1. Defining Mountain Uplands in Yunnan

with elevations ranging from 6,740 meters above sea level in the northwest to 76.4 meters in the southeast. Uplands, or mountainous areas account for 94% of the total area of 2. It consists of 150, 2 with a greater than 25 degree slope; 196, 2 with slopes of 8 to 25 degrees; 34, 2 with a less than 8 degrees slope; and a total waterbody of 2, 2. There are six famous rivers, Lancang (Mekong), Nujiang (Salween), Jinsha (Yangtze), Honghe (Red River), and Nanpan (Pearl River), Dulong (Irrawaddy) passing through and down to mainland Southeast Asia and inland China.

a. Geo-physical complexity: Topology of Yunnan descends from the highest elevation of in northwest to the lowest of a.s.l. in southeast, which is determined by its crumpled hills, high mountains and ìC dissected stream networks and rivers, including the important Mekong, Salween Yangtze and Red rivers, which creates innumerable small and large upland valleys where.

b. Marginality: Refers to geographical and socio-economic inaccessibility (Jodha, 1990, 1992) due to high attitude and geophysical factors.

c. Vulnerability: Refers to sensitivity or capacity of micro-environments, biological species, human being and economic activities for exposure to changing environment or disturbance such as drought, floods, which includes: (a) fragility of natural environment due to steep slopes, uneven distribution of rainfall, and erodible soil; (b) risks of livelihood security for farmers to obtain basic needs for foods and shelters, etc..

d. Diversity: Refers to both biotic and abiotic diversity, such as different geological structures, soil materials and micro-habitats. The geophysical complexity and diversity of climates from the tropical, sub-tropical, temperate, the cold zones reproduce the great biological diversity such as micro-organisms, fauna and flora. It can also refer to its diversity of practices and richness of indigenous knowledge for managing the biotic and abiotic diversity.

e. Mountain "Niche": Mountains have an advantage over flat lowland (Brush, S.B.,1988) in that they are rich in biological resources. Biological diversity, is however not a simple accumulation. They interact and interconnect between biota and environment. Many endemic species and rich agrobiodiversity are well adapted to different micro-habitats. Therefore the mountain niche refers to species or biota, place and its links in the mountain environment.