Impact of land expropriation on farmers’ livelihoods in the mountainous and hilly regions of Sichuan, China Abstract Research on the sustainable livelihoods of rural households is of great significance to mitigating rural poverty and reasonable land expropriation policy helps to realize better livelihoods and sustainable development. Scholars have conducted considerable research on the relationships between land expropriation and farmers’ livelihoods. However, few quantitative studies have used the characteristics of villages as control variables to systematically analyze the impact of land expropriation on farmers’ livelihood capital and strategy in the mountainous and hilly regions of China. This study uses the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Model (PLS- SEM) to systematically explain the impact of land expropriation on farmers’ livelihoods in mountainous and hilly regions of Sichuan in 2013, with the characteristics of the village including income, accessibility and terrain as control variables. The analysis uses both representative sample data of 240 rural households and spatial data calculated using a 30 m Digital Elevation Model (DEM) by Geographic Information System (GIS). Results are as follows: (1) The land expropriation characteristics are negatively affected by village accessibility. Villages with worse accessibility tend to have fewer land parcels and less land area expropriated. Additionally, land that is expropriated from inaccessible villages tends to receive less compensation. (2) Natural capital is negatively affected by number and area of land expropriation. Natural capital is not only directly affected by village accessibility, but also indirectly affected by village accessibility through the mediating effect of the number and area of land parcels expropriated. (3) Physical capital is positively affected by compensation for land expropriation, and negatively affected by village accessibility through compensation for land expropriation. The worse a village’s accessibility/location is, the less compensation it will receive for land expropriation, resulting in lower physical capital. (4) Financial capital is negatively affected by village accessibility indirectly through compensation for land expropriation. The better the village’s accessibility is, the greater is its compensation for land expropriation and, hence, the greater is its financial capital. (5) Social capital is directly and negatively affected by the number and area of land parcels expropriated, and is indirectly and positively affected by village accessibility through the number and area of land parcels expropriated. This study enhances our understanding of the characteristics of land expropriation and rural households’ livelihood as well as the impact of land expropriation on rural households’ livelihood. These findings provide reference for the formulation of proper policies related to land expropriation and the improvement of rural households’ livelihoods in the mountainous and hilly regions of China.

Land degradation and management of red beds in China: Two case studies Abstract Red beds cover approximately 9.5% of China, and are home to approximately 144 million people. In total, 83% of these lands are distributed in humid regions making it an important part of research on red bed soil erosion in China in these areas. This paper presents the main types of land degradation in red bed landscapes and the status of current soil erosion in a typical red bed basin, the Nanxiong Basin located in the north of Guangdong Province, China, and establishes the connection between management strategies and regional economic development in humid red bed regions of China. The soil erosive modulus was calculated in the Nanxiong Basin by using RUSLE (The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation). The results of overlapping analyses demonstrated that appropriate measures, such as the Return Farmland to Forests initiative, should be taken at the junction of central red bed areas and mountainous areas in order to mitigate current soil erosion. Two examples are presented to demonstrate this: the tourism development in Mt. Danxiashan, a noted scenic mountainous area near Nanxiong Basin, and the land degradation mitigation in the Nanxiong Basin. Both examples promote local economic growth while simultaneously protecting the environment. A ‘stakeholder’ strategy is pursued at Mt. Danxiashan, which can help residents to understand their positive effects on the environment as well as increase their income. The second example, in Nanxiong City, showcases how local farmers became stakeholders by implementing contract responsibility and self-support systems for economic forests and terraced land in the 1980s.

An assessment of the climatic suitability of Afriski Mountain Resort for outdoor tourism using the Tourism Climate Index (TCI) Abstract Tourism Climatic Indices (TCIs) are widely used in the global North to quantify the climatic suitability of a destination for tourism. Only one such study has been conducted in southern Africa to date. It is in a chronic shortage of research on tourism and climate change in the southern hemisphere. This study presents the application of the TCI in Lesotho, calculated for the eastern Lesotho Highlands. The region has an emerging tourism sector, which primarily comprises outdoor activities. These include hiking, horse-riding, music festivals, mountain biking, cultural visits, sightseeing, and at the Afriski lodge, skiing and snowboarding. These activities are reliant on climatic conditions that are conducive to the activity taking place, prolonged periods outdoors, and tourist satisfaction of the activity. Climate is a major determinant of both the length of season for these activities and the timing of peak tourist arrivals. Rising temperatures and changes in relative humidity and precipitation pose real threats to hiking, sightseeing and snow tourism at Afriski. The reliance of tourism in the region on specific climatic conditions for successful tourism prompted the use of the TCI. TCI results classify the eastern Lesotho Highlands as having ‘good’ climatic conditions with an overall TCI score of 64 for the period 2012–2017. Monthly TCI scores for the eastern Lesotho reveal a bimodal-shoulder, meaning the peak climatic conditions are in the regional summer months (December to February). This conflicts with the peak tourist seasons of summer and winter, which align with South African school holidays, and the timing of the most profitable tourism activity (skiing) which occurs during the winter months of June, July and August. Lesotho is landlocked by South Africa. TCI analysis for South Africa reveals more suitable climatic conditions for tourism than Lesotho, with significantly higher scores of 80–89.

Impacts of Norwegian large carnivore management strategy on national grazing sector Abstract Increasing populations of large carnivores are leading to tension and conflicts with livestock production, a situation that potentially might escalate. In Norway the objective of the large carnivore policy is two-folded: to ensure viable carnivore populations and to secure a sustainable grazing industry. The main instrument is zonation, with carnivore management zones (CMZs) prioritized for reproduction of the large carnivore species separated from other areas prioritized for grazing livestock. The objective of this paper is to describe current knowledge about the impact of the zoning management strategy on the grazing industry. This is done by documenting status and changes in sheep production, losses of livestock to predating carnivores, and the use of grazing areas inside and outside the CMZs. CMZs offering protection for lynx, wolverine, bear and wolf cover 55% of the Norwegian mainland. 30% of the sheep and 50% of the Sami reindeer grazing areas are found inside the CMZs. Livestock (semi-domestic reindeer excluded) is using 59% of the available natural pasture areas outside the CMZs, but only 26% inside the CMZs. The lowest use of available grazing areas was found inside zones for wolves (12%) and brown bears (6%). Livestock in these zones are confined to fenced enclosures, mostly on the farm itself, or moved to pastures outside the management zone for summer grazing. Livestock losses increased in the affected regions during the period when carnivores were reestablished. Later, losses declined when CMZs were established and mitigation efforts were implemented in these zones. The bulk of sheep and reindeer killed by carnivores are now found in boundary areas within 50 km off the CMZs, where sheep are still grazing on open mountain and forest ranges. Therefore, instruments to protect livestock in areas close to the CMZs are also needed. The number of sheep declined inside the CMZs from 1999 to 2014, but increased outside the zones. The reduction in the absolute number of sheep in the CMZs is balanced by a similar increase outside, thus the total sheep production in Norway is maintained. We conclude that although of little consequence for the total food production in Norway, the economic and social impact of the large carnivore management strategy can be serious for local communities and individual farmers who are affected. There is a need for more exact carnivore population monitoring to quantify the carnivore pressure, better documentation of reindeer losses, and a clearer and stricter practicing of the zoning strategy. Increased involvement of social sciences is important in order to understand the human dimension of the carnivore conflicts.

Wind and sand control by an oasis protective system: a case from the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert, China Abstract Wind and sand control are important factors in combating desertification and protecting oases. An oasis protective system can provide these benefits, but quantitative research on protection effects has been lacking to date. This research describes an oasis protective system in the southeastern border of the Tengger Desert. The system consists of a sand barrier belt, a shrub and herbaceous plant belt, and a farmland shelter belt. The system was compared to a bare dunes area as the control zone. The study investigated wind proof effect, sediment transport, and erosion through field observations. Results showed that the roughness of the shrub and herbaceous plant belt, farmland shelter belt, and sand barrier belt were increased compared with bare dunes. The shrub and herbaceous plant belt provided the highest wind proof effect values for the same wind velocity measurement height, and the wind proof effect values for different protective belts were as follows: shrub and herbaceous plant belt > farmland shelter belt > sand barrier belt. The sand barrier belt provided effective wind and sand control at heights from 0 to 50 cm above the ground. The total sediment transport for each protective belt is as follows: bare dunes > sand barrier belt > shrub and herbaceous plant belt > farmland shelter belt. The sediment transport decreased exponentially as the height increased. In the bare dunes and protective systems, the sediment transport is mainly within 30 cm of the ground surface. The wind erosion intensity for this protective system was as follows: bare dunes > sand barrier belt > shrub and herbaceous plant belt > farmland shelter belt. This research offers quantitative evidence for how oasis protective systems can effectively intercept sand and prevent erosion in oases. The results of this study can be applied in similar regions.

A system dynamics model for billion trees tsunami afforestation project of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan: Model application to afforestation activities Abstract As part of the global effort to plant billion trees, an afforestation project is launched in Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province to conserve existing forests and to increase area under forest cover. The present study is designed to build a Systems’ model by incorporating major activities of the Billion Tree Tsunami Afforestation Project (BTTAP) with special focus on afforestation activities to estimate the growth in forest area of KP. Availability of complete dataset was a challenge. To fix the model, the raw data taken from the project office has been utilized. Planning Commission Form 1- Phase I & II helped us with additional information. We relied on the data available for one and half period of the project as rest of the data is subject to the completion of the project. Our results show that the project target to enhance area under forest differs from the target to afforest area under the project. The system dynamics’ model projection shows that the forest area of KP would be 23.59 million hectares at the end of the BTTA project, thus having an increase of 3.29% instead of 2% that has been initially proposed. However, the results show that the progress to meet the target in some afforestation classes is slow as compared to other categories. Farm forestry, plantation on communal lands and owners’ plantation need special focus of the authority. Deforestation would affect 0.02 million hectares area of the project. The model under study may be used as a reference model that can be replicated to other areas where billion tree campaigns are going on.

Hydro-mechanical response with respect to the air ventilation for water filtration in homogeneous soil Abstract When water penetrates into soil, interstitial air can become trapped by the infiltrating water. Neglecting the effect of air ventilation could cause deviations in the predicted pore water pressure and the associated effective stress. This study aims at the effect of air ventilation on the coupled hydromechanical responses in homogeneous soil during infiltration. A schematic concept of infiltration conditions (open- and closed-valve) in homogeneous soil is proposed for investigating their impacts on the pore water pressure and effective stress. Experiments of vertical soil column filled with Ottawa sand (ASTM C778 20/30) were designed for two types of air ventilation (namely, open and closed infiltration). The evolution of pore water pressure at the cylinder bottom was recorded, and served as a benchmark problem for evaluating the coupled hydro-mechanical response. Coding with the commercial software, GeoStudio, was employed for the dynamic behaviors of pore-water and -air pressures as well as the evolving effective stress. It was found in both the experiments and numerical investigations that the infiltration condition plays a crucial role for the ascending rate of pore water pressure as well as the associated effective stress. These results illustrate the inevitable impacts of the air ventilation conditions on the mechanical properties of the soil during infiltration.

Effects of river flow velocity on the formation of landslide dams Abstract Natural dams are formed when landslides are triggered by heavy rainfall during extreme weather events in the mountainous areas of Taiwan. During landslide debris movement, two processes occur simultaneously: the movement of landslide debris from a slope onto the riverbed and the erosion of the debris under the action of high-velocity river flow. When the rate of landslide deposition in a river channel is higher than the rate of landslide debris erosion by the river flow, the landslide forms a natural dam by blocking the river channel. In this study, the effects of the rates of river flow erosion and landslide deposition (termed the erosive capacity and depositional capacity, respectively) on the formation of natural dams are quantified using a physics-based approach and are tested using a scaled physical model. We define a dimensionless velocity index vde as the ratio between the depositional capacity of landslide debris (vd) and the erosive capacity of water flow (ve). The experimental test results show that a landslide dam forms when landslide debris moves at high velocity into a river channel where the river-flow velocity is low, that is, the dimensionless velocity index vde > 54. Landslide debris will not have sufficient depositional capacity to block stream flow when the dimensionless velocity index vde < 47. The depositional capacity of a landslide can be determined from the slope angle and the friction of the sliding surface, while the erosive capacity of a dam can be determined using river flow velocity and rainfall conditions. The methodology described in this paper was applied to seven landslide dams that formed in Taiwan on 8 August 2009 during Typhoon Morakot, the Tangjiashan landslide dam case, and the Yingxiu-Wolong highway K24 landslide case. The dimensionless velocity index presented in this paper can be used before a rainstorm event occurs to determine if the formation of a landslide dam is possible.

Seismic response of cracking features in Jubao Mountain during the aftershocks of Jiuzhaigou Ms7.0 earthquake Abstract Jiuzhaigou is a world-heritage site located in the plateau area of Northwest Sichuan Province, China. Serious slope failures in the epicentral area were triggered by the Ms7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake occurred on August 8, 2017. The source areas of the hazards are usually concentrated near ridge crests, revealing the possible occurrence of ground motion amplification phenomena. To explore the role of the amplification of ground motions in the formation of earthquake-triggered slope failures, two seismometers were installed, on the next day after the main shock, at the bottom of the slope of Jubao Mountain near the seismogenic fault. The two monitoring sites are located at elevations of 1414 m (J1) and 1551 m (J2, the top of the mountain). Five aftershocks were recorded by the monitoring instruments. We compared the mean levels of the peak ground acceleration (PGA) observed at different locations, and investigated the directional variations in the shaking energy by analyzing the polar diagrams of the Arias intensity (Ia). Then, in order to identify the directional resonance phenomenon and their frequencies and amplification coefficients, we examined the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) and the standard spectral ratio (SSR). Polar diagrams of the Arias intensity (Ia) indicated that the site response of Jubao Mountain showed a pronounced directivity (in the EW direction) with shaking maxima near the hill top oriented orthogonally to the elongation of the relief. We observed an obvious resonance phenomenon at site J2 at relatively low frequencies (2.5–9 Hz) and very weak spectral amplifications at site J1 at high frequencies (5–15 Hz), which suggested that the predominant frequency of monitoring site J2 was obviously attenuated and that the difference in the spectra was related to the influences of the local-scale site conditions of the whole mountain. The results of spectral ratio analyses (HVSR and SSR) showed that the direction of resonance was concentrated around an EW orientation, and the amplification factors near the hill top were larger than 2. It suggests that geologic factors also play a significant role in the anisotropic amplifications affecting the tops of slopes besides the topographic effects.

Glacier change in the Tanggula Mountains, Tibetan Plateau, in 1969–2015 Abstract To improve our knowledge of glacier change in the Tanggula Mountains located in the northeast of the Tibetan Plateau, we delineated outlines of the glaciers in 1991 and 2015 using Landsat TM/OLI images and compared them with the reported glacier data in the First Chinese Glacier Inventory in 1969 and the Second Chinese Glacier Inventory in 2007. These comparisons showed that the glacier area and ice volume decreased by 524.8 km2 and 37 km3, respectively. The majority of the glacier area loss was concentrated in the area class of 1–5 km2, between 5300 m and 5500 m in elevation, on north and east facing slopes and in the Dam Qu River basin. These glacier changes exhibited spatial and temporal differences. The glacier retreat rate gradually increased from 1969 to 2015, and the rate in the east was higher than that in the west. From 1969 to 2015, the warming rate in the Tanggula Mountains was 0.38°C/10a, while the annual precipitation only increased by 0.4%. The slight increase in the amount of precipitation made a limited contribution to glacier change, while the change in temperature led to noticeable shrinkage of the glaciers. Contrary to the retreat or stagnation of most glaciers in the study area, there were 10 glaciers that experienced clear advance in 1986–2015 with noticeable increases in both area and length. Whether or not these 10 glaciers are surge glaciers requires further study.