Agricultural Settlement and Land Use in Mountains - Mountain Geography: Physical and Human Dimensions - page 542

riculture strategies are traditional is problematic, as they are often thought to descend
directly from ancient and somewhat unchanged practices. In reality, farming and animal
husbandry evolve significantly over time in even the most isolated mountain societies.
What we see today may bear little resemblance to what existed in previous times. The
evolving cultural landscape reflects a human response to specific environmental condi-
tions. Despite a lack of machinery and techniques common in many lowlands, “the tra-
ditional farm systems are as modern as any other in that they are products of contem-
porary processes” (Brush 1988: 116). The decline of alpine agriculture in the Alps and
North America because of mechanized competition from lowland farmers, combined
with their proximity to urban markets, further explains our emphasis on developing re-
gions.
FIGURE 11.1 Terraced fields above Dali, Cangshan Mountains, southern China. (Photo by S. F.
Cunha.)
Going Vertical
The vertical distribution of different environments and, in extratropical areas, the dif-
ferent seasonal conditions at each level, demands a staggered schedule for exploitation.
Each elevation is most ideal for growing specific crops or for certain animals to graze.
This verticality concept occupies an important position in mountain studies, and was
illustrated by Alexander von Humboldt's classic nineteenth-century schemata of alti-
tudinal zonation, or upward progression of changing vegetation and landforms in the
Andes (Helferich 2005). His early model (Fig. 11.2) identified Latin American subsist-
ence adaptations to distinct life zones. Sugar cane, maize, poultry, and pigs flourished
in the lowland tierra caliente below 900 m (3,000 ft). The higher and cooler tierra tem-