Agricultural Settlement and Land Use in Mountains - Mountain Geography: Physical and Human Dimensions - page 584

the developed world is generally less, given the primary focus on the maximization of
timber production and, particularly in densely populated areas, protection against nat-
ural hazards, as discussed in Chapter 10.
FIGURE 11.25 Xhosa women construct a rondavel with mud, dung, and sticks, Drakensberg Moun-
tains, South Africa. (Photo by S. F. Cunha.)
Domesticated fruit and nut orchards represent an important and growing sector of
mountain agriculture (Figs. 11.26, 11.27). These nonwood products are essential foods
and medicines, having thrived since antiquity in mountains of Central Asia, the Middle
East, and the Mediterranean. The High Atlas of Morocco is typical, with olives, almonds,
walnuts, and tree fruit (oranges, lemons, cherries, and more recently apples) flourish-
ing. The growing export of this fresh and dried produce throughout the Mediterranean
and Europe heralds the transition from subsistence to a market economy (Parish and
Funnell 1996). In the Pamir of Tajikistan, an important cultural hearth of arboculture,
ubiquitous almond, pecan, and walnut orchards shade homes in the western foothills
and on alluvial terraces east of the Pamir crest. In the tropics, papaya and pineapple are
found in the highlands of New Guinea and Borneo, while betel and cashew nuts thrive