In the Pamirs of Tajikistan, meeting food needs is an ongoing struggle. One of the challenges to local agricultural production is water scarcity. This paper presents a case study of a small-scale, self-organized irrigation governance system in a village in the western Pamirs, applying the concept of “hydrosocial arrangements” to explore its physical and social components and the interactions between them. It concludes that the system has proven sustainable and resilient, largely because of its strong sense of community ownership and its flexibility. Political actors and development practitioners often lack detailed knowledge about such well-functioning local solutions, but external interventions applied without that knowledge risk destroying effective systems that are already in place. It is important to design interventions that are tailored to local needs and based on a comprehensive and well-contextualized understanding of local structures, relations, and values.

Mount Kenya serves as a natural water tower in the savanna-dominated Upper Ewaso Ng'iro River Basin in the Kenyan highlands. Major water users in the upper reaches of the river include medium- and large-scale commercial horticulture farms that produce flowers and vegetables for export using perennial irrigation schemes. These farms first appeared in the region in 1991 and gradually became powerful stakeholders that compete with small-scale farmers and urban centers over seasonally scarce water, increasing the potential for conflict. A comprehensive survey of commercial horticulture farms in the study area, including expert interviews with managers, enabled detailed analysis of the sector's development and its impact on local river water resources. Calculation of the horticulture sector's dry season water use revealed an increase from zero liters per second (L/s) in 1991 to 357 L/s in 2003 and 663 L/s in 2013, far exceeding minimum river flows. Despite this absolute increase in total water use, reliance on river water has decreased by roughly 30% since 2003, with a dramatic absolute increase in the use of alternative sources such as water stored in dams and groundwater. At the same time, the share of river water used varies greatly between specific rivers (2.2–32.5%), depending on the local availability of alternative water sources. Overall, to mitigate water conflicts, long-term monitoring and local stakeholder engagement must accompany practices and policies of efficiency.

Livestock grazing impacts the ecosystems of high mountains and adjacent low-elevation regions as a result of the physical, chemical, and hydrological connectivity of soil. In particular, grazing may alter the ecosystem services provided by soil, such as carbon and organic matter accumulation, carbon storage, and water infiltration. The present study evaluated the relative contents of soil organic matter (SOM) and soil organic carbon (SOC) on soil in a human-induced grassland and an frequently grazed Abies religiosa (Kunth) Schltdl. & Cham. forest in Nevado de Toluca, Mexico. It assessed carbon stocks in 2 different soil layers (0–5 cm and 5–25 cm), as well as soil compaction and water infiltration in both land uses. Results showed slightly lower SOM (21.7%) and SOC (12.6%) in soils on which livestock were grazed than in forest soils (25.7% for SOM and 14.65%, for SOC) at both depths and a greater bulk density of livestock soils (0.86 g cm⁻³) than of forest soils (0.73 g cm⁻³), particularly in the 0–5-cm layer (0.88 g cm⁻³) of livestock soils. More than 40 years of livestock grazing has clearly impacted the capacity of soils to accumulate organic matter and organic carbon. However, carbon stocks and water infiltration were not significantly affected, as low carbon accumulation was compensated by changes in soil bulk density. These results indicate that extensive livestock ranching and resource conservation are not necessarily mutually exclusive in the study site. Direct and indirect mechanisms involved in the provision of the evaluated regulating services should be further studied, taking into account the highly variable social and environmental conditions of Nevado de Toluca. Management policies should also aim to maintain an equilibrium between livestock rancher needs and conservation of supporting and regulating ecosystem services that are highly relevant to the functioning of mountain ecosystems.

The Peruvian Altiplano is an important center of mining activity. As a key hotspot for endemic biodiversity in Peru, it also has conservation value. Thus, ecological restoration strategies need to be developed to ensure that mining impacts on these biodiversity values are minimized. As a step toward this larger objective, we measured the composition of the soil seed bank on the Peruvian Altiplano and compared it with the standing vegetation in different plant communities. We calculated evolved persistence traits to evaluate the suitability of topsoil removal, storage, and redeployment as an ecological restoration strategy for the Peruvian Altiplano. The comparison demonstrates low similarities (Sorensen Index for sites A: 0.15, B:0.27, C:0.11, and D:0.12) between the seed bank and the standing vegetation. The flora of the germinable soil seed bank is dominated by ephemeral species. Meanwhile, the standing flora contains a higher percentage of perennial species, many of which invest in the capacity to persist via resprouting from underground storage organs. It is clear that the well-established restoration technique of topsoil removal, storage, and redeployment needs to be tested and will probably need modification to be an effective strategy for the Peruvian Altiplano. The required modifications are relatively straightforward and would ensure that this low-cost and effective restoration technique could be applied to good effect on the Peruvian Altiplano.

A study of vascular plant species composition, relative abundance, distribution, and anthropogenic threats to these species' survival was carried out in the Galama Mountains in Arsi Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. An Intensive Modified Whitaker nested plot design was used to sample vegetation in disturbed and undisturbed habitats across the landscape. A total of 191 plant species (including 5 identified only to the genus level) in 56 families were recorded. The dominant family was Asteraceae, followed by Poaceae. Twenty species (about one-tenth of all species recorded) are endemic to Ethiopia. The highest overall species richness was recorded in the dry evergreen Afromontane vegetation in the undisturbed plots and in the Erica (heath) habitat in the disturbed plots. Rare plant species were less frequent in the disturbed plots than in the undisturbed ones. Regression analysis indicated a significant decrease in total species richness with increase in elevation. It also indicated a significant decrease in species richness and average plant species ground cover with increasing amounts of fresh livestock dung. The rate of tree removal exceeds the rate of regeneration in the dry evergreen Afromontane vegetation. Myrsine melanophloeos, Schefflera abyssinica, and Juniperus procera were the dominant tree species in the lower elevations (2843 to 3200 m above sea level) and have been found to be overharvested. Based on the current anthropogenic pressures in the study area, we expect species diversity and frequency of occurrence to diminish over time. Urgent conservation measures including control of tree harvesting and livestock encroachment should be prioritized in Arsi Mountains National Park.

The response of treeline-forming species to global climate change is uncertain. While numerous treeline species have recently experienced range advance along their upper elevational boundary, this has been species- and region-dependent. Making an accurate prediction of how taxa will respond is essential for conservation and land management, as treeline advance is likely to result in a loss of alpine biodiversity through habitat change and fragmentation. Predicting any species response requires an understanding of the current physical and climatic determinants of its distribution. We used the Maxent species distribution modeling software to predict the likelihood of treeline advance in the Nepalese Himalayas by modeling the extent of suitable habitats for 3 dominant treeline species—Abies spectabilis, Betula utilis, and Pinus wallichiana—under present and projected climate conditions. Temperature-related climatic variables and elevation explained the greatest amount of variance in the distribution of the study species. Under projected climate conditions, we found a regional increase in suitable habitat for all 3 treeline species, predicting a potential for northward and upslope advance.

The objectives of this study were to examine changing snowmaking conditions in the New Hampshire White Mountains and how changes in snowmaking operations have compared with winter warming. We analyzed three 50-year high-quality daily temperature records representing different elevations and aspects to assess changes in snowmaking conditions during important snowmaking periods. The analysis provides context for discussing the historical relationships between temperatures, water, and snowmaking infrastructure. There was significant warming of winter temperatures over the 50-year record, notably strongest at the early portion of the snowmaking season, especially in the weeks between 1 December and 25 December. While the rates of warming were comparable on both north- and south-facing aspects, the implied reduction in days suitable for snowmaking in each period was always lowest on the north-facing aspect as the mean temperatures on this aspect were farther below the snowmaking threshold. Daily average temperatures of –2°C and –5°C were both explored as thresholds for snowmaking. The implied reduction in snowmaking opportunity during the 1 November to 25 December period using a –2°C snowmaking threshold at the north-facing site was 20%, while the implied reduction for the entire season for that site was 8.5%.This decrease in opportunity for snowmaking, especially in the economically important early season, suggests an increasing need for large volumes of water to make snow in less time, given that holiday vacations are fixed in time. Analysis of snowmaking operations at Loon Mountain Resort suggest that modern snowmaking investments there have outpaced the pressure from climate warming to date, but this has concentrated demand for water into smaller time frames.

Traditional agricultural landscapes give a distinct character to the European Alps and are considered part of their heritage due to their distinctive natural and sociocultural features. At a workshop jointly organized by the Swiss Interacademic Commission for Alpine Studies (ICAS), the International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps (ISCAR), and the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU), Ljubljana, experts from different European countries discussed current trends in traditional Alpine agricultural landscapes in September 2017 in Tolmin, Slovenia. The objective of the workshop was to develop options for proposing these landscapes as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems ( www.fao.org/giahs/en).

The Mountain Societies Research Institute (MSRI) operates at the interface of science and society in Central Asia. As part of the University of Central Asia and the wider Aga Khan Development Network, MSRI engages in transdisciplinary research for development and regularly seeks to strengthen regional capacities, to inform policy and practice, and to promote open dialogue among key stakeholders about development issues. MSRI thus aims to improve the well-being and resilience of mountain communities in the context of rapidly changing economic, sociocultural, political, and environmental conditions. MSRI's integrated approach to research, both with and for the benefit of mountain societies, demands simultaneous understanding of social and ecological factors operating at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Broadly embedded within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals, and more specifically the Sustainable Mountain Development agenda, the research and affiliated activities at MSRI also aim to elucidate and highlight the development challenges and opportunities of a long-neglected part of the world, greater Central Asia, extending from the Caucasus to western China.