Shivalik ranges cover an area of about 2.14 million ha in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana States of north-west India. Over exploitation of the resources in the region had lead to soil erosion resulting in the rise of riverbeds, siltation of tanks, reservoirs and other natural water bodies. Soil erosion greater than 80 t ha-1 yr-1 have been recorded from denuded hills at places. More than 70 per cent people of the region are dependent on agriculture, however, only 18 per cent of the cultivated area is irrigated. Agroforestry where tree and crops are integrated with each other had been recommended worldwide to check soil erosion and simultaneously achieve production goals. Adoption of scientifically proven agroforestry systems in Shivaliks can reverse the degradation and improve the economic status of the farmers of the region. Extensive research had been done till date on role of agroforestry in resource conservation and livelihood security in the region. The book is an attempt to compile the available knowledge on the subject. There are 20 s in the book covering various topics relating agroforestry systems with soil and water conservation, livelihood security, slope protection through mechanical and vegetative measures, fertility build up, mine spoil rehabilitation, bamboos, climate change and carbon sequestration.

The environmental and economic importance of monitoring forests and agricultural resources has allowed remote sensing to be increasingly in the development of products and services responding to user needs. This volume presents the main applications in remote sensing for agriculture and forestry, including the primary soil properties, the estimation of the vegetation's biophysical variables, methods for mapping land cover, the contribution of remote sensing for crop and water monitoring, and the estimation of the forest cover properties (cover dynamic, height, biomass). This book, part of a set of six volumes, has been produced by scientists who are internationally renowned in their fields. It is addressed to students (engineers, Masters, PhD), engineers and scientists, specialists in remote sensing applied to agriculture and forestry. Through this pedagogical work, the authors contribute to breaking down the barriers that hinder the use of radar imaging techniques.

Forest fires cause ecological, economic, and social damage to various states of the international community. The causes of forest fires are rather varied, but the main factor is human activity in settlements, industrial facilities, objects of transport infrastructure, and intensively developed territories (in other words, anthropogenic load). In turn, storm activity is also a basic reason for forest fires in remote territories. Therefore, scientists across the world have developed methods, approaches, and systems to predict forest fire danger, including the impact of human and storm activity on forested territories. An important and comprehensive point of research is on the complex deterministic-probabilistic approach, which combines mathematical models of forest fuel ignition by various sources of high temperature and probabilistic criteria of forest fire occurrence. Forest Fire Danger Prediction Using Deterministic-Probabilistic Approach provides a comprehensive approach of forest fire danger prediction using mathematical models of forest fuel with consideration to anthropogenic load, storm activity, and meteorological parameters. Specifically, it uses the deterministic-probabilistic approach to predict forest fire danger and improve forest protection from fires. The chapters will cover various tree types, mathematical models, and solutions for reducing the destructive consequences of forest fires on ecosystems. This book is ideal for professionals and researchers working in the field of forestry, forest fire danger researchers, executives, computer engineers, practitioners, government officials, policymakers, academicians, and students looking for a new system to predict forest fire danger.

This book tells the story of the hopeful science and trusting art of forestry. It is a story about the hopes of foresters and other scientists to understand the forests more deeply, and about their unspoken trust that their knowledge could ensure an enduring sylvan future. Much has been written on the origins and development of modern forestry in various countries, and on the people and institutions involved, but there is little in the forest history literature that explains what the science actually is. Forest knowledge has an ancient history documented since classical times and applied within the intricate social and legal systems of medieval Europe. This volume is concerned with the modern form of forest science, founded in Europe early in the nineteenth century, when regimes for managing the forests, that could be traced to the ancient world and had flourished in the Middle Ages, were disrupted. New ways had to be found. Foresters have tried to know their forests scientifically for over three centuries and have hoped to apply their knowledge to good effect, even though they could not live to see the futures they envisioned. How far did their scientific understanding enable a sylvan future? What, over the three centuries discussed in this book, were their successes and failures? And now what might the future hold for forest science and its application? This is no tale of triumph: the outlook for the world's forests is too bleak for that. While many forests are flourishing, the climate is changing, tropical forests are disappearing, others are degrading, species are being lost, governments dither, international conferences fail. This is another, longer story - one of inquiry, of science and persistent endeavour to find a better future for the forests.

To understand the catastrophic processes of forest fire danger, different deterministic, probabilistic, and empiric models must be used. Simulating various surface and crown forest fires using predictive information technology could lead to the improvement of existing systems and the examination of the ecological and economic effects of forest fires in other countries. Predicting, Monitoring, and Assessing Forest Fire Dangers and Risks provides innovative insights into forestry management and fire statistics. The content within this publication examines climate change, thermal radiation, and remote sensing. It is designed for fire investigators, forestry technicians, emergency managers, fire and rescue specialists, professionals, researchers, meteorologists, computer engineers, academicians, and students invested in topics centered around providing conjugate information on forest fire danger and risk.

This book presents a horticultural overview of the main plant families of trees and shrubs from temperate regions that are cultivated in urban and rural landscape schemes. Most of the plants used come from a limited number of plant families and within these families, certain genera contribute very significantly. The largest chapter in the book describes 37 plant families according to their identification, functional use and management in landscape schemes. With this information, readers will be able to assess the suitability of species and prepare planting designs for prevailing sites.

Prosopis describes the enormous historical importance of these trees as a human food source and reviews the contemporary food science of the fruit derived from these trees. As well, this treatise reviews the native genetic resources of this genus on 4 continents and classical genetic and horticultural techniques that could help stabilize the environment and alleviate human suffering on some of the world's most destitute agro-ecosystems. This book is an essential read for researchers interested in forestry and plant science, environmental science, and functional foods. The legume family (Fabaceae) contains many genera and species that through their nitrogen fixing process provide high protein food and feed for humans and animals. As evidenced by its presence in Death Valley, California, which holds the record for the highest temperatures in the world, these types of plants can thrive in extreme environments.