Traditional livelihoods under a changing climate: herder perceptions of climate change and its consequences in South Gobi, Mongolia

Central Mongolian lake sediments reveal new insights on climate change and equestrian empires in the Eastern Steppes

“…Mongolia is already experiencing a 2 °C temperature increase since 1963 77 , and will likely exceed TSI-induced temperature fluctuations in the near-future. Previous studies have shown a rapid loss of lakes 59 , melting mountain ice 78 , persistent soil moisture deficits 79 , 80 , and an increased frequency of droughts 79 , 81 , 82 and heavy rainstorms 15 , 83 , 84 . Increased rainfall may not counteract the impact of rising temperatures.…”

“…Increased rainfall may not counteract the impact of rising temperatures. Instead, rainfall may exacerbate ongoing land degradation as these short-term heavy rainstorms exceed the soil’s infiltration capacity and cause surface runoff, soil erosion, and even floods 83 , 84 . Although, modeling results show a low probability that future drought intensities will exceed those of the last two millennia 82 , and our hydrological model suggest only a small lake level decline of 0.18 m (Supplementary Table 4 ) for the current temperature increase, present-day climate changes already cause enhanced socio-environmental consequences 15 , 81 , 83 , and it is uncertain whether and how modern pastoralists will to adapt to the future climate.…”

Climate Change and Equestrian Empires in the Eastern Steppes: New Insights from a High-resolution Lake Core in Central Mongolia

“…Mongolia is already experiencing a 2°C temperature increase since 1963 71 , and will likely exceed TSI-induced temperature uctuations in the near-future. Previous studies have shown a rapid loss of lakes 52 , melting mountain ice 72 , persistent soil moisture de cits 73,74 , and an increased frequency of droughts 73,75,76 and heavy rainstorms 15,77,78 . Increased rainfall may not counteract the impact of rising temperatures.…”

“…Increased rainfall may not counteract the impact of rising temperatures. Instead, rainfall may exacerbate ongoing land degradation as these short-term heavy rainstorms exceed the soil's in ltration capacity and cause surface runoff, soil erosion, and even oods 77,78 . Although, modeling results show a low probability that future drought intensities will exceed those of the last two millennia 76 , present-day climate changes already cause enhanced socio-environmental consequences 15,75,77 , and it is uncertain whether and how modern pastoralists will to adapt to the future climate.…”

Mountain Pastoralism in the Eastern Hindu Kush: The Case of Lotkuh Valley, Pakistan

“…They provide countless benefits and multiple services to humanity, support the livelihood of mountains dwellers (Tabassum and Rahman 2010;Holechek et al 2011;Bhattarai and Upadhyay 2013;Golovnev 2020), and cover 80-85% of livestock feed needs (Holechek 2013). Moreover, the productivity and sustainable use of mountain pastoral resources are crucial for livelihood security and poverty alleviation among mountain communities (Moktan et al 2008;Ericksen 2020;Mijiddorj et al 2020;Postigo 2020;Ghai 2021).…”