Pastoralism and Rangeland Management on the Tibetan Plateau in ...

to 4500–5300 m in altitudes where crop-farming is out of the question. 33 Oasis
<strong>and</strong> pasture settlements are quite distinct features of the cultural l<strong>and</strong>scape.
The first utilisation strategy is combined mountain agriculture that finds here
some of the highest locations for mountain oases anywhere in the world. On
average altitudes range between 3300–4400 m for the permanent habitations
from where shepherds leave with their flocks for higher elevations where
natural grazing is seasonally utilised during summers. The settlement space
is concentrated in river oases that represent the lowest elevations available for
agricultural practices.
Photo 2: Combined mountain agriculture in the Yarlong Valley
(photograph © Hermann Kreutzmann September 12, 2000)
Combined mountain agriculture (Figure 2) has the advantage of simultaneous
fodder production in the permanent homesteads for herds that are grazed in the
high-altitude pastures during summers (Photo 2). The limiting factor in the annual
cycle is the provision of feed for up to nine months when high pastures are
not accessed. The additional fodder has to be produced on private or common
property village l<strong>and</strong>s. Farmers’ habitations are the centre of activities from
which the fodder resources are managed. While the natural grazing provides
fodder for just a quarter of a year, storage has to be organised from crop residues
33 Vegetation periods are too short to allow the cultivation of any grain crops.
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