The book entitled "Agroforestry for Increased Production and Livelihood Security" would help in understanding the issues and options for small and marginal land holders and ensuring their livelihood through agroforestry. The contributors of the manuscripts have vast working experience in different aspects of agroforestry and from different agro-ecological situations. This compilation would be a ready reference and perfect guide to all those in the profession of teaching agroforestry, environmentalists, policy planners, students and the farmers in general. This book can be used as supplementary reading material in graduate and post graduate courses of forestry, agroforestry and allied biological sciences. This voluminous compilation is likely to boost the cause of development and promotion of usage of agroforestry and encouraging the farmers to take up agroforestry as a sound land use to earn their livelihood.

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.

Agroforestry is an age old practice throughout the world, but its recognition as a science is nearly three decades old. The scientific and systematic research on tree-crop interactions, in India, started in late 1970's and got major support and impetus with the establishment of All India Coordinated Research Project AICRP on Agroforestry in 1983 by ICAR. Today AICRP on Agroforestry has its network through out the country. Under AICRP and through the individual efforts of State Agricultural Universities, location specific agroforestry systems has been recommended to suit agro-climatic zones, landholdings and economic status of the region. Though extensive research had been done till date, but it is not available to scientific world, farming communities who are the backbone of Indian rural development, students and inquisitive readers in one manuscript. This prompted the authors to club the information on agroforestry systems and practices prevailing in India in form of book. For the sake of convenience, agroforestry systems prevailing in India have been divided into four broad sections i Agroforestry in India ii Agroforestry system and practices in North, West and Central India iii Agroforestry systems and practices in East, North-East and Southern India iv Allied topics related to Agroforestry. Section one cover topics covering agroforestry experiences, research and extension efforts done in the last 25 years in India. Section two includes 13 s and section three covers 14 s wherein agroforestry research vis-O-vis agroclimatic zones of different states of India have been discussed. The last section comprising of 8 s includes topics related to role of agroforestry in soil conservation, women development; management of agroforestry; modeling; rehabilitation of mine spoils and breeding of agroforestry tree species.

This edited book covers all aspects of forest deforestation and degradation in detail and their link to land degradation. Poor natural resource management is often a contributory factor in the depletion of resources particularly like degradation of land which hinders the goals to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN). Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 15.3 states: "By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world." To achieve the set goals a comprehensive multidirectional approach is required involving policymakers, field functionaries, researchers, and above all educators. The book compiles the field experiences and wisdom of some of the best researchers and authors working in the field of land degradations for quite a long time. The objective of the book is to disseminate the status of land degradation, the importance of achieving land degradation and share success stories of reclaiming Land degradation, and suggests means and ways of achieving land degradation neutrality. This book act as a repository of knowledge on Land degradation neutrality for students, researchers and practitioners, and policy planners.