Exploring the ecological response of land use change is important for regional sustainable development and assists in understanding the profound consequences of this change. This paper proposes coupling a study of the evolution of land use with an assessment of ecological risk, based on a typical watershed in the hinterland of China's Three Gorges Reservoir area. Land use data for the Caotangxi watershed derived from Landsat images from 1990, 2000, 2004, and China–Brazil Earth Resource Satellite data from 2010 and 2016 were used to identify ecological risk based on land use changes. The spatial interaction process between land use and ecological risk changes from 2 spatial scales of grid and terrain was analyzed using geographic information system technology and an ecological risk index. The study area's ecological risk index demonstrated at first a worsening trend and then improvement during the period from 1990 to 2016. During 2004, there was a turning point in ecological risk evolution; this was most apparent in zones with a slope of 15–25 and >25°, as well as in the elevation zone between 300 and 1000 m. The proportion of serious-risk areas decreased sharply after 2010, and land function transformation resulted in improvement of ecological risk in the watershed during the 26 years from 1990 to 2016. Our study provides support for evaluating ecological risk trends and the development of land use transition theory in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. It is a typical description of land remediation and ecological restoration in this area.

In Armenia and Georgia, tourism has become part of the development strategies that aim to revitalize those mountain areas experiencing a rural exodus and anemic economic structures. Association agreements between the European Union (EU) and Georgia (2014) and the EU and Armenia (2018) promote community-based tourism (CBT), emphasizing the importance of facilitating cooperation between stakeholders and inclusion of local communities. This study describes the current application of CBT in Georgia and Armenia to elucidate the understanding and perception of the concept by different stakeholders and to provide recommendations for the development of comprehensive CBT practices in the South Caucasus. We used qualitative methods within our research. Our overall analysis includes policy documents and semistructured interviews with tourism and rural development authorities, civil society organizations, and entrepreneurs. Our key findings reveal the various factors that influence the sustainable development of CBT projects, especially in mountainous areas. We recommend integrating tourism and community development practices, elaborating specific guidelines for CBT projects, and filling the knowledge gap of community development facilitators regarding tourism practices. We also suggest focusing more on diversifying community-based products to expand cooperation among service providers.

Understanding the niche usage and dietary habits of wild ungulate populations is crucial to monitoring their response to livestock grazing and changes in habitat quality. Livestock grazing is common throughout the Himalaya and may reduce available forage for wild ungulates, but few studies have assessed the impact of livestock grazing on the diets of wild herbivores in the Greater Himalaya. We assessed forage availability and used microhistological analysis to compare the diet composition of livestock (domestic goats and sheep) and 2 wild herbivores (blue sheep Pseudois nayaur and musk deer Moschus sp.) in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, India. We calculated the diet preference and niche breadth of each species and the diet overlap between each pair of species. Our results suggest that musk deer may browse trees more than previously understood. In addition, blue sheep consumed fewer graminoids in the autumn than has been previously published. The seasonal increase in shrub and herb consumption by blue sheep during the winter may be amplified and shifted to earlier in the year as a result of reduced graminoid availability after intensive livestock grazing. We recommend monitoring livestock numbers in the study area and limiting livestock to current numbers to avoid further reducing forage availability.

This study is an attempt to empirically understand the transformation of rooted livelihoods after the arrival of tourism in the Greater Caucasus. A case-specific methodology combining qualitative and geographic information methods enabled us to identify 4 types of tourism-led livelihood change: (1) expanding nonagricultural activities; (2) reducing agricultural activities; (3) developing agritourism activities; and (4) increasing agricultural activities. Broad spatial coverage ensured that the data collected were representative. The findings indicate that although tourism growth has increased the need for supplementary services, only a few local residents have managed to develop tourism-related nonagricultural activities. We argue that mountain residents see opportunities from tourism mainly in agriculture and hosting tourists. However, relatively few of them actually expanded their agricultural activities in response to tourism's increased demand for agricultural products, as several barriers (lack of human resources, modern technology, and finances) hindered other residents from taking this opportunity. As our study reveals, households with traditional livelihoods most often replaced their agricultural activities, investing all their resources in developing tourism-related livelihoods instead. Others created added value from their integrated agriculture- and tourism-based livelihoods by providing visitors with locally made products. In addition to these findings on trends in livelihood changes, the study also provides an understanding of households' economic priorities. We hope the new insights surrounding tourism-led livelihood shifts will spark a debate on how people cope with the rapid spread of tourism in the Georgian mountains.

This study evaluated the distribution pattern, species diversity index (richness, diversity, and evenness), importance value index (IVI), and family importance value (FIV) of all vascular plant species and various plant community life-form spectra along the Moghan Plain–Sabalan Mountain rangelands, Ardabil province, Iran. Sampling was conducted in 11 elevation classes at 300-m elevation intervals (100–3300 masl). In each elevation interval, 30 quadrats (1 × 1 m) were laid to collect vegetation data. Different vegetation attributes (density, frequency, and canopy cover) were measured for each quadrat. Regression analyses were employed to explore the interrelation of elevation with diversity, species richness, evenness, and IVI. In total, 251 species (143 genera, 38 families) were recorded across the study area. Poaceae, Fabaceae, and Asteraceae were most dominant families according to the FIV. According to the IVI, Poa bulbosa, Festuca ovina, Medicago minima, and Artemisia austriaca were the dominant species along the elevation gradient. Total diversity and species richness showed a normal distribution along the elevation gradient. Overall, hemicryptophytes and therophytes were the dominant life forms, while chamaephytes and geophytes were less frequent forms. The life-form patterns changed along elevation gradients. While the diversity and species richness values of therophytes and chamaephytes showed a decreasing trend, hemicryptophytes increased with increasing elevation. Diversity, species richness, and evenness of geophytes were not significantly different across the elevation gradient. Class I (highly palatable) and class II (mostly palatable) species declined as the elevation increased and then increased, while class III (hardly or unpalatable) species showed a reverse trend. The difference in the abundance and distribution of species in elevation classes could be related to resource availability, overlap of habitats, habitat patchiness, land area, degree of human influence, or biotic disturbances.

In China, the successive government has implemented ambitious programs and policies to reverse the decline in forest cover. As an essential source of freshwater and an ecological barrier for Beijing, Zhangjiakou City has implemented several forest expansion strategies. Topographic conditions in this mountainous area have generated spatially heterogeneous afforestation outcomes. Quantifying the impact of these conditions on implemented forest programs could improve ecological restoration strategies of Chinese mountain areas. Using remotely sensed data from the Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper and the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager, we generated land cover data to identify forest cover changes in Zhangjiakou City in 1989, 2000, and 2015. Forest cover data, topographic information (elevation, slope, aspect, land relief, and terrain niches), and spatial statistical models (geographically weighted regression [GWR]) were used to analyze re- and afforestation over 2 periods (1989–2000 and 2000–2015). The results show that forest cover in Zhangjiakou City increased by one third from 1989 to 2015. The rate of afforestation from 2000 to 2015 was 4 times the rate observed between 1989 and 2000. A trend toward gradual afforestation of higher-elevation and gentler-slope areas and land relief and terrain niche zones was observed between the 2 periods. Expansion mostly occurred in grasslands, arable lands, and unused lands. Elevation, slope, and land relief were the dominant topographic factors influencing forest cover change. Such factors influenced afforestation directly through their effect on microclimates and local biophysical conditions and indirectly by limiting the geographic area where forest programs could be implemented. Terrain niche was also an important predictor of forest cover change under complex topographic conditions. The GWR results indicate heterogeneous forest cover change processes across the study area. Our analysis could guide the implementation of effective forest expansion programs and policies, particularly for degraded mountain ecosystems.

Achieving sustainable food security is a critical goal for smallholder farmers in mountainous regions around the world. In the 40,000 km² Maloti–Drakensberg mountains (South Africa and Lesotho), one of the important mountain ranges of southern Africa, farmers are directly dependent on natural resources. Natural resource management is currently unsustainable, driving landscape degradation and entrenching poverty cycles. Through a comprehensive literature review, we explore the current status of knowledge, opportunities, and agriculture-dependent natural resource sustainability in the Maloti–Drakensberg, and outline the priorities for future research in mountain agriculture in southern Africa. The Maloti–Drakensberg has diverse land tenure systems and climatic heterogeneity that together determine farming practices. Agropastoralism is the predominant agricultural practice, occupying 79% of the land, because of the natural grass-dominated vegetation. Despite decades of concern, the sustainable management of communal rangeland remains elusive. Arable cropping is practiced on 12% of the land at subsistence levels, while game farming contributes a small amount to local revenues. A multipronged research approach is needed to understand the complex social–ecological issues around soil degradation and sustainable utilization of the limited agricultural natural resources base. Innovative and adaptive strategies that take into account local and indigenous knowledge, mitigate soil degradation, and enhance water and rangeland conservation are needed to promote sustainable food production in the Maloti–Drakensberg.