This contributed volume offers a variety of chapters that detail the state of cold deserts in the face of a changing climate. Chapters and cases included here address cold desert ecosystems, socio-economic issues in cold deserts and how they could be impacted by global change, and technologies for studying and minimizing climate change impacts. Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

• Ecology, communities, utilization and management of high-altitude cold deserts’ bio-resources• Bioengineering, remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS)

• Agro-ecosystems, agroforestry, biodiversity and ecosystem services

• Energy, communities, desertification and land degradation

• Vulnerability, climate change adaptation and mitigation

• Optimizing management strategies for sustainability