relation to glacier retreat, underscoring the complex interaction between glacial processes and broader ecosystem functioning. This review highlights the need for a multidisciplinary approach that integrates geological and ecological perspectives, emphasizing the role of ecosystem services in guiding conservation and land-use planning in rapidly changing mountain regions. It further underscores that glaciers play a crucial, multifaceted role in maintaining ecosystem stability and the provision of critical services, far beyond their physical presence as ice masses.