There is great uncertainty over the timing and magnitude of the termination of the African Humid Period (AHP). Spanning from the early to middle Holocene, the AHP was a period of enhanced moisture over most of northern and eastern Africa. However, beginning 8000 years ago the moisture balance shifted due to changing orbital precession and vegetation feedbacks. Some proxy records indicate a rapid transition from wet to dry conditions, while others indicate a more gradual changeover.

This article aims to examine the use pattern and potentiality of livestock farming in the Uttarakhand Himalaya, India. We collected and compared data on livestock population and production in 13 districts of Uttarakhand (2001–14) and noted that number of milching livestock, improved hen and milk production increased during the period. Meanwhile, population of sheep, goat, lamb and indigenous hen has decreased. The study reveals that livestock farming, including cattle, milching animals, goat and sheep has high potential in livelihood sustainability.

Presently, the lack of data on soil organic carbon (SOC) in relation to land-use types and biophysical characteristics prevents reliable estimates of carbon stocks in montane landscapes of mainland SE Asia. Our study, conducted in a 10,000-hectare landscape in Xishuangbanna, SW China, aimed at assessing the spatial variability in SOC and its relationships with land-use cover and key biophysical characteristics at multiple spatial scales.