Going beyond the usual regional perspective to afford a uniquely global and interdisciplinary view of agricultural trends in the world's mountain ranges, this volume explores the potential contribution of high-altitude farming to food and biofuel production.

Mountain agriculture is a socially and culturally unique system, but also a regionally important economic sector. In a globalising world, it is clear that fertile areas on all continents will always be used to produce large quantities of agricultural products in order to feed the world and, increasingly, provide biomass as a source of energy. It is far less clear, however, how land use in steep and more peripheral regions will evolve. By definition, farmland in mountain areas is more difficult to work because of steep slopes and missing accessibility. Climate conditions and poor soil quality...

This open access book applies for the first time emerging concepts of socioeconomics to analyse an economic sector, namely agriculture.