Overlapping patchworks of farm spatial units are characteristic of the mountain landscapes of Andean regions of Peru and Bolivia. Patchiness and overlap (200±600 m) are shaped by the broad tolerances of major crops, high variab ility/low predictability of habitat factors, multifaceted cropping rationales of cultivators including their linkages to extraregio nal in¯ uences, and, to varyin g extents, the sociospatial coordination of crop choice among farmers. Indian peasant farmers manage overlapping patchworks using a concept of farm spaces as loosely bounded. They apply a naming system to farm spatial units based primarily on topographic features in order to serve their cultural, social, and political purposes. Key processes suggest a regionalglobal model of overlapping patchworks. The model elucidates the roles of landscape ¯ exibility and uncertainty in conservation-with-development. Implicatio ns are shown by farm units of diverse food plants and prospects for in situ conservation. Findings caution again st universality of the zone model of mountain agricu lture.