In complex and uncertain contexts, collaboration on natural resource management is crucial for the effective adaptation of small-holder farmers. Empirical studies that explicitly investigate the effects of collaborative relationships on individual adaptability, however, remain limited. In this chapter, we present a case study of two different social networks among herders on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China to examine if and how social and social-ecological network (SEN) configurations impact the adaptability of individual herders. Adaptivity is assessed based on the extent to which herders breed diversified animal species, since diversified herds contribute to adaptive capacity in uncertain and changing environments. Multi-level network modelling results indicate that transitivity and clustering of affective ties were positively correlated with herd diversification, whereas such an effect was not found in the organization-based collaborative network. Herders who utilize grazing patches that are ecologically connected to other patches were also found to be more adaptive, suggesting that the livestock transportation costs favour herd diversification within geographically defined clusters of patches and/or the existence of social learning/contagion through a form of social-ecological structural equivalence. The above findings suggest that informal affective networks are superior to more formal networks developed within organizational frames in enhancing herders’ adaptability in the context of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.