SMO Ta : SCIENCE ATION — CON ara ABOUTTHE BOOK Over the years, the scope of our tific understanding and technical skills in ecology and environmental science have widened significantly, with increasingly greater emphasis on societal issues. In this book, an attempt has been made to give basic concepts of ecology, environmental science and various aspects of natural resource conservation. The topics covered primarily deal with environmental factors affecting organisms, adaptations, biogeography, ecology of species populations and species interactions, biotic communities and ecosystems, environmental pollution, stresses caused by toxics, global environmental change, exotic species invasion, conservation of biodiversity, ecological restoration, impact assessment, application of remote sensing and geographical information system for analysis and management of natural resources, and approaches of ecological economics. The main issues have been discussed within the framework of sustainability, considering humans as part of ecosystems, and recognising that sustainable development requires integration of ecology with social sciences for policy formulation and implementation.ABOUT THE AUTHORS 4.8. Singh Professor J. S. Singh, Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India, Third World Academy of Sciences, Academy of Forest and Environmental Sciences, is an internationally renowned ecologist, who has taught at the Department of Botany, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Kumaun University, Nainital, and Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Presently he is Professor Emeritus at Banaras Hindu University. He was awarded Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 1980, and is recipient of many other prestigious awards. He has been associated with eminent national and international research organisations: e.g, as a Visiting Scientist (1971- 1974; 1981-1982) at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, and Visiting professor (1993-1994) in the Rangeland Ecosystem Science Department, Colorado State University, USA. Professor Singh has made significant contributions towards understanding the development, dynamics and disruption of natural ecosystems in order to provide a scientific basis for environmental protection, management and conservation, His work is characterized by discovery of new facts concerning ecosystem functioning, new methodology for biological resource study, and collection of hitherto unavailable data on avariety of ecosystems for evolving management strategies. To his credit, he has more than 400 research papers in leading research journals of the world and has mentored 43 Ph. D. students. S.P. SINGH Professor S.P. Singh worked as the Professor and Head at the Department of Botany, Kumaun University, Nainital (1977-2005), the Vice Chancellor of Garhwal University, Srinagar, Garhwal (2005-2008), and Advisor Planning Commission, Uttarakhand, and is presently ‘Chair of Excellence’ at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. He is Fellow of Indian National Science Academy, and recipient of Dr. Birbal Sahni Medal of 2003.The principal area of his research interest is Forest Ecology of Himalaya. The scale of his study ranges from a tree leaf to a complete ecosystem level analysis, all that fall within the ecological realm, The ecosystem-level aspects of research interests include productivity, nutrient cycling, ecosystem services and ecological sustainability initiatives in relation to Central Himalaya. His original contributions have resulted in constructing and improving some important generalizations and theories in ecology, pertaining to leat phenology, leaf related ecosystem characters, nutrient cycling, tree regeneration and community organisation, and ecological sustainability. Research in ecosystem services and strengthening mountain-specific research are his current interest, He has supervised about 35 Ph. D. students and published 170 research papers in leading national and international journals Sharda R. Gupta Professor S.R. Gupta taught Ecology for the last 34 years at the Department of Botany, and worked as Professor and Chairperson Department of Botany (1996-99, 2009- 2011), Dean Life Sciences (2009- 2011), Director Institute of Environmental Studies (2006- 2007), and Emeritus Fellow (UGC) from 2011-2013 at Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, She has been a Post Doctoral Fellow at the Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Herts, UK under The Commission of European Communities and is Fellow of the National Institute of Ecology. The main focus of her research work is on biodiversity characterization and ecosystem functioning of grassland and forest systems, forest biomass assessment and soll carbon exchange, ecological rehabilitation of salt -affected soils, biological carbon sequestration for mitigating climate change, and the sustainability of agroforestry and agricultural systems. Supervised 18 Ph.D. students, and published 92 research papers in national and international journals.ECOLOGY ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION - This is a . book by three eminent Indian ecologists, with outstanding record of publications in international / journals. The present book would serve / undergraduate and postgraduate students and | researchers, and covers courses in Botany, Zoology, Forestry, Environmental Science, Geography, \ Environmental Engineering, and Agriculture Sciences. | Based on examples from India, Himalayan ecosystems, ‘al countries, and the global literature, the book / \.would be of much interest to students from / . Asia, Africa, and Latin America as well as_“ _ other developed countries. 2. S. CHAND PUBLISHING =~ A Division of S. Chand & Co. Pvt. Ltd. S= (An ISO 9001 : 2008 Company) ears S. 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