Mountain specifities/ inter-linkage/ imperatives

The important conditions characterizing mountain areas which is operational purposes, separate, mountain habitats from other areas are called mountain specifities.

Classification of specifities:

A) First classification on the basis of features:

1) Constraining features: Inaccessibility, marginality and fragility

2) Enabling features: Diversity, Niches and human adaptation mechanism

B) Second classification on basis of ranking:

1) First order specifities: Inaccessibility, marginality and fragility and diversity

2) Second order specifities: Niches and human adaptation mechanism

They are described below:

1) Inaccessibility:

• It is due to slope, altitude, over terrain conditions and periodical seasonal hazards like landslide snow, storm.
• It causes isolation, distance, poor communication and limited mobility.

2) Fragility:

• Mountain areas due to altitude and steep slopes in association with geologic, edaphic and biotic factors that limits the farmer’s capacity to withstand even a small degree of disturbance are known for fragility.
• Their vulnerability to irreversible damage due to overuse or rapid changes extend to physical land surface vegetative resources and delicate economic life support system of mountain region and environment starts deteriorating due to any disturbance fragility happens at faster rate.

3) Marginality:

• The factors contributing to such status of any area are physical isolation fragile and low productivity of the resources and several manmade handicaps, which prevents ones participation in main stream pattern of activities.
• The mountain region being marginal areas in most cases as against prime areas share above the attributes of marginal entities and suffer the consequences of such status in different ways.

4) Diversity or heterogeneity:

• The extreme heterogeneity in the mountain region is a function of interaction of different factors like climatic and edaphic factors.
• Diversity act as a positive attribute for the interlinked activity pattern in mountain which can enhance sustainability.

5) Natural suitability/ niches/ comparative advantages:

• Mountain provide specific niche for specific activities or products.
• Example may include specific valley serving as a habitat for specific medicinal plants and mountain act as a unique source of products like fruits flowers and serves as a best source of hydropower.
• Proper harness of niches can support sustainability, while their reckless exploitation can result in elimination of niches.

6) Human adaptation mechanism:

• Adaptation mechanism helps in sustainable use of mountain resources in past.
• However, with the change related to population, market and state, a number of adaption mechanism is losing their feasibility and efficacy.