Hashmi Maaz Maqsood, Frate Ludovico, Nizami Syed Moazzam, Carranza Maria Laura
EnvixLab. Department of Biosciences and Territory, University of Molise, Contrada Fonte Lappone, (IS) 86090, Pesche, Italy.
College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture & Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, 35002, China.
Environ Monit Assess. 2017 Sep 7;189(10):488. doi: 10.1007/s10661-017-6189-7.
Mountain environments in the world host highly specialized flora and fauna which are vulnerable because of land use and climate change. Transhumance and other land use traditional practices are present in most of the mountains of the world, and management tools able to cope with new socioeconomic settings and environmental changes are urgently needed. During past centuries, yak (Bos grunniens) herding in Northern Pakistan involved the migration of herds to high mountain international rangelands, but the recent establishment of international borders breaks the traditional transhumance paths, promoting several ecological problems. In this paper, we propose the use of least cost path (LCP) algorithm to identify the most efficient corridors of transhumance for yak herds on northern high altitudes of Pakistan. Specifically, LCP was implemented to identify the critical grazing areas and the connecting zones to be accounted in a new management plan for the yaks in the region. The LCP analysis showed that some grazing areas are connected with several paths, whereas other areas are connected to a lesser extent. The analyses identified a set of best minimum cost paths able to guarantee local connectivity. We also delineated several medium and low efficient paths that could play a crucial role for maintaining regional connectivity which is essential for reducing the isolation of herds and the consequent inbreeding problems. The analytical framework implemented in this study allowed to (1) provide valuable information concerning the movement of yak herds in Gilgit-Baltistan, (2) identify potential corridors that are able to promote herd movement between villages and high mountain rangelands, and (3) identify critical areas for the connectivity of yaks by ranking of the potential corridors according to their length and permeability. The analysis would be extended to other transhumant herds and high mountain areas that are facing sociopolitical transformations and environmental changes.
世界上的山区拥有高度专业化的动植物群落，由于土地利用和气候变化，这些群落十分脆弱。世界上大多数山区都存在季节性游牧和其他传统土地利用方式，因此迫切需要能够应对新的社会经济环境和环境变化的管理工具。在过去的几个世纪里，巴基斯坦北部的牦牛（Bos grunniens）放牧涉及牛群迁移到高山国际牧场，但最近国际边界的设立打破了传统的季节性游牧路线，引发了一些生态问题。在本文中，我们建议使用成本最低路径（LCP）算法来确定巴基斯坦北部高海拔地区牦牛群最有效的季节性游牧走廊。具体而言，实施LCP以确定关键放牧区和连接区域，以便纳入该地区牦牛新的管理计划。LCP分析表明，一些放牧区与多条路径相连，而其他区域的连接程度较低。分析确定了一组能够保证局部连通性的最佳最低成本路径。我们还划定了几条中低效路径，这些路径对于维持区域连通性可能起着至关重要的作用，而区域连通性对于减少牛群隔离和随之而来的近亲繁殖问题至关重要。本研究实施的分析框架能够（1）提供有关吉尔吉特-巴尔蒂斯坦牦牛群移动的有价值信息，（2）确定能够促进村庄与高山牧场之间牛群移动的潜在走廊，以及（3）根据潜在走廊的长度和通透性对其进行排名，从而确定牦牛连通性的关键区域。该分析将扩展到其他面临社会政治转型和环境变化的游牧畜群和高山地区。
