'This volume on interdisciplinary work in mountain areas is an excellent compilation of examples as well as lessons learned. In effect it provides guidance on how best to approach such work. While different in training and backgrounds the [authors] clearly articulate the global conviction that interdisciplinary work is the only approach. This volume of case studies repeats this strong and important message.' Nikita Lopoukhine Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and former Director General of National Parks Parks Canada 'Over the past twenty years the rhetoric surrounding inte.

This second edition of the book Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions: Southeastern Europe integrates the scientific results and expertise of the researchers from the countries in Southeastern Europe. The book consists of updated information for the topics observed in first edition and several new chapters with analysis of some problems in the mountain regions of four new for the edition countries in Southeastern European space. The general themes in the book are related to Global problems and mountain regions; Nature resources and landuse in mountain regions; Social, economic and regional problems of mountain regions; Nature protection, conservation and monitoring and Networks and strategies for mountain regions. The key topics for discussion are: Natural recourses and land use in mountain regions. Sustainable social and economic development of the mountain regions. Natural disasters and risk prevention. Spatial modeling and planning. Nature protection, monitoring and conservation. Politics and sustainable practices for development of mountain regions. Transborder and regional cooperation. Mountain regions in Southeastern Europe are characterized by unique landscape and biological diversity and great economic potential. They have function as a living space and provide different groups of ecosystem and landscape services. In social and economic aspects these regions are one of the poorest in Southeastern European countries with unused potential. Human, ecological and economic problems arising in various mountain regions have the same basic characteristics irrespective of the country. Some mountain regions are subject to specific for the conditions of the mountain and country policy for planning, development and mountain population promotion. The general goal is development of whole economy and the efficient management of natural resources and prevention of natural and tec hnological disasters. The mountain regions are one of the most threatened landscape systems in Southeastern Europe. Understanding the importance of the mountain regions and conservation of the natural heritage require scientific and institutional cooperation at all levels.

This book is about mountainurbanology grounded in Southwest China, where mountain is a typical landform for many towns and cities. From the multi-disciplinary perspective in a dynamic changing context, it presents a comprehensive framework including the location of mountain city, planning, design, building, transportation, disaster, aesthetics and governance in building up mountain cities based on investigation of natural, social and economic studies. The book also emphasizes ecological planning method based on topography in mountainous area through the lens of teaching and practice on urban planning for over half a century in Southwest China. It is a highly informative book providing academic insight for senior undergraduates, graduate students, lecturers, research professionals and decision makers with an interest in urban planning, ecology, planning and design in mountainous region development. Prof. Guangyu Huang is regarded as Founding Pioneer of mountainurbanology in China, a sub-discipline of urban planning.

The book aims to address the interdisciplinary targets of watershed management in mountain regions based on the current knowledge of the subject. The focus of the book is particularly on monitoring, research, and modelling the interactions between the climate, water cycle, and aquatic ecosystem. The issues of watershed management in mountain regions in different parts of Europe, Africa, America and Asia have been the central theme of the book, which is basically divided into five sections: Institutional aspects in control of mountain regions; Stream-flow processes in mountain catchments; Water chemistry and biota in mountain streams and lakes; Effects of forest practices and climate change on hydrological phenomena; and Soil conservation and control of floods and landslides. The contributions have been peer-reviewed and the interdisciplinary team of authors includes experts from the specialised areas of geography, hydrology, chemistry, biology, forestry, ecology, economy and sociology. The practical applications and management strategies mentioned in the book, deal with the integrated resource management approach, based on the compromise between the development, conservation/ protection of the nature. Finally, the socio-economic and cultural aspects, and ecosystem prevalent in a mountain catchment are discussed in detail.

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 often add to these adverse conditions. Through overcoming limited views from one region only or from one discipline, this book intends to draw a first truly international perspective on the issue of mountain farming.

This book is written for general readers with an interest in science, and offers the tools and ideas for understanding how climate change will affect mountains of the American West. A major goal of the book is to provide material that will not become quickly outdated, and it does so by conveying its topics through constants in ecological science that will remain unchanged and scientifically sound. The book is timely in its potential to be a long-term contribution, and is designed to inform the public about climate change in mountains accessibly and intelligibly. The major themes of the book include: 1) mountains of the American West as natural experiments that can distinguish the effects of climate change because they have been relatively free from human-caused changes, 2) mountains as regions with unique sensitivities that may change more rapidly than the Earth as a whole and foreshadow the nature and magnitude of change elsewhere, and 3) different interacting components of ecosystems in the face of a changing climate, including forest growth and mortality, ecological disturbance, and mountain hydrology. Readers will learn how these changes and interactions in mountains illuminate the complexity of ecological changes in other contexts around the world.