Every year, mountain pastures show a progressive impoverishment of forage. The loss in grassland feed value restricts the production period of local Pecorino cheeses, which strongly depend on the vegetative cycle of the pasture linked to climatic conditions. The Monte Fietone mountain area (Macerata, Italy) has emblematic pasture flora during spring and early summer. This unique environment is normally used for rearing sheep, allowing regular production of local Pecorino cheeses from their milk, which is rich in vitamins and intrinsic floral aromas. Biologists and agronomists are giving increasing importance to these mountain food products. We conducted sensorial tests and experimental auctions to investigate recognition of the quality of this rare artisanal product. The results indicate considerable potential for economic differentiation. Accordingly, we recommend useful and applicable marketing and policy actions to support the sustainability of mountain grazing systems.

The European Union (EU) regulation on mountain food products represents a great opportunity for beef producers in mountain areas, particularly as the quality-certified food has received more attention from European consumers in recent years. However, for a food-quality system—such as the European Commission's mountain labeling scheme—to be effective, the regulation standards must meet consumer expectations. In Italy, there are few studies on consumer preferences regarding beef and none focused on meat produced in mountain areas. To help fill this gap, this study assessed the preferences of Italian citizens for attributes associated with beef produced in mountain areas and contrasted the results with the EU regulation on mountain food products. Furthermore, factors that explain the heterogeneity of Italians' preferences regarding beef production attributes were analyzed. Data were collected online using a consumer panel, and a best–worst scaling method and latent class analysis were used. The results indicate that Italians expect mountain beef to be healthier and produced according to higher animal welfare standards. Such preferences reveal the existence of a gap between what Italians expect and the quality standards of the EU regulation on mountain food products, a situation that may jeopardize the objectives of the European Commission's mountain labeling scheme.

Mountain protected areas are popular tourism destinations. Those managing such landscapes and activities require data on when and where people go, but obtaining such information is difficult for large and often remote areas, particularly when resources are limited. We illustrate how geolocated images posted on social media could be used to assess tourism by analyzing geolocated images taken in the Annapurna Conservation Area in Nepal and posted to the image-sharing platform Flickr. Data from 577 visitors covering 3 major periods—pre-2007 (limited roads and Maoist insurgency), 2008–2014 (post-insurgency and better roads), and 2015–2020 (post-blizzard and earthquake)—and 4 meteorological seasons were analyzed. We found monthly patterns based on photo user days correlated with recent official visitor data. When finer resolution mapping of photo-user-hour data was visualized using heatmaps, seasonal and spatial patterns were apparent. Visitors mainly stayed on trails, roads, or in villages, with few images off trails, at high elevations, or from the remote north, while visitation was greater and more dispersed in spring and autumn compared to summer and winter. The results highlight the concentrated nature of visitation and hence opportunities to promote new destinations, events, and activities, particularly in summer and winter. They also show how roads and trails have expanded the use of the area. Although beneficial, social media has limitations, as few visitors post to social media, platforms vary in popularity and access to data, and there are increasing ethical and privacy issues with data from social media that need to be considered.

Livestock systems are vital to socioeconomic livelihoods in mountain territories, yet quantitative analyses of their diverse modes of production beyond farm level are missing. We used the concept of nature's contributions to people to account for these various society–ecosystem interactions. We investigated the role of biophysical constraints, resources, and community-based institutions (CBIs) for agricultural production at municipal scale. We asked: What are the driving variables that govern the agricultural system at municipal scale in a mountain territory, and what is the role of CBIs? Based on qualitative research with local informants, we identified the most relevant resources for agricultural production in 53 municipalities that are part of a cheese-producing CBI in Maurienne Valley (French Alps). Correlation analyses showed how biophysical constraints and external drivers from tourism shape the agricultural management of ecosystems. The inductive clustering to 3 production typologies suggested that the CBIs could buffer resulting differences in economic outcomes. Our results display how such mixed-method analyses can inform policymaking in heterogeneous mountain territories.

Agriculture in mountain areas is typically practiced on terraces. This form of farming is facing significant challenges across the globe related to high production costs, land abandonment, and rural depopulation. The aim of this study was to explore the viability and prospects of mountain farming using the wineries in the terraced mountains of Cyprus as a case study. A semistructured questionnaire was developed, and 11 family wineries were selected and surveyed. The study found that mountain winery owners envision a future where abandoned mountain plots are productively utilized. The survey showed that mountain wineries are financially viable agribusinesses and share a common desire for sustaining and enhancing the quality of the wine produced to support their long-term success. The revitalization of mountain farming can potentially lead to the development of other rural enterprises and create employment opportunities to sustain young families in the mountains. Investments in drystone terraces were found to be costly, especially for wineries that were located at higher elevations (€ 150/m or US$ 171.30/m) compared to those on gentler slopes and lower elevations (€ 20/m or US$ 22.84/m). Nevertheless, the majority of winery owners recognized the provision of ecosystem services by drystone terraces, such as the reduction of soil erosion and the formation of a unique mountain terroir that enables the production of niche wines. Although the survey found that subsidies for terrace construction and maintenance are a small part of the revenue for these wineries, policy measures can become more targeted, effective, and equitable by considering the actual costs of terracing, as determined by site-specific characteristics such as elevation, slope, and geology.

Managing the flow of visitors in protected areas of the northern French Alps has become a central issue due to inhabitants' growing interest in mountain sports. This article presents the findings of a survey of mountain sports participants involving 1883 respondents in 4 mountain massifs. We inquired about their knowledge of the recreation spot (protection statuses and wildlife) and their attitudes toward restricting access to minimize wildlife disturbance. Respondents had better knowledge of wildlife than of protection statuses. Although they supported measures that aim to reduce disturbance, they believed access to the mountains should not be restricted. Type of activity, mountain site, and proximity of residence to recreation spots all influenced knowledge and attitudes. These results should encourage managers to target visitors differently based on what they do and where they come from to ensure compliance with regulations and tranquility of wildlife.

The settled landscape in the Drakensberg Mountain region of South Africa is characterized by increasing urbanization. Some of the supposedly rural settlements in the region have experienced increasing change in their landscapes over the last 3 decades, resulting in significant land use and land cover (LULC) changes. Among such settlements, Phuthaditjhaba and its environs are slowly becoming a metropolitan area. Based on conceptual considerations regarding sustainable urban development, we assessed LULC change using 4 Landsat images from 1989, 1999, 2009, and 2019 and a combination of unsupervised and supervised classification methods. The images were classified into 4 LULC classes. Between 1989 and 2019, the urban built-up area in Phuthaditjhaba increased from about 5% to 19%, representing a total increase of 270%. However, the greatest increase in land cover was in bare surface at the expense of vegetated areas, including farmland, which decreased from about 45% to 15%. The increase in bare surface could be due to fires. Built-up areas also increased due to a consistent increase in population density in the study area. We further described spatial patterns in LULC using selected landscape metrics. A decrease in patch density (PD) and cohesion, coupled with constant edge density (ED) and an increase in the fractal dimensional index (FDI), indicates fragmentation and less connectivity between 1989 and 1999; we interpret this as a sign of unsustainability. An increase in PD and cohesion and fluctuations in ED and FDI show that land patterns were more aggregated between 2009 and 2019. At the class level, an increase in PD, cohesion, and ED also showed more aggregated land patterns, which was confirmed by the mean patch size. The FDI revealed greater connectivity, which we also interpreted as unsustainable because of the increase in bare surface and built-up areas. Integrative coplanning and comanagement of land use and allocation are needed to ensure sustainable development.