Forest Dynamics and Conservation: Science, Innovations and Policies

This book unveils forestry science and its policy and management that connect past and present understanding of forests. The aggregated knowledge is presented to cover the approaches adopted in studying forest structure, its growth, functioning, and degradation, especially in the context of the surrounding environment. The application of advance computation, instrumentation, and modelling has been elaborated in various chapters.

Forest ecosystems are rapidly changing due to forest fires, deforestation, urbanization, climate change, and other natural and anthropogenic drivers. Understanding the dynamics of forest ecosystems requires contemporary methods and measures, utilizing modern tools and big data for developing effective conservation plans. The book also covers discussion on policies for sustainable forestry, agroforestry, environmental governance, socio-ecology, nature-based solutions, and management implication. 

It is suitable for a wide range of readers working in the field of scientific forestry, policy making, and forest management. In addition, it is a useful material for postgraduate and research students of forestry sciences.

Dr. Manoj Kumar

Dr. Manoj Kumar is scientist and Incharge of the GIS center at Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, India. Dr. Kumar primarily works in the field of forestry, environment, climate change, and related interdisciplinary fields with wider applications of information technology, remote sensing, and GIS tools. He has research experience of more than 15 years. He has initiated work on developing forest growth simulation models to study the functional relationship of forests with the surrounding environment, which could be used for climate change impact studies. He has successfully implemented more than 20 research projects funded by national and international agencies.

Dr. Shalini Dhyani

Dr. Shalini Dhyani is a senior scientist with the Critical Zone Research Group of Water Technology and Management Division at CSIR-NEERI, India. She is the South Asia regional chair for IUCN CEM (Commission on Ecosystems Management) and alsoserves as the lead author for IPBES assessment on Sustainable Use of Wild Species (2018–21). She is a skilled ecologist with more than 17 years of strong experience in forest ecology, climate change impact on forests, nature-based solutions, and eco-restoration. She received the first “IUCN-CEM Chair Young Professional Award” for her excellent research and publications on forests of the Himalayas.

Dr. Naveen Kalra

Dr. Naveen Kalra worked as a Scientist with the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Delhi, for almost 40 years. He is now actively engaged in developing growth models for yield forecasting in the California growing region working with the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He was instrumental in initiating simulation and advance computing for the agriculture and forestry sector in India. He primarily works in the broader domains of soil physics, soil and water conservation, climate change and its variability, climate change impact assessment for agriculture and forestry sectors, simulation modelling, and machine learning applications.