Impact on Mountainous Agricultural Development in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area forced by Migrants of the Three Gorges Project

The Three Gorges Project attracts worldwide attention because of the Three Gorges migrants, and the agriculture of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area is a foundation for the development of the Three Gorges migrants. The Three Gorges Reservoir Area is situated at the mountainous area with bad agricultural development conditions and relatively low levels of development. As a result, the large-scale migration fias special influence on its agricultural development, which has attracted much attention. The paper analyzes influence that the migrants have forced on its agricultural development based on the scientific data, and makes some explorations on the models that are suitable for the development of mountainous agriculture in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area.

An indicator-based approach to assess village-level social and biophysical vulnerability of agriculture communities in Uttarakhand,India

With the growing recognition to myriad forms of current and future threats in the mountain agriculture systems,there is a pressing need to holistically understand the vulnerability of mountain agriculture communities.The study aims to assess the biophysical and social vulnerability of agriculture communities using an indicator-based approach for the state of Uttarakhand,India.A total of 14 indicators were used to capture biophysical vulnerability and 22 for social vulnerability profiles of15285 villages.Vulnerability analysis was done at village level with weights assigned to each indicator using Analytical Hierarchical Process(AHP).The results of the study highlight the presence of very high biophysical vulnerability(0.82 ± 0.10) and high social vulnerability(0.65 ± 0.15) within the state.Based on the results,it was found that incidences of high biophysical vulnerability coincide with presence of intensified agriculture land and absence of dense forest.Higher social vulnerability scores were found in villages with an absence of local institutions(like Self Helping Groups(SHGs)),negligible infrastructure facilities and higher occupational dependence on agriculture.A contrast was observed in the vulnerability scores of villages present in the three different altitudinal zones in the study area,indicating respective vulnerability generating conditions existing in these three zones.Biophysical vulnerability was recorded to be highest in the villages falling in the lower zone and lowest in the upper zone villages;whereas,social vulnerability was found to be highest in the middle zone villages and lowest in lower zone villages.Our study aids policy makers in identifying areas for intervention to expedite agriculture adaptation planning in the state.Additionally,the adaptation programmes in the region need to be more context-specific to accommodate the differential altitudinal vulnerability profiles.

Between plaza and peak: a montological perspective on verticality and urbanization in highland Peru

Under the influence of concentrated and extended urbanization,Andean cities and the different altitudinal zones of their“hinterlands”are experiencing profound changes in land cover—from the central plazas up to the highest peaks.The complex regional-geographic characteristics of these socioecological systems,such as the vertical complementarity of land use,require a montological perspective on verticality and urbanization:it transcends disciplinary approaches and can be crucial to properly interpret the trajectories of land cover change and formulate hypotheses for future practiceoriented research.Which trajectories of land cover change characterized altitudinal zones of Andean cities and their surroundings over the last three decades?Are there similarities that allow for the formulation of more general hypotheses?Using the Peruvian cases of Cusco and Huaraz,and combining a traditional altitudinal zonation model of land use in Peru with direct field observations and GIS-based analyses of remotely sensed data from 1991,2001,2011,and 2021,this study identifies the main trajectories of land cover change in the Quechua(>2300–3500 m),Suni(>3500–4000 m),and Puna(>4000–4800 m)regions—and finds insightful similarities between Cusco and Huaraz:(1)an impressive area of built-up land substitutes grassland in the Quechua,which,following regional altitudinal zonation models,is characterized by irrigated and rain-fed cropland;(2)an unexpected expansion of irrigated cropland takes place in the Suni,which,in theory,often lacks irrigation infrastructure and is mostly used for rain-fed tuber cultivation;and(3)a clear change from“other land”to grassland occurs in the Puna—where grassland is thought to predominate,anyway,since pre-Hispanic times.Hypothesizing that these changes reflect the interplay between speculative fallow,agricultural intensification,and ecological restoration,the results can be read as vertically complementary,local manifestations of concentrated and extended urbanization in a formerly peripheral mountain region of the Global South—and they underscore the need to overcome mental city-mountain dichotomies for a socially inclusive and ecologically balanced Andean development between plaza and peak.

Population Growth and Sustainability of Common Property Resource Management Systems in the Eastern Hindu Kush:The Use of Communal Fodder Resources in Mehlp Valley,North Pakistan

In common property studies,increasing number of users has been considered as a major threat for the long-term sustainability of natural resources. This perception has been true in a few cases. However,the 40-years empirical research conducted in a variety of environmental settings,reveals that population pressure is not the only factor responsible for the degradation of natural resources. In remote areas,where the local inhabitants highly depend on available natural resources for subsistence livelihood,the economically important resources are kept under different ownership regimes. The local inhabitants have established autochthonous insti-tutions,and formulated rules and regulations for proper management of these resources. In this paper an attempt has been made to explore the response of a small fodder user community to the increasing population. For this purpose a micro-level study has been conducted in a remote mountain environment in the eastern Hindu Kush. For this research,data has been collected through fieldwork and focus group discussion. The results of this study reveal that fodder user communities have responded very well to the problem of population pressure. To maintain equity and long-term sustainability they have adopted a number of strategies including changing the ownership,and a resource kept under private ownership at the time of low population has been changed to a common property with increase in population. Based on this study it can be concluded that in mountainous areas and fragile environment the local inhabitant have both the capacity and capability to change their behaviour with regard to changing resource productivity as well as increasing number of users,and this situation does not always lead to the tragedy of commons.

Effect of Ploughing Depth on the Growth and Yield of Heracleum candicans:a Threatened Medicinal Herb and a Less-explored Potential Crop of the Himalayan Region

This paper examines the effect of ploughing depths （A -- 60 cm, B -- 45 cm and C -- 30 cm） on the growth and yield of Heracleum candicans Wall （Apiaceae）, a threatened medicinal herb of the Himalayan region. This less-explored plant is being suggested as a potential crop for the mountain agriculture. The study was carried out in an orchard in Himachal Pradesh, India at 2500 m altitude, for two successive growth years. During the first year, all plants remained in juvenile state; in the second year, nearly 65 % plants produced flowers only under 60cm ploughing depth. Among its morphological traits, plant height, collar diameter and aboveground flesh weight were found to be strongly correlated （P 〈 0.01） with the belowground biomass during the first year （r =0.968, 0.925 and 0.973, respectively） and during the second year （r=0.945, 0.928 and 0.775, respectively）. Increase in the ploughing depth was significantly correlated （P〈0.01） with all growth parameters, including the belowground dry weight, marketable portion of the produce. The belowground biomass （commercial yield; 16.28 Qt/hec） at depth A was about 2.6 and 4.7 times higher than those recorded at depths B and C, respectively. The results clearly justify the importance of deep ploughing and this paper strongly recommends it for economically sustainable cropping.

Farmers'participatory selection of new rice varieties to boost production under temperate agro-ecosystems

In mountain agriculture, early maturity, high grain yield and high biomass are generally considered as farmer preferred traits in rice crop in addition to a multiple set of traits collectively responsible for variety adoption or rejection. The varieties tested only on station evaluation trials without taking the data from the farmers＇ fields by not including farmers as partners for variety evaluation are the reasons of low adoption of varieties. In this regard, a participatory methodology was followed by conducting a number of participatory trials in the farmers＇ fields during 2012-2014 in six districts of Kashmir Valley, India. The mother trials in the farmers＇ fields showed that the test variety SKUA-408 consistently and significantly out yielded Jhelum and farmers＇ variety followed by Shalimar rice 3 （SR3）. The other released varieties like SR1 and SR2 could not perform nicely in the farmers＇ fields because of late maturity. After making the t-test comparison of baby trials （paired plots）, the mean yield superiority of test varieties SKUA-408, SR3, and SKUA-403 over farmers＇ variety during 2013 was around 23, 25, and 22％, respectively, whereas in 2014 the respective yield advantage was recorded as 16.3, 17.7, and 16.2％. In all districts, SKUA-408 and SR3 were significantly preferred by farmers （P〈0.05 or 0.01） in terms of pre-harvest traits namely, tillering ability and general phenotypic acceptability, early maturity and biomass and for post-harvest traits such as general cooking quality besides, the intention to grow the variety for next year. Adoption and dissemination of SKUA-408 began in 2014 from the farm-saved seed in the form of farmer to farmer seed exchange. Farmers are the end users of a variety so the decision by the farmers while judging the variety should be taken into consideration to make the varietal choice more effective for its widespread adoption.