This book offers a novel examination of socio-environmental change in a nomadic pastoralist area of the eastern Tibetan plateau. Drawing on long-term fieldwork that underscores an ethnography of local nomadic pastoralists, international development organisations, and Chinese government policies, the book argues that careful analysis and comparison of the different epistemologies and norms about "change" are vital to any critical appraisal of developments - often contested - on the grasslands of Eastern Tibet. Tibetan nomads have developed a way of life that is dependent in multiple ways on their animals and shaped by the phenomenological experience of mobility. These pastoralists have adapted to many changes in their social, political and environmental contexts over time. From the earliest historically recorded systems of segmentary lineage to the incorporation first into local fiefdoms and then into the Chinese state (of both Nationalist and Communist governments), Tibetan pastoralists have maintained their way of life, complemented by interactions with "the outside world". Rapid changes brought about by an intensification of interactions with the outside world call into question the sustained viability of a nomadic way of life, particularly as pastoralists themselves sell their herds and settle into towns. This book probes how we can more clearly understand these changes by looking specifically at one particular area of high-altitude grasslands in the Tibetan Plateau.

This book describes how competition between plant species, and succession in plant ecosystems, operate in grasslands and grazed pastures, both natural and sown. It discusses how competition both affects botanical structure, productivity and persistence of pastures and is itself regulated by biological, environmental and management factors, such as grazing animals. The book also examines the ways in which competition and succession are analysed, evaluated and measured, and brings to the agricultural arena the considerable progress made in understanding the principles of competition from theoretical and experimental ecology.

This publication explains where pastures fit in a farming system for livestock, cropping and the environment. It’s a farming system that is as much about what farmers want for their family and their leisure time as it is about what animals they run or crops they grow. If you work your way through much of this book, you will realise that productive, sustainable and profitable pastures don’t just happen. They are the result of careful planning to ensure that all the factors that make up the system dovetail together. We need to see that the health, productivity and sustainability of pastures influences the whole farm. Here are just some of the ways pastures benefit the farm: · soil is protected by pastures. Poor soil cover leads to erosion and salinity · soil can be improved by pastures. Their root systems build up organic matter and bind soil particles together, improving structure · pastures recycle nutrients, and in the case of legumes, produce high levels of nutrients essential for animal growth and reproduction · they are the cheapest and most efficient way of getting animal production. To look at a farming system and think first about the pastures might seem strange, but they do need to be high on your list of ways of making your farm productive and sustainable.

Part of the worldwide biodiversity program DIVERSITAS, the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) assesses the biological richness of high-elevation biota. GMBA's focus includes the uppermost forest regions or their substitute rangeland vegetation, the treeline ecotone, and the alpine and nival belts. Providing more than description, the GM

Wood-pastures are important elements of European cultural identity and have an exceptional ecological value, yet they are in decline all over Europe. The structure of wood-pastures is strongly influenced by grazing and multiple other land uses and by local and regional environmental conditions. This book examines the diverse expressions of wood-pastures across Europe. It provides a new perspective, using a social-ecological framework to explore social and ecological values, governing institutions, threats and conservation approaches. It explores the major drivers of decline, which are shown to be related to accelerated cultural, institutional and developmental changes occurring across Europe over the past century. Case studies are included from North-Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe. Written by renowned scholars and conservationists, the book contributes to developing better, locally adapted conservation policies and management approaches for wood-pastures.

This Handbook examines the diverse ways in which climate change impacts Indigenous Peoples and local communities and considers their response to these changes. While there is well-established evidence that the climate of the Earth is changing, the scarcity of instrumental data oftentimes challenges scientists’ ability to detect such impacts in remote and marginalized areas of the world or in areas with scarce data. Bridging this gap, this Handbook draws on field research among Indigenous Peoples and local communities distributed across different climatic zones and relying on different livelihood activities, to analyse their reports of and responses to climate change impacts. It includes contributions from a range of authors from different nationalities, disciplinary backgrounds, and positionalities, thus reflecting the diversity of approaches in the field. The Handbook is organised in two parts: Part I examines the diverse ways in which climate change – alone or in interaction with other drivers of environmental change – affects Indigenous Peoples and local communities; Part II examines how Indigenous Peoples and local communities are locally adapting their responses to these impacts. Overall, this book highlights Indigenous and local knowledge systems as an untapped resource which will be vital in deepening our understanding of the effects of climate change. The Routledge Handbook of Climate Change Impacts on Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities will be an essential reference text for students and scholars of climate change, anthropology, environmental studies, ethnobiology, and Indigenous studies.

This book examines the effects that land-use changes (notably agricultural intensification, logging, soil erosion, urbanisation and mining) have on soil characteristics and processes in tropical and savannah environments. It covers a range of geographical regions and environments as impacts of land use change are often site specific. The effects of land use change on various aspects of the soil ecosystem from both a chemical and biological perspective will be examined.

This volume is a synthesis of the NASA funded work under the Land-Cover and Land-Use Change Program. Hundreds of scientists have worked for the past eight years to understand one of the most important forces that is changing our planet-human impacts on land cover, that is land use. Its contributions span the natural and the social sciences, and apply state-of-the-art techniques for understanding the earth: satellite remote sensing, geographic information systems, modeling, and advanced computing. It brings together detailed case studies, regional analyses, and globally scaled mapping efforts. This is the most organized effort made to understand the dominant force that has been responsible for changing the Earth’s biosphere. Audience: This publication will be of interest to students, scientists, and policy makers. This volume includes a CD-ROM containing full color images of a selection of illustrations which are printed in black-and-white in the book.