日本を代表する酪農地域である北海道別海町を対象とし，生乳生産様式，および経営内容を捉えることで，酪農の生産構造を明らかにした。別海町は，根釧パイロットファーム計画や新酪農村建設事業などの開拓事業によって，日本屈指の酪農地域へと発展してきた。個々の農家は，搾乳に加え，育成による乳牛の更新，飼料生産，糞尿の処理と還元などを行なっている。農作業は多岐にわたるが，近年では請負による酪農支援システムが利用されている。また，生乳は近隣の複数メーカーに出荷されているが，ホクレンが生乳を買い取り，乳業メーカーとの交渉の中で価格が決定される仕組みがある。　事例農家の酪農経営は，多頭育型経営，中規模型経営，およびマイペース型経営の３つに区分される。このうち多頭育型経営は，新型の施設装備や酪農支援システムを選択し，飼養頭数と個体あたりの乳量を増加させている。一方マイペース型経営は，飼養頭数の抑制と支出の削減を通して経営を成り立たせている。中規模型経営は，両者の中間的性格を持ち，現状を維持している。これらの経営は，搾乳牛頭数に明確な差異が現れると同時に，施設装備や飼料保存形態にも差を生んでいる。

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　日本でケッペンの気候区分を適用すると，東北から北海道にかけての地域で，温帯から亜寒帯の遷移帯がみられる。本研究では，この遷移帯付近に位置し，かつ比較的小さな範囲である北海道（北方領土は除く) を対象としてケッペンの気候区分を適用した。また，気候の面的な分布を見られるよう，気象台やAMeDAS観測所のデータより詳細な，1kmメッシュデータを用いて区分を行った。この結果，北海道の代表的な気候区とされている亜寒帯のDf（Dfa・Dfb・Dfc) 以外にも，温帯のCfa・Cfb・Cs* や，それにわずかながらDwb，寒帯のETと，さまざまな気候区が存在することが分かった。また，1971～2000年，1981～2010年の2期間について同様の解析を行い，気候区が変化した地域を明らかにした。2期間で生じたすべての気候区変化パターンをクロス集計により明らかにした。さらに，各変化パターンの代表メッシュを抽出し，気温や降水量のデータを用いて，変化が生じた理由を説明した。北海道において，ある気候区が変化するパターンとその逆方向の気候区への変化パターンが混在した地域が見られ，この地域は気候区の遷移帯であると判断できる。遷移帯において気候区が変化したメッシュ数を比較すると，温暖化の傾向を示すメッシュ数が多かった。北海道という比較的小さな地域でもケッペンの気候区分により気候変動の一側面が把握できたことから，小地域におけるケッペンの気候区分が有効性を持つ場合があることが確認された。

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As a part of an ecological research project on wild animals, alpine steppe vegetation in the Koyondu Valley, the Sarychat-Ertash State Reserve, in the northern Tian Shan Mountains of the Kyrgyz Repub lic was surveyed. Horses and sheep were kept as livestock, while wildlife such as Marco Polo sheep (argali) and wolves also inhabited the region. Information regarding wildlife, weather conditions and the livelihood of human inhabitants within the region was scarce and difficult to obtain. In May 2011, 21 relevé plots from 5 types of vegetational physiognomy were established at elevations ranging from ca. 3,400 to 3,600 m. In each plot, coverage, sociability and height of each plant species were measured. As a result, vegetation physiognomy of type IV plots (grassland with accumulated detritus) proved to have by far the greatest coverage and v-values of all physiognomy types. Seven varieties of plant community (A1 to A4 and B1 to B3) were recognized based on differing combinations of 4 differential plant species. Varieties of plant community did not exactly correspond to types of vegetation physiognomy, and type IV plots displayed the most variability. Distribution patterns of each community in relation to elevation and slope direction appeared similar on both the left (facing southwest) and right (facing northeast) banks of the valley, but exceptions were observed more frequently on the left bank than the right. When v-value was plotted against the total number of plant species present, the majority of plots fell within a successive transition. Type IV plots, however, were out of this transition and possessed exceptionally abundant vegetation.

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We investigated whether overgrazing has caused the degeneration of steppe vegetation around SaryTash Village (southern Kyrgyz Republic) at an elevation of 3,100 to 3,400 m. Six vegetation lines, combining slope direction (N, north; S, south) with elevation zone (1, high; 2, middle; 3, low) and containing 8 plots (2 m × 2 m) per line, were established. The line of S2 lies on the slope of degenerated vegetation. In each plot, species composition, coverage, plant height, and plant growth form were surveyed in July 2012. V-values were calculated as an estimate of above-ground biomass. As a result, 6 species, including Carex sp., Artemisia sp., and Deschampsia caespitosum, were distributed along all lines with relatively high consistency and coverage classes, and several species including those in the Poaceae, Asteraceae, and Brassicaceae were characterized along each line. The similarity of species composition was significantly smaller among the south-oriented lines (with CC ranging from 0.309 to 0.339) than among the north-oriented lines (CC from 0.418 to 0.509). Analysis of variance proved that south-facing slopes were covered with a tall, sparse community and north-facing slopes were covered with a short, dense community. Differences in V-values and total number of species were not significant among the lines. The half-change interval (HC), calculated from the similarity in species composition between plots, was significantly smaller in S2 and S3 (the HC values were 2.1 and 1.9 plots, respectively) than the other lines (HC ranged from 5.3 to 11.3). This suggests that the replacement of species was intense (i.e., beta diversity was high) in south-facing slopes, except for S1. The growth form spectrum in S2, comprising a smaller percentage of ‘t’ (tussoks) and larger percentages of ‘r-e’ (erect-form forbs with rosettes) and ‘b’ (branched forms) than the other lines, was inconsistent with the changes generally reported as being caused by grazing. Consequently, we cannot attribute the degeneration of vegetation in S2 to grazing alone. Other environmental factors deserve attention in order to explain the cause of degeneration.

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This paper assesses grazing intensity and slope status in the Alai Valley, southern Kyrgyzstan using the grazing model of Howard and Higgins (1987) and vegetation-covered area. The grazing intensities of the measured slopes (N=173) have been classified into three types: (1) slopes without terraces (N=84), (2) slopes that can accept more livestock (N=19), and (3) overgrazed slopes (N=70). Considering the percentage of vegetation cover (threshold=40%), the slopes can be divided into those in good status (N=70) and those in poor status (N=103). Three influential factors for grazing intensity and slope status are discussed, i.e., grazing seasonality, distance to the main river, and stocking rate. The results show that 40.5% of slopes are overgrazed and 59.6% are evaluated as slopes in poor status. During the fieldwork, 33 households in total were interviewed. The interview results show that the western part of the study area is used as spring and autumn pastures, and that the eastern part is used as summer pastures. Summer grazing has resulted in overgrazing. The distances from the measured slopes to the main river were calculated by GIS. The grazing intensity is greater in the vicinity of the main river, and the slope status improves with the increasing distance to water. The slopes that can accept more livestock are always located at least 500 m away from the main river. The results show that grazing seasonality, distance to the main river, and stocking rate act as influential factors for the distribution of grazing intensity and slope status.

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Transhumance is a typical form of subsistence in the livestock industry that involves the climatic difference between lowlands and highlands. There are several types of transhumance but its most import ant factor is the natural difference in climate and vegetation between lowlands and mountain regions. In this paper, we will discuss the connection between mountains and human activities through transhumance (küch in Kyrgyz), the use of natural resources, and age-based livestock naming differences in the Alai Valley, located in the northern part of the Pamir in Central Asia. In 1920, the region called Kyrgyz was integrated into the Soviet Union. Before the Soviet era, Kyrgyz people had maintained a purely nomadic lifestyle, travelling from one pasture to another in groups. The integration into the Soviet regime caused a rapid transformation in this region from nomadic pastoralism to livestock farming. The transition period that Central Asia went through after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union diverged greatly from the initial optimism that surrounded it. Livestock farming became a matter of individual enterprise, or fermer. Today, the eastern part of the Alai valley is characterized by two types of transhumance: horizontal and ascending. In contrast with the conditions of the Soviet era, the region is now independent, so pastoralists will unavoidable need to gain autonomy in the new market economy.

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This study examines the place names shown on the 1:200,000 topographic map of the Lenin Peak area, located in southern Kyrgyzstan. A total of 125 place names were researched and divided into five distinct categories: names related to physical characteristics such as topography (77), names related to flora and fauna (23), names related to colour (17), names after people (13), and names with other meanings (44). The study argues that place names can be an important ecotourism resource for the area in question. Furthermore, this study includes nine place names that are not shown on the map but are regarded as potentially important for tourists. Developing ecotours using the place names may lead to an enhanced experience for tourists visiting the area.

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This paper reviews contemporary glacial features, characteristics of documented glacial hazards, and the status of hazard assessment studies in the Pamirs of Tajikistan (hereafter the Tajik Pamir). The review found detachment of a hanging glacier, glacier-surging, and outburst discharge of a glacial lake to be major potential causes of glacial hazards in the Tajik Pamir, especially in the western area (west from approx. 73° E). Guerrilla glacial lakes, which are characterised as glacial lakes on the ice-core moraine that “appear repeatedly,” “enlarge rapidly (within less than one year),” “disappear within less than two years,” “are superficially closed,” and “are of relatively small size (approx. < 10⁶ m²)” should hereafter be paid special attentions. Preparation of appropriate hazard-mitigation activities should require early detection of not only the large crack in the hanging-glacier terminus, surge behaviour, and the glacial lake and guerrilla glacial lake, but also regular monitoring of these hazard factors. One of the most suitable monitoring techniques is to use earth observation satellite images with a relatively short repetitive cycle (ideally once every few days) and a high spatial resolution (ideally several meters). These criteria may be satisfied in the near future by using images captured by many sets of microsatellites, such as the 50-kg class microsatellite SPRITE-SAT (RISING).

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The Gojal district is located in the far northern part of Pakistan bordering China to the north and Afghanistan to the northwest. The Gojal district maintained a self-sufficient lifestyle until the late 1980s by relying on traditional farming and agricultural techniques that include irrigated agriculture of wheat and beans and livestock farming by transhumant grazing such as sheep and goats. However, the Karakoram Highway (KKH) was opened in 1987 along the Hunza River, running through many villages in central Gojal district. The opening of the KKH contributed to advancing modernization in the northern region of Pakistan, particularly for developing the goods/money market economy. The villagers responded to the emergence of a society that required monetary income by introducing potato to produce a cash crop as a source of income and the expansion of such agriculture. The livestock farming is changing in the Hussaini village. Recent trends indicate a dramatic reduction in the number of grazing livestock by several factors at the base of the penetration of market economy. This report, focusing on the case of the Hussaini village, clarifies the factors that led to the decline of the stagnant village livestock farming.

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