
K. S. KanwalGB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development · India
K. S. Kanwal
Ph.D.
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Publications (64)
In the present study, a total of 28 species of insect flower visitors representing different groups of insect pollinators, that is, Honey Bees, Bumble bees, Carpenter bees, Solitary bees, Drone flies, Syrphid flies, and Butterflies were recorded from the lemon flowers. Out of 28 species of insect visitors of lemon bloom, a maximum of 10 species are...
Present study was conducted in Mohal Khad, Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh, investigated the diversity and flower-visiting frequency of insect pollinators on mustard (Brassica campestris). The visual sampling method during the peak bloom of mustards recorded a total of 24 species of insect pollinators from 4 orders, 13 families, and 19 genera, with...
Temperate and alpine ecosystems are considered the most sensitive and vulnerable region towards climate change in the Indian Himalayan region. The current study investigates forest composition in relation to environmental and edaphic factors, which is critical for determining plant community patterns. The impact of climatic and soil properties was...
Taxus contorta (family Taxaceae) is a native plant of temperate region of western Himalaya. The current study investigated the effect of altitude on the phytochemical composition and mycorrhizal diversity, associated with distribution of T. contorta in Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh, India. Quantitative phytochemical analysis of the leaf extract...
The Himalaya is known for its unique and rich endemic plants. Diversity of endemic plants is considered for prioritizing areas including delineating the Biodiversity Hotspots and conservation implications. In view of limited authentic dataset on endemic plants, the study investigated the diversity and distribution patterns of endemic vascular plant...
Taxus, commonly known as Yew, is a non-resinous evergreen tree renowned for its anti-cancer properties, attributed to the plant alkaloid Paclitaxel. This study draws upon secondary data sourced from reputable books, journals, and authenticated websites pertaining to the taxonomy of this significant flora. Taxus thrives in moist, humid, shady enviro...
The state of Uttarakhand, nestled in the heart of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), is renowned for its exceptional biodiversity. Uttarakhand's ecological diversity and cultural complexity make it a biodiversity hotspot. The state is characterized by diverse climatic zones, from tropical to alpine, and is home to a broad range of indigenous commun...
Ferns exhibit wide distribution in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), with Himachal Pradesh providing optimal climatic conditions for diverse fern species. This study documents the ethnobotanical applications of 45 pteridophyte species, spanning 16 families and 21 genera in Himachal Pradesh. Pteridophytes hold economic importance due to their edibi...
T In the present study, a total of 28 species of insect flower visitors representing different groups of insect pollinators, that is, Honey Bees, Bumble bees, Carpenter bees, Solitary bees, Drone flies, Syrphid flies, and Butterflies were recorded from the lemon flowers. Out of 28 species of insect visitors of lemon bloom, a maximum of 10 species a...
The Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area (GHNPCA) is home to several endangered species of plants. The present ethno-medicinal study was carried out in 13 villages of the eco-zone of the GHNPCA and information was gathered through a semi-structured questionnaire survey and interviews of medicinal plant knowledge holders/traditional Vaidy...
Vegetation patterns in the high-altitude Himalayas are influenced by a complex set of biotic and abiotic factors. Anthropogenic disturbances are one of the primary factors influencing the community patterns and diversity, which are largely determined by the level of accessibility in the Himalayas. However, with advancing urbanization and accessibil...
Historically, Rhododendrons, locally known as Burans or Brash are considered as an
economically and therapeutically important keystone species from the subalpine and
alpine zones of Himalaya. Different species of Rhododendrons are used for different purposes,viz, food supplements, medicines, beverages, fuelwood, and other households needs by rural...
The paper enumerates 95 plant species of medicinal importance used by the inhabitants of the villages around the Changthang plateau of Ladakh Union Territory, India. Leaves (27 spp.), shoots (23 spp.), flowers and root (19 spp., each) were utilized in majority cases. Maximum species were used for gastrointestinal diseases followed by cold, cough, f...
United Nations General Assembly declared the 2021–2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration with main objectives
to scale up the restoration of degraded ecosystems and provide solutions for mitigating climate change impacts including
strengthening food, water, and biodiversity conservation opportunities globally. As per the United Nation Environm...
The West Himalayan Yew (Taxus contorta Griff.) is an extremely important tree species as its bark and leaves are the source of the anti-cancer medicine Taxol® used in chemotherapy for the treatment of a number of different cancers. Unfortunately, the species is endangered because of unsustainable harvesting and over grazing coupled with a very low...
The current study was carried out around the Pangateng Tso (PTSO) high-altitude wetland area of Tawang district of Eastern Himalaya. A total 93 higher plant species belonging to 58 genus and 31 families were recorded from the PTSO lake area. A total 74 herbs followed by 16 shrubs and 3 tree species recorded from the study area. The largest number o...
The Trans Himalayan region mainly consisting of cold desert biomes harbors unique flora due to its distinctive climatic conditions. Khoksar is an ecologically important transition zone between the Kullu valley and the cold desert regions of Lahaul-Spiti district and it is equally important for its rich floristic diversity. This study was conducted...
Himachal Pradesh is popularly known as the Devbhumi “Land of the Gods”, a biodiversity
rich Himalayan state of the country. The landscape of state is characterized by snow
capped mountain, lush green forest, rich biological resource, diverse agroclimatic zones,
mesmerizing horticulture orchards and culturally diverse populace. About one third of
th...
Bird photography tourism offers new opportunities and hope for
sustaining local livelihoods and biodiversity in conservation priority
areas. Experiences in Hanlong offer an excellent heuristic example
for sustainable community development, adaptation, and
transformational change in conservation priority areas. They also
contribute to the realizatio...
Bird photography tourism offers new opportunities and hope for
sustaining local livelihoods and biodiversity in conservation priority
areas. Experiences in Hanlong offer an excellent heuristic example
for sustainable community development, adaptation, and
transformational change in conservation priority areas. They also
contribute to the realizatio...
The present work provides a comprehensive overview of status and distribution of genus Meconopsis Vig .(Papaveraceae) in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). Critical assessment of published literature and herbarium records on the diversity, distribution and endemism of the genus Meconopsis Vig. have been carried for the review. A total 22 taxa of Me...
Municipal solid waste management has become a matter of dispute in today's society and requires utmost attention to be resolved.The current mechanism of waste management in the Chambatown is not efficient and has been under growing stress. The main purpose of the current research is to know the status of waste generation, characterization, disposal...
Meconopsis merakensis Tosh.Yoshida, R.Yangzom & D.G.Long var. merakensis is reported for the first time in India, from the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. It has deeply nodding, bowl-shaped, bluish or purplish flowers and the tip of the elongate rachis is often curved. Morphological characteristics of the species were examined and photographi...
An ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants was conducted at different altitudinal gradient in Shi Yomi District of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The objective of the study was to document the diversity of wild edible plants used by ethnic communities in the study area and to highlight the utilization pattern of the edible plant resources. During the...
Gentiana urnula Harry Sm. (Gentianaceae) was collected from Nagula wetland area of Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. This species is now considered as new distributional records for the flora of Arunachal Pradesh of India. Detailed description, occurrence, distribution, flowering and fruiting season and illustration are provided in this paper f...
Codonopsis foetens Hook.f. and C. thalictrifolia Wall., two high altitude plants occurring at an elevation of 3300–4800 m, are recorded from Arunachal Pradesh State in India for the first time. These species were collected from Nagula Wetland complex of Tawang District of the state. Detailed description, occurrence, distribution, flowering and frui...
Climate Change (CC) is widely recognized as the major environmental challenge facing the entire planet at present. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fifth assessment report (AR5) revealed that, the average global surface temperature is likely to rise by 0.3 to 4.8 °C and sea levels would rise by between 26 and 82 cm (10.4 and 32.4 in...
Comprising the varied phyto-geographical ranges from high hills, undulating mountains and plains, Eastern Himalaya region is considered one of the most diverse and rich in terms of floral biodiversity. Tawang district is located within the Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot, and also listed among the 200 Globally Important Eco–regions and is thus home...
The present study has documented the various ethno-medicinal plants used by Galo community of West Siang district
of Arunachal Pradesh. A well-designed questionnaire based survey was conducted in the study area to collect ethnomedicinal
plants information. A total of 36 plant species belonging to 20 families and 31 genera were used by Galo Communit...
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has highlighted that warming of the climate system is
unequivocal. Global climate change is happening and will present practical challenges for local ecosystems. Climate
change is posing serious threat to the ecosystem and communities of the Himalayan region. The Indian Eastern
Himalayan region (alia...
ICIMOD has been working in the transboundary landscape and has contributed towards this still evolving innovative model of birdwatching. This has led to improvement in terms of conservation and development efforts, while also increasing public awareness as well as the income of the local communities. Meanwhile, birdwatching is thriving in other Him...
The high altitude wetlands (HAWs) are an important category of natural wetlands found mainly in the higher reaches (above 3000 masl) of the Himalayas. Among the globally distributed areas of HAWs, the Himalaya and the Tibetan plateau is the largest and it harbours numerous lakes of different geological origin in myriad of shapes and sizes. There ar...
The high altitude wetlands (HAWs) are an important category of natural wetlands found mainly in the higher elevations (above 3000 m, above mean sea level) in the Himalayan region. They are extreme ecosystems, characterised by adverse climate and presence of a seasonal or diurnal permafrost layer. The high altitude wetlands are fed by snow-melt, pre...
Arunachal Pradesh, the land of rising sun, has abundance of natural and biological resources. It is the largest mountain state in North-East India, covering a geographical area of 83,743 km2 which constitutes 2.54 % of the total area of the country, 15.76% of the Indian Himalayan Region and 43.62% of the Himalayan Biodiversity Hot Spot. The state i...
Owing to profuse water resources and favorable geography, Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) has become a preferred destination for hydropower in India. It has been planned to produce around 78% (117239 MW) of total potential of country from IHR only. Though various inter linked and complex issues of environmental protection pertaining to large scale de...
The Eastern Himalayan region contains more than one-third of India’s biodiversity and represents the Indo-Burma global biodiversity hotspot. The region has been characterized by large rural population, low population density, large percentage of indigenous tribal communities and large area under forests. It is home to over 200 tribal communities, s...
Background: This study focuses on the ethnoflora used by local communities in the Alaknanda river basin of Uttarakhand state in Western Himalaya, India. The objectives of the study are to collect ethnobotanical information, to assess the impact of hydropower projects on ethnoflora and to suggest conservation and management measures for the protecti...
The present study deals with medicinal plants used in various traditional systems of medicine in Alaknanda valley of Uttarakhand. An ethnomedicinal survey was conducted during year 2008 to 2010 in various towns and villages of the Alaknanda valley. Information on ethnomedicinal importance of the plant species was collected through interviews and di...
India's North East Region (NER) 'a rainbow country, extraordinarily diverse and colourful' includes the seven sisters – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tri-pura, along with a small and beautiful cousin in the Himalayan fringes, namely Sikkim covering an area of 262,189 sq. km and constituting about 7.98% of the c...
The study was carried out in four forest types in the year 2006–2007 of Garhwal Himalaya between 800 m to 2600 m asl. Forest types studied for floral diversity were Chir-Pine forest, Pine mixed forest, Temperate broad leaved mixed forest and Dry deciduous mixed forest. However, the floral diversity varied significantly with the forests temperate br...
This study provides an overview of the impacts of a proposed hydroelectric power project in the Western Himalayan region in India, using a primary database on floristic diversity and vegetation analysis. The remote sensing data revealed that in the submergence zone only mixed deciduous forest that occupies 807.5 ha area and has a wood biomass volum...
Garhwal Himalaya is known for its rich bio-resources and ethnocultural diversity. Ethnobiological survey was conducted in different hilly districts of Uttarakhand which reveals their Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) in fish capture. Fishing is one of the important sources of animal protein for the people of hilly region. In the study, a total...