The Mongolian Ecosystem Network: Environmental Issues Under Climate and Social Changes

ISBN-13: 9784431540519 / Angielski / Twarda / 2012 / 320 str.

Norio Yamamura;Noboru Fujita;Ai Maekawa

Opis

This detailed presentation of the ecological and social aspects of environmental issues in Mongolia, such as desertification and the sustainability of nomadism, deploys the latest field research techniques to assess the nature of the threats the country faces.

Spis treści

Preface.- Part I. Ecosystem Network and Mongolian Nomadism.- 1. Ecosystem network as a socio-ecological system.- 2. Characteristics and transformation of the pastoral system in Mongolia.- 3. Distribution of vegetation as a fundamental factor in Mongolian ecosystems.- Part II. Natural Environment and Ecosystem Network.- 4. Long term study of the relationship between precipitation and productivity in the main pasture vegetation of a steppe ecosystem in eastern Mongolia.- 5. Water dynamics within a soil-vegetation-atmosphere system in a steppe region covered by shrubs and herbaceous plants.- 6. A possible future pictures of Mongolian forest-steppe vegetation under climate change and increasing livestock: Results from a new vegetation transition model at the topographical scale.- 7. Deforestation and reforestation of degraded forestland in Mongolia Jamsran Tsogtbaatar.- 8. Soil diversity in Mongolia.- 9. Effects of climate and grazing on surface soil in grassland.- 10. Degradation of Mongolian grassland vegetation under over-grazing by live-stock and its recovery by protection from livestock grazing.- 11. Annual production and species diversity of Mongolian pasture plants in relation to grazing pressure by livestock.- 12. Utilization of steppe vegetation by nomadic pastoralism in Mongolia.- 13. Vegetation interactions for the better understanding of a Mongolian ecosystem network.- Part III. Socio-Economic Activity and Ecosystem Network.- 14. Pastoral mobility and pastureland possession in Mongolia.- 15. A mathematical model of population shift between urban and rural areas.- 16. Change in livestock species and their spatial distribution.- 17. The cash in cashmere: Herders’ incentives and strategies to increase the goat population in post-socialist Mongolia.- 18. Marketability of dairy products in relation to distance in northern Mongolia.- 19. The impact of agricultural development on nomadic pastoralism in Mongolia.- 20. Conflict between mining development and nomadism in Mongolia.- 21. Interference impact of global warming and globalization on the society and ecosystem in Mongolia.-

Blurb

The aim of this book is to describe what is currently occurring in the Mongolian grasslands, to analyze how various factors creating environmental problems interact, and to suggest solutions for sustainable management of the grasslands. The book has three parts. Part I is an introduction, explaining the key concept of an ecosystem network and providing background information on the general features of Mongolian nomadic pastoralism as well as distribution of vegetation in Mongolian grasslands. Part II describes the effects of natural environmental factors and nomadic activities on grassland conditions. Water dynamics that maintain the grassland system are analyzed in a steppe region with shrubs and in a forest-steppe region with trees. Part III describes the effects of economic and social factors on land-use and the livelihood of herders. As nomadic people moved closer to large cities for economic advantage in the 1990s, degradation of pastures by overgrazing resulted. Finally, the impacts of global warming and globalization on the Mongolian society and ecosystem are examined. This book analyzes environmental problems in Mongolian grasslands, but the contents contribute to consideration of environmental problems and sustainable pasture use in grassland areas worldwide.