The shrinking glacier atop Kilimanjaro has received much attention as it is one of the few remaining tropical glaciers in the world. Physical drivers ranging from changes in temperature and humidity to shifts in cloud coverage and radiation have been attributed to reducing the ice mass. Studies have utilized varying methods and often use point data sources that tend to be spatially and temporally poor in the region. The objective of this study was to use complementing remote sensing data sets with systematic measurements to delineate ice cap fluctuations and land surface phenology on Kilimanjaro over the past two decades. Multitemporal, fine-scale Landsat imagery (30 m) showed approximately a 70% reduction in ice coverage since 1976. High-frequency (bimonthly) image analysis conducted along a human activity–elevation ecocline showed that the entire mountain, including the subalpine and alpine regions, has undergone an increase in vegetative signal indicating a “greening up” of Kilimanjaro over the past two decades. In addition, upper elevations of Kilimanjaro have undergone a temporal shift, or lengthening, in dry season phenology on the order of one month over the past two decades. The shift in dry season timing is concordant with maximum ablation periods. Overall, this study provides insight into land surface trends at resolutions that are currently lacking in Kilimanjaro climate change analyses.

Monitoring and assessing karst rock resulting from desertification is important to local sustainable development in the karst mountain regions of Southwest China. A new derived index, the Normalized Difference Rock Index (NDRI), is proposed to map karst rock. It takes advantage of the unique spectral response of karst rock and other land cover forms. Supervised maximum likelihood classification trials using different input bands (Landsat TM band 3–5, NDVI and NDRI derived from TM imagery) were assessed for accuracy of karst rock mapping in Bijie County, Southwest China. Results were compared with land use maps for 2000, with the best result obtained using a combination of the NDVI and NDRI indices. This paper offers a tool for land cover mapping.

Repeat photography is a useful tool for evaluating historical landscape change. The objective of this study was to use ground-based repeat photography to quantify landscape vegetation changes during the period of 1880–2008 and to evaluate methods employed in repeat photography. The historical photographs included 237 landscape photographs taken in 1880 in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Fifty-five photographs were successfully relocated, and the photograph pairs were analyzed for changes in cover classes and changes by topographical position. From 1880 to 2008, forest land was the most stable cover type (98% of forested land in 1880 remained forested in 2008). Some of the main patterns of land conversion during this time period were (1) agricultural land converted to forest (19%), (2) residential and commercial land converted to forest (18%), and (3) transportation systems converted to forest or agricultural land (57%). When combined with other historical land use methods, repeat photography can yield a detailed reconstruction of the historical profile of an area; however, if the original locations of the photographs are unknown, repeat photography is a very time-intensive technique.

This study investigated the sustainability of combining forest grazing and timber harvesting with selection felling in a cool broadleaved community forest (CF) in Bhutan. Forest grazing and timber production are critical livelihood activities for many farmers throughout the world, so it is important to understand under what conditions the 2 activities can be combined. The study was based on a household survey to quantify livestock holdings and grazing patterns, a comparison of 2 forest inventories to assess forest structure and regeneration, and a study of stumps to quantify harvesting intensities. During a 5-year period the number of cattle grazing inside the CF significantly decreased and the number of naturally regenerated tree seedlings and saplings significantly increased. There were no other changes in forest management practices during the period that would affect natural regeneration, and there were no significant changes in the volume of wood harvested or the volume/number of standing trees (with a diameter at breast height ≥10 cm). We concluded that moderate intensities of forest grazing (0.4 cattle*ha⁻¹) and timber harvesting (4.64 m³*ha⁻¹*y⁻¹) can be combined in this type of forest without negative impacts on forest regeneration. Our findings support Bhutan's policy of allowing forest grazing in CFs.

At present, the return of farmland to forests is the key ecological conservation policy in use to control soil erosion and restore the eco-environment of the Loess Plateau, China. In order to explore policy-driven ecological defarming scenarios, Ansai County is taken as a case study. The land use map in 2000 and the topographic and slope map (taking the defarmed slopes with 15°, 20°, and 25° as the defarming thresholds) were used, supported by spatial analysis techniques in geographic information systems (GIS). This paper simulates and analyzes the scale and spatial difference of ecological defarming of Ansai County, the subsidy demand for defarming, and the influences of defarming on agricultural development. The results show: (1) The area of defarmed land with slopes greater than 25° in Ansai amounts to 3451.05 ha, which accounts for 2.84% of total area with slopes over 25°, and the defarming index will be 3.14%. The total subsidy demand for defarming land will be 6884.84 × 10⁴ yuan (RMB) or US$ 1008.03 × 10⁴. The loss of agricultural food products that results from defarming will be 955.17 t in the average year, or 1.66% of total average annual production. (2) The area of defarmed land with slopes over 20° in Ansai will increase to 36,281.61 ha, which accounts for 19.74% of total area with slopes over 20°, and the defarming index will be 32.96%. The total subsidy demand for defarming land will be 72,381.81 × 10⁴ yuan or US$ 10,597.63 × 10⁴. The loss of agricultural food products due to defarming will be 10,041.9 t in the average year, or 17.50% of total average annual production. (3) The area of defarmed land with slopes over 15° in Ansai increases to 101,807.99 ha, which accounts for 37.23% of total area with slopes over 15°, and the defarming index will be 92.49%. The total subsidy demand for defarming land will be 203,106.94 × 10⁴ yuan or US$ 29,737.47 × 10⁴. The loss of agricultural food products owing to defarming will be 28,178.06 t in the average year, or 49.10% of total average annual production.

Future economic growth and land development have the potential to produce tradeoffs in which economic values increase at the expense of environmental values. Although such tradeoffs have not been empirically verified in mountain ecosystems, they are likely to exist for an ecosystem containing abundant natural resources and environmental amenities that is undergoing rapid economic and population growth. Quantifying future tradeoffs between economic and environmental values is important because it provides information for natural resource managers and community planners that is useful in alleviating the adverse impacts of future growth and development on wildlife. Such tradeoffs are quantified for Flathead County, Montana, located in the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States, using the Ecosystem Landscape Modeling System (ELMS). In particular, the ELMS is used for the following: (1) to simulate the extent of the tradeoffs between economic values (ie total output of goods and services) and wildlife habitat suitability (ie extent of habitat disturbance and the degree of loss in habitat security) in buffer zones for 5 protected areas in Flathead County between 2005 and 2024; and (2) to determine whether implementing a more restrictive land use policy than existed in 2005 would reduce future adverse impacts of growth and development on wildlife habitat. Simulation results indicate that future growth in Flathead County increases total output of goods and services, and the resulting land development reduces the suitability of wildlife habitat in the buffer zones. Degradation in habitat suitability can be alleviated by implementing a more restrictive land use policy. The methods used in the study provide a coarse assessment of the tradeoffs between economic values and wildlife habitat suitability in buffer zones for mountain protected areas.

This study explores the social and ecological impacts of circulatory land tenure in the villages of Allahdand and Dheri, situated near one another in the lower Swat valley (upper part of Malakand Agency). Apart from communal hill slopes, agricultural land is divided into 3 categories: damani (rainfed), jewardara (irrigated but with no rice), and shoulgarey (irrigated, mainly used for rice). The people permanently own the rainfed land, while the irrigated land is under a tenure system known as garzinda wesh (circulatory tenure), with 10 years' tenure rotation allotted through khasanray (drawing lot). This type of land tenure system also exists partially in other villages of Upper Malakand such as Jolagaram, Khar, and Totakan. This system was introduced in the 16th century with the idea of sharing all types of land—including irrigated land, fertile land, slope land, etc—in equal shares and with the aim of enabling the landowner tribe to respond collectively if some other tribe or majority tenants tried to seize any portion of land. Due to social conflicts, this system can have negative impacts today, especially in the form of soil erosion leading to land degradation. We highlight the positive and negative environmental impacts of the system. To this purpose, a detailed survey was conducted using focus group interviews, participatory rural appraisals, mapping, and transit walks with timelines. The results show how social response to the suitability of the system for livelihoods and social integrity can vary. The impact on fuelwood consumption is negative, leading to deforestation and lack of soil conservation. Abolishment of garzinda wesh in the village is recommended.

Community forest user groups (CFUGs) in Nepal generate income over US$ 10 million annually through community forestry. The income generated is invested in different development activities, including pro-poor programs (PPP). This paper seeks to understand to what extent CFUG funds are being invested in PPP, what factors determine whether investment in PPP is made, and whether the amount of CFUG income matters for making an investment in PPP. The paper relies on primary data from 100 CFUGs distributed in 3 different midhill districts of Nepal. A set of questionnaires was developed and administered to a small group of 100 CFUGs. The study findings show that PPP is the second major expenditure of the CFUG funds examined. It suggests that investment in PPP tends to depend on the amount of CFUG income. In addition to CFUG income, the chairperson's age, the secretary's exposure, and the number of dalit households are likely to influence whether investment of CFUG funds in PPP is made: an older chairperson increases the likelihood that investment of CFUG funds will be made in PPP, whereas exposure of the secretary to training and a higher number of dalit households are likely to lead to less or no investment in PPP. The paper concludes that higher income leads to a proportionally higher investment in PPP and suggests that it is necessary to increase CFUG income to increase investment in PPP. There is also a need to consider that increasing CFUG income may lead to overharvesting of forest resources.

In the last decade, tourism has developed rapidly in the mountainous areas of northwest Yunnan. This growth has led to substantial economic and social changes, with resulting environmental consequences. This article uses a case study to illustrate how local farmers involved in tourism changed their agricultural practices as a result of the transformations that took place in the area. The aim was to examine tourism's expected benefits of poverty alleviation and conservation incentives. Tourism investments were found to have been adopted only by households with available cash and labor, whereas they remained inaccessible for the poor, small landowners who most needed a new source of income and used their land more exhaustively. Relatively rich, large landowners did not take the opportunity to reduce their agricultural activities. Instead, they used supplementary incomes earned from tourism to hire external labor to cultivate their land more intensely. Tourism development failed to generate real incentives for mountain farmers to adopt more conservation measures and prevent soil erosion and nonpoint source agricultural water pollution, which currently constitute serious environmental problems for mountain environments in Yunnan. This article presents recommendations based on the conclusions of the study.

The signature of Colorado's Rocky Mountains are the 58 named mountain peaks that exceed an elevation of 14,000 feet (4267 m), referred to as the “Fourteeners.” For decades, 53 or 54 peaks were widely accepted as Fourteeners, but all US Geological Survey-named, recognized, and frequented Fourteeners are included here to bring the total to 58. This article documents factors that affect mountain climbing in Colorado, USA, and discusses the potential for adverse environmental impacts from the increasing number of climbers visiting the Fourteeners, presumably from the adjacent major population center of the Denver, CO, metropolitan area. The first goal was to determine from summit registers the amount of climbers (Fourteener-visits) on any given 14,000-foot peak by month and by year. The second goal identified distance and accessibility factors that have a significant effect on relative annual mountain climbing frequency. Findings provide important insights on identifying potential preservation needs and tourism management within heavily visited rural mountain environments.