Applying Multi-Sensor Satellite Data to Identify Key Natural Factors in Annual Livestock Change and Winter Livestock Disaster (_Dzud_) in Mongolian Nomadic Pasturelands  
[PERSON]  
1 Department of Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.C.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.-E.L.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (O.K. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.T. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.S.) [PERSON]  
1 Department of Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.C.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.-E.L.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (O.K. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.T. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.S.) [PERSON]  
2 Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar 13330, Mongolia; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] 2  
[PERSON]  
1 Department of Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.C.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.-E.L.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (O.K. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.T. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.S.) Otgon Khongorzul  
1 Department of Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.C.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.-E.L.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (O.K. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.T. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.S.) Tumendemberel Tegshdelger  
1 Department of Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.C.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.-E.L.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (O.K. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.T. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.S.) Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar 13330, Mongolia; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] 2  
Research-14 March  
and expanding livestock husbandry can exacerbate its frequency and the severity of its impacts on nomadic pastoral system of Mongolia. In Mongolia, two powerful _Dzud_ events occurred during 1999-2002 and 2009-2010 winters, in which more than 20% livestock losses happened both times across the country [6]. Both events were the case of a combination _Dzud_, known as the most serious type related with summer drought followed by harsh winter weather [1; 7; 8]. Previous research has identified six types of _Dzud_: white (characterized by deep snow); black (characterized by cold temperature); iron (characterized by ice cover); storm (characterized by stormy weather); combined; and hooped (characterized by shortages in foraging resources due to livestock immigration from _Dzud_-affected regions) [8; 9; 10]. The multiple _Dzud_ types indicate the nomadic pastoral system, which is naturally highly vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, and the driver combinations that occasionally occur. For the last two decades, our understanding of the natural factors and socio-ecological contexts of _Dzud_ disasters have been advanced. Researchers evaluated the key natural factors that caused the 1999-2002 and 2009-2010 _Dzuds_[11; 12; 13]. Some studies have used satellite data as proxies of grassland production and snow depth to evaluate the potential factors driving and influencing _Dzud_ disasters [14; 15; 16; 13]. Moreover, the socio-ecological context of _Dzud_ phenomena was also investigated as a function of interacting physical, biological, socio-economic, and institutional factors. In the studies, the role of herders' groups and local governments (i.e., organized collective action and government support) was emphasized in preparing for and lessening the impacts of _Dzud_ disasters [17; 18; 10; 19; 8]. Taken together, those research outcomes raise a new question that integrates the natural factors and social contexts of _Dzud_ disasters. The issue is fundamentally related to the question of how to integrate phenomena occurring at different scales, wherein climate and vegetation characteristics changes and social contexts are shifted.