period of 1979 and 2002, respectively. The analysis showed that in 2002 only
9.16 % of this vegetation class remained dense; however, it was once about
36.61 % in this forest in our research area. Consequently, the spatial extent of the
vegetation is dominated by conifers in this area and is increasing. Studies have
reported the degradation of broad-leaved forests due to variety of factors (Wakeel
et al. 2005) and, unfortunately, the rate of forest loss and fragmentation in the
Himalayas of India is very high (Pandit et al. 2007). Thus, the conservation of the
Himalayan landscape is a major concern in view of the national as well as the global
context (Saxena et al. 2005). The analysis shows that the vegetal cover loss is much
higher from the forests and such analysis is crucial in landscape ecological research
(Schroeder and Seppelt 2006). The amount, the rate, and the intensity of land use
and land cover change are very high in developing countries (Rao and Pant 2001)
and assessment of causes and consequences is the first step in developing a successful conservation and management scheme (Brandt and Townsend 2006) to be
implemented or refinement in existing policies if needed. This is one scenario of the
landscape; therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the future scenario
development of the whole landscape in the mountains of the Indian Himalayan
region. At the core of such analysis is the development of the theory which enables
us to understand the link between the ecosystem processes, composition, and
functions with output of the goods and services from the ecosystems and which can
be assigned with economic importance as well with ecological values. This
approach facilitated us to develop the theoretical model for the Himalayan region to
understand the whole landscape scenario.
The few examples presented above based on the empirical studies in Himalayan
region envisage the multifunctionality of the landscape in complex Himalayan
environment which need to be handled in an integrated interdisciplinary way.
5 Theoretical Model Development
The long-term studies in the Himalayas of India succeeded us toward development
of the theory behind integrated scenario development in the mountain landscape.
The development of a theoretical model was commenced to understand the complexity between human and ecosystem interaction in the Himalayan landscape
(Nautiyal and Kaechele 2009). The theoretical model of the study region is presented in Fig. 7. The theory, and consequently the theoretical model, was developed based on the following components of the whole integrated process: drivers,
farmers’ options, rules of farmers’ decision making, simulate farmers’ decision with
respect to drivers, indicators to measure the farmers’ decisions, and the overall trend
of landscape development. The theoretical model (Fig. 7) developed for Himalayan
landscape has been developed with six modules/components (T
1
–T
6 ) described as
follows:
608
S. Nautiyal et al.
9.16 % of this vegetation class remained dense; however, it was once about
36.61 % in this forest in our research area. Consequently, the spatial extent of the
vegetation is dominated by conifers in this area and is increasing. Studies have
reported the degradation of broad-leaved forests due to variety of factors (Wakeel
et al. 2005) and, unfortunately, the rate of forest loss and fragmentation in the
Himalayas of India is very high (Pandit et al. 2007). Thus, the conservation of the
Himalayan landscape is a major concern in view of the national as well as the global
context (Saxena et al. 2005). The analysis shows that the vegetal cover loss is much
higher from the forests and such analysis is crucial in landscape ecological research
(Schroeder and Seppelt 2006). The amount, the rate, and the intensity of land use
and land cover change are very high in developing countries (Rao and Pant 2001)
and assessment of causes and consequences is the first step in developing a successful conservation and management scheme (Brandt and Townsend 2006) to be
implemented or refinement in existing policies if needed. This is one scenario of the
landscape; therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the future scenario
development of the whole landscape in the mountains of the Indian Himalayan
region. At the core of such analysis is the development of the theory which enables
us to understand the link between the ecosystem processes, composition, and
functions with output of the goods and services from the ecosystems and which can
be assigned with economic importance as well with ecological values. This
approach facilitated us to develop the theoretical model for the Himalayan region to
understand the whole landscape scenario.
The few examples presented above based on the empirical studies in Himalayan
region envisage the multifunctionality of the landscape in complex Himalayan
environment which need to be handled in an integrated interdisciplinary way.
5 Theoretical Model Development
The long-term studies in the Himalayas of India succeeded us toward development
of the theory behind integrated scenario development in the mountain landscape.
The development of a theoretical model was commenced to understand the complexity between human and ecosystem interaction in the Himalayan landscape
(Nautiyal and Kaechele 2009). The theoretical model of the study region is presented in Fig. 7. The theory, and consequently the theoretical model, was developed based on the following components of the whole integrated process: drivers,
farmers’ options, rules of farmers’ decision making, simulate farmers’ decision with
respect to drivers, indicators to measure the farmers’ decisions, and the overall trend
of landscape development. The theoretical model (Fig. 7) developed for Himalayan
landscape has been developed with six modules/components (T
1
–T
6 ) described as
follows:
608
S. Nautiyal et al.