V. P. Tewari

Institute of Wood Science and Technology · Group Coordinator Research Office

We evaluated heartwood, sapwood and bark content in teak trees. A total of 27 sample plots were laid out in teak plantations raised by State Forest Department in Karnataka covering different age groups (11−36 years), density (516−2061 trees/ha) and sites. From these plantations, a total of 130 trees were felled for estimating the yield and bark con...

The book compiles scientific literature and provides approaches for construction of models. It presents an updated source of references for students, researchers and practitioners requiring current process of research and methods in the field. The book describes current modelling approaches for predicting forest growth and yield comprising various...

Trees are natural capital assets, especially for cities, as they provide immense environmental benefits and improve urban biodiversity and ecology. However, urbanization has largely destroyed the original native ecosystems and has caused a homogenization where frequently native species are replaced by non-native species. When attempting to understa...

Urbanisation is a complex process, differently defined in different contexts and disciplines. However, a general feature of urbanisation is that it comes along with changing environmental landscapes by accommodating large numbers of migrants and industries in densely built-up areas. This affects environmental and ecological components of the landsc...

The discipline of Forest Inventory has developed a versatile toolbox of techniques and methods useful for national level assessments. Forest mensuration has always played an important role in the practice of forest management. Forest measurements and biometrics involves developing and testing methods for taking and using measures from forested land...

Agroforestry is as old as agriculture itself. Many of the anecdotal agro-forestry practices, which are time tested and evolved through traditional indigenous knowledge, are still being followed in different agroecological zones. The traditional knowledge and the underlying ecological principles concerning indigenous agroforestry systems around the...

Forest managers have to respond to the need for climate-adaptive strategies in the face of observed and projected climatic changes although, on-the-ground forest adaptation research is rarely available to indicate what adaptation measures or strategies might be successful in preparing forest ecosystems to deal with climate change. Forest managers a...

Santalum album L. is distributed from Indonesia in the West to Juan Fernandez Islands in the East and from Hawaiian Archipelago in the North to New Zealand in the South. It is believed that sandalwood was introduced into India from Timor, Indonesia. Sandalwood is one of the most important economic tree species harvested mainly for its heartwood and...

This article gives a brief introduction about biodiversity, global scenario of biodiversity and its loss, biodiversity and biodiversity losses in Indian context, global biodiversity target and general remarks abut importance of biodiversity ad need for its mainstreaming.

This article gives brief introduction about Agroforestry, its potential and limitations, preferable agroforestry trees in India, wood demand by industries, concept of contract farming and way forward.

The need for large-scale forest landscape restoration has been increasingly recognized, with significant political support globally and locally. Greater investments have been initiated for restoring landscapes through forest protection, tree planting, and other measures as well as livelihood improvements. These efforts seek to achieve the restorati...

National Forest Inventory and forest assessments are attracting increasing attention owing to their role in providing information related to manifold forest functions. There is a high demand for global information about forests and multiple services that these ecosystems provide. Of particular, current interest are forest assessment systems at nati...

Trees are invaluable and multifunctional elements of many land cover types. In urban areas trees serve particularly important ecological and environmental functions. In order to manage the multi-functionality of trees as efficiently as possible, biophysical information on the presence and distribution of species is helpful, as is general informatio...

Urban expansion and the corresponding growth in the industrial and economic sector due to construction activities, infrastructure expansion and population inflow has a major impact on biodiversity and ecosystems at various scales. Our study was to elucidate the details of tree composition, density and diversity along the urban-rural gradient in two...

Remote Sensing was coined in the late 1950s and formally defined by Parker in 1962 at the first Symposium on the Remote Sensing of the Environment in Michigan, USA. During the last two decades, scientific advances in remote sensing have produced a number of techniques that can retrieve information for various management areas ranging from strategic...

This small book is an attempt to compile the relevant but scanty information comprising of ecology and other selected parameters of the species including information on the silviculture, growth and yield perspectives, information on the aspects like genetics and tree improvement, insect-pest and diseases and make them available at one place

This small book is intended to provide a systematic account of the Rhododendrons in the state of Himachal Pradesh where its four species form an integral component of the forest ecosystem, especially in the high altitude fragile transition zones. They have not received the desired attention and thus an attempt has been made to compile and consolida...

The multiplicity of metrics employed by scientists to describe a forest ecosystem is striking. Numerous indices of biodiversity, forest structure and forest density have been developed to facilitate description and comparison of complex forest communities. Constructing forest metrics is an important measurement issue. However, surprisingly few, if...

The carbon dynamics in natural/ plantation ecosystems is very relevant issues related to global change, especially its relation to the greenhouse effect. Besides, soils are also an effective sink for carbon and to be most effective, CO2 must be fixed into long lived pools. More accurate and reliable estimates of carbon stock on country level can on...

India has a long history of professional forest assessment and numerous field plots had been established during the early 1900’s. The idea that continuous forest observation was necessary for research and sustainable forest management gained momentum, especially after the Third Silvicultural Conference which had convened in Dehradun in 1929 and, ac...

The human population is projected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, and the demand for wood and other products will inevitably intensify (UN, 2017; Nolet et al., 2017). Forest ecosystems are used for harvesting wood, but they also provide important habitats for two-thirds of terrestrial organisms (Duraiappah and Naeem, 2005). The world's ecosystems hav...

Along the urban-rural gradient in megacities, the extent and material composition of impervious surfaces are different. This leads to variations in the frequently mentioned heat-island property, but possibly also to different spectral signatures and, consequently, different accuracies in remote sensing image classification. This, in turn, creates a...

Urbanization is a global trend rapidly transforming the biophysical and socio-economic structures of settlement areas with a particular impact in metropolitan areas. This paper is the outcome of an Indo-German collaborative research project on the sprawling metropolitan area of Bengaluru, where growth in the economic sector due to industrialization...

India has a long history of professional forest assessment and numerous field plots had been established during the early 1900’s. The idea that continuous forest observation was necessary for research and sustainable forest management gained momentum, especially after the Third Silvicultural Conference which had convened in Dehradun in 1929 and, ac...

Tectona grandis (teak) is one of the most important timber species worldwide and India is one of the major teak growing countries. Though some volume equations were developed for teak in India but the models developed were neither evaluated using robust statistical criteria nor validated. Hence, the objective of this study was to develop statistica...

Stand density management diagrams are average stand-level models that graphically display the relationship between stand yield, density, height and diameter throughout the various stages of forest development in even-aged stands. These are useful tools for designing, displaying and evaluating alternative density regimes in even-aged forest ecosyste...

India, unlike most other countries which are located between the tropics of cancer and capricorn, can look back on a long history of professional forest assessment. The idea that continuous forest observation was necessary for scientific and sustainable forest use gained momentum especially after the Third Silvicultural Conference which had convene...

The rapidly increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere are mainly responsible for global warming and consequences of climate change. Agriculture is the mainstay of livelihood and food security to millions of people living in tropical countries; climate change is posing a serious threat on food production, nutritional sec...

Agroforestry (AF) is a dynamic, ecologically based, natural resources management system that, by integrating trees on farms, ranches, and in other landscapes, diversifies and increases production and promotes social, economic, and environmental benefits for land users. Further, it is receiving increasing attention as a sustainable land-management o...

Agroforestry is as old as agriculture itself. Many of the anecdotal agroforestry practices, which are time tested and evolved through traditional indigenous knowledge, are still being followed in different agroecological zones. The traditional knowledge and the underlying ecological principles concerning indigenous agroforestry systems around the w...

Podophyllum hexandrum (Bankakdi) is a very important high valued temperate medicinal plant which is known for its medicinal property in treatment of specific types of cancers. The species is in great demand and is being harvested from the wild indiscriminately. The species needs immediate attention for its protection and conservation. Keeping in vi...

Human and cattle population in India is continuously increasing thereby putting the natural resources under tremendous pressure. In India about 85% of the rural populace still heavily dependent upon the forests to meet their day-today needs of fuel, fodder and timber etc. To meet these ever-increasing demands, introduction of fast growing species i...

Santalum album L. is a medium sized tree attaining a height of about 12 m. The species is distributed from Indonesia in the West to Juan Fernandez Islands in the East and from Hawaiian Archipelago in the North to New Zealand in the South. It is believed that sandalwood was introduced in India from Timor, Indonesia. Sandalwood (Santalum album L., Fa...

Tectona grandis (teak) is one of the most important tropical timber species occurring naturally in India. In India, teak is the single most important commercial timber species. Scientifically sound growth models, based on advanced modelling techniques, are often not available, although they are necessary for the successful management of teak stands...

Developing seed production areas (SPAs) is one of the first steps in tree improvement programme that can be used to obtain genetically improved seed for immediate planting. It is usually for the short term in nature. Though seeds obtained from this method do not yield large volume of genetic gain, it sometimes greatly improves tree quality. After s...

Teak is a slow growing species and any tree improvement program will take 15-40 years before the timber from the first rotation of improved planting stock is harvested. Ten to fifteen years may pass from the initiation of an improvement program before improved seed is available. Developing seed production areas (SPAs) is one of the first steps in t...

Most of the discussions of Reduced Emissions due to Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) focus on tropical deforestation, however, the potential carbon saving from reduced forest degradation is mostly disregarded. Various studies have shown that substantial reductions of global CO2 emissions can be achieved by improving forest management in the tro...

Natural forests, whether managed or unmanaged, exhibit complex structures and changing spatial patterns, and a designed planting of species mixtures cannot mimic the complexity resulting from local variation of tree species, ages & dimensions, and the varying spatial arrangement of these attributes. Long-term Forest Observational Studies (FOS) usua...

Background: The fragile landscapes of the Himalayan region are highly susceptible to natural hazards, and there is ongoing concern about current and potential climate change impacts. This study provides background information on India’s Western Himalayas and reviews evidence of warming as well as variability in precipitation and extreme events. Met...

Deserts are a special kind of ecosystem bearing little vegetation. The edapho-climatic conditions do not favour a great variety of plants and animals. Special efforts are required to improve the vegetational status of such places which, in turn, improve the environmental conditions of the area. With the example of Thar desert of Rajasthan, a brief...

Most ongoing discussions of Reduced Emissions due to Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) focus on tropical deforestation, however, the potential carbon saving from reduced forest degradation is mostly disregarded. Various studies have shown that substantial reductions of global CO2 emissions can be achieved by improving forest management in the tr...

Himalayan region including cold deserts has the richest medicinal plant resource of India. More than 50% medicinal plants traditionally used in India come from the Himalayan region. During the field studies of cold deserts of Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, India about 113 plants of medicinal value were documented. This article highlighted th...

With Ernst Assmann’s appointment to the chair of Forest Yield Science in Munich in 1951, he assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the extensive network of growth-and-yield plots of the Bavarian Forest Research Institute. This network, with some plots having been remeasured since 1870, proved to be a rich source of observations, and constitu...

The wild plants assume significance as alternative food sources, predominantly in the areas receiving frequent droughts and famine. In many Indian states, majority of forest dwellers depend on forests for their annual food requirements. Cordia myxa, Zizyphus mauritiana, Salvadora oleoides are some of the important fruit bearing plant species found...

National forest assessments are attracting increasing attention owing to their role in providing information related to manifold forest functions. Large-area information is in high demand, both for the forest in its role as ecosystem and in its role as resource and service provider. Of particular current interest are forest assessment systems at na...

Tourists visit Andaman and Nicobar Islands, located in Bay of Bengal, to have a glimpse of pollution free sandy beaches and luxuriant marine ecosystem, especially coral reefs, colourful fishes and other sea organisms. Mahatama Gandhi Marine National Park (MGMNP), near Port Blair, the capital city of these islands, is one of such favourite spots, bo...

Volume equations are critical starting points to make forest management successful and efficient. Allometric equations for predicting total and merchantable volume play a critical and obvious role in the management of any silvicultural system. The importance of volume equations is indicated by the existence of numerous such equations and the consta...

Climate change in recent times has emerged as an important area of environmental and developmental planning. In order to fulfil India`s vision of sustainable development in the context of climate change, National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) was launched in June 2008. The NAPCC comprises of eight national Missions including National Missio...

Domesticated plants and animals differ from their wild relatives. They have been selected and modified according to human needs. Forest Ecosystems have also been modified for centuries according to human preferences, although not always very systematically. People harvest trees to utilize the wood and many non-timber products; they change the speci...

Global deforestation and forest degradation have led to massive loss of biodiversity. Hence, it is important not only to protect, but also to restore forest ecosystems. Forest biodiversity protection, biomass production, and climate change mitigation and adaptation are important key motivations for forest restoration. Reforestation efforts in dryla...

Growth and yield modelling is an essential prerequisite for evaluating the consequences of a particular management action on the future development of forest ecosystem. The number of growth and yield models applicable to forests is rapidly increasing due to readily available efficient computing technology. Technologically advanced growth and yield...

Large-area forest assessments are attracting increasing attention owing to their role in providing information related to carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation and enhancement of rural livelihoods. The information needs actually hold good for all geographic levels from the local to the global. Forest assessments on national level are of p...

Uncertainty and multiple risk are typical aspects of forest management. Applications of risk analysis are surprisingly rare, in spite of the rich assortment of sophisticated forest planning tools that are available today. Forest scenario planning may reduce uncertainty in management outcomes by anticipating the future in a systematic way, thus redu...

Forest Ecosystems have been modified for centuries according to human preferences, although not always very systematically. People harvest trees to utilize the wood and many non-timber products; they change the species composition to attain some desirable structure and adapt rotation ages to improve the runoff from water catchments. Virtually all “...

Global energy demand is projected to increase rapidly in coming years not only due to population growth, but also since more people will have access to energy and lifestyles become more energy demanding. In the longer term, forest biomass has the potential to significantly lessen the pressure on global energy supply when oil resources decline. Wood...

Using crops to make liquid fuel is not a recent idea. Biofuels are not only preferable to petrol but there is also hope for biofuels’ environmental and social redemption. The International Energy Agency has laid out a ‘roadmap’ to ramp-up the use of biofuels from around 2% of global transport fuel today to 27% by the year 2050. Each year, more than...

Whereas forest resource information, gathered in Forest Inventory at local, national and global levels, is required for planning and policy decisions, Forest Research Plot Networks provide essential data for studying forest ecosystem. A manipulated experiment deliberately imposes treatments on experimental plots with the aim of observing a particul...

Due to the long-term planning horizons and the great variety of natural, economic, and operational hazards affecting forest ecosystems, uncertainty and multiple risk are typical aspects of forest management. Applications of risk analysis are surprisingly rare, in spite of the rich assortment of sophisticated forest planning tools that are available...

Land degradation has recently been exacerbated in rangelands of arid Rajasthan in India by heavy grazing pressures. Local grazing pressures are surpassing the recommended stocking rates of the rangelands at an enormous pace. The carrying capacities of the rangelands were estimated several decades ago, however, qualitative evidence is available rega...

Stand Density Diagrams (SDD) are average stand-level models which graphically illustrate the relationship between yield, density and mortality throughout the various stages of forest development. These are useful tools for designing, displaying and evaluating alternative density regimes in even-aged forest ecosystems to achieve a desired future con...

Volume equations play a very crucial role in forest management. Volume equations are critical starting points if forest management is to be successful and efficient. Allometric equations for predicting total and merchantable volume play a critical and obvious role in the management of any silvicultural system, and their absence would represent an i...

Tectona grandis (teak) is one of the most important tropical timber species occurring naturally in India. Appropriate growth models, based on advanced modeling techniques, are not available but are necessary for the successful management of teak stands in the country. Long-term forest planning requires mathematical models, and the principles of Dyn...

Forests are estimated to cover almost 30% of the continental surface area of the world. Due to ever-increasing population pressure, developmental needs and changing preferences of the society for forest products, forest are not able to coup up with these demands. In the past two decades, increasing public attention has been paid to a variety of glo...

Santalum album, a native tree species to India, is world famous for its fragrant heartwood and oil. The species has been overexploited in many parts of their natural distribution. Reliable information about its distribution, growth and availability is wanting since the first sandalwood population survey of the country regarding population density,...

Agro-forestry is of paramount importance in arid regions where crop production is very insecure due to variable and harsh climatic conditions. It offers security to inhabitants and their animals during famines and droughts which are occur frequently in arid areas, apart from providing food, fodder, fuel, timber and various other products of daily u...

Data from 27 remeasured sample plots were used to evaluate dynamic base-age invariant site index models for teak (Tectona grandis) forests in Karnataka, India. The data were obtained in observational field studies covering a wide range of sites in Karnataka and provided up to three interval measurements per plot. All the functions were fitted simul...

This paper provides an insight into the intimate relationships between plant diversity, land degradation and ecological concerns in the cold deserts, which is a unique eco-system of Western Himalayas. Undoubtedly, addressing desertification, including land, soil, water and plant degradation, can certainly facilitate or ease the ecological concerns,...

Jatropha curcas Linn. is considered as a promising source of bio-diesels since the plant grows well in semi-arid marginal soils and is fairly resistant to pests and diseases. The seed parameters are highly variable and till date have not been tested scientifically anywhere in India. The growth and yield are inter-related to each other. The yield po...

Non-wood forest products (NWFP) are goods of biological origin other than wood, derived from forests, other wooded land and trees outside forests that constitute an integral component of food for the communities dependent on forests. The role of NWFPs becomes more significant for the communities with small landholdings residing in remote forest vil...

Tectona grandis (teak) is one of the most important timber species worldwide and India is one of the major teak growing countries. Though some volume equations were developed in the past in India, merchantable volume equations (any top diameter or bole length) are not available. Moreover, the models developed were neither quantitatively and qualita...

Growth and yield studies based on the permanent sample plot (PSP) data are required for the sustainable management of plantations. In this study, volume functions, site index equations, potential stand density, stem number and basal area development models in pure even-aged stands of Dalbergia sissoo, Tecomella undulata and Eucalyptus camaldulensis...

The Sukhna Lake of Chandigarh city is one of the prominent spots for outdoor recreation and tourism in northern India. In this paper, an attempt has been made to estimate the social benefit-cost ratio of this urban lake conservation project. It has been observed that social benefits completely outweigh the conservation costs incurred on the lake du...

Yield tables are a frequently used data base for regional timber resource forecasting. A normal yield table is based on two independent variables, age and site (species constant), and applies to fully stocked (or normal) stands while empirical yield tables are based on average rather than fully stocked stands. Normal and empirical yield tables esse...

Estimates of volume and product yields are an important part of a stand model. Such estimates are indispensable when silvicultural decisions are based on economic criteria. Volume equations play a very crucial role in forest management and provide accurate estimates with acceptable levels of local bias over the entire diameter range in the data. Eq...

Using crops to make liquid fuel is not a recent idea. Biofuels are not only preferable to petrol but that there is also hope for biofuels’ environmental and social redemp¬tion. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has laid out a ‘roadmap’ to ramp-up the use of biofuels from around 2% of global transport fuel today to 27% by the year 2050. Each yea...

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing and most versatile & useful plant which is widely used by the rural people in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Understanding the ecology and habitats of bamboos is the one of the main requirements to develop silvicultural practices and also for sustainable exploitation of bamboo resources. Bamboos are mainly dist...

Urban green spaces are integral components of urban ecosystems, contributing to enhanced environmental quality, quality of life and sustainable urban development. Scientific evidences in last two decades have emphasized the crucial necessity of green areas within urban social-ecological systems to ameliorate several problems of city-culture. Role o...

Technologically advanced growth and yield prediction tools can help foresters make more informed management decisions. Efficiency of the forest production system is to be augmented by optimal management decisions, which need quality information on basic parameters of forests. The availability of such information is scanty in India. Therefore, volum...

People harvest trees to utilize the wood and non-timber products; they change the species composition to attain some desirable structure and adapt rotation ages to improve the runoff from water catchments. Global surveys of human impact indicate that virtually all terrestrial ecosystems have already been “domesticated”, i.e. modified by harvest eve...

Forests and their tree vegetation are an endowment of nature to humanity, prodigiously providing towards the wellbeing of all terrestrial life. Forests have more indirect role through ecological security, provided they are gown, maintained and conserved. The economic progress, population growth and forest development are inter-related. However, ove...

This paper presents equations for estimating limiting stand density for T. undulata plantations grown in hot desert areas of Rajasthan State in India. Five different stand level basal area projection models, belonging to the path invariant algebraic difference form of a non-linear growth function, were also tested and compared. These models can be...

Chandigarh-the ‘City Beautiful’ of India is known for its urban greenery and well planned landscaping in the whole world. More than 0.60 millions of domestic tourists are visiting Chandigarh city each year. In a research study undertaken during 2002-04, an assessment about the annual recreational use value of this city’s urban parks and gardens was...

The Chandigarh City of India is known for its urban parks, gardens and well planned landscaping. In a research case study undertaken during 2002–2006, an assessment about the annual recreational value of this city’s urban greenery was made by using travel cost method on the domestic tourists. The consumer surplus per visit enjoyed by domestic touri...

The aim of this paper was to assess one of the pre-eminent examples of environmental success, Nek Chand’s Rock Garden in the City of Chandigarh in India. Environmental education is multidisciplinary in nature with respect to learning and developing knowledge, awareness, attitudes, values and skills. This enables society to contribute more meaningfu...

Domesticated plants and animals differ from their wild relatives. They have been selected and modified according to human needs. Forest Ecosystems have also been modified for centuries according to human preferences, although not always very systematically. People harvest trees to utilize the wood and many non-timber products; they change the speci...

Jatropha curcas Linn. is considered as a promising source of bio-diesels since the plant grows well in semi-arid marginal soils and is fairly resistant to pests and diseases. The seed parameters are highly variable and till date have not been tested scientifically anywhere in India. The yield potentiality of a plant is governed not only by environm...

Forests are the most extensive vegetation type on earth and harbour most of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Forests ensure environmental functions such as biodiversity, water and soil conservation, water supply and climate regulation. About 350 million people, who live within or adjacent to dense forests, depend on them to a high degree for s...

Foresters harvest trees to utilize the wood, fruits or leaves; they change the species composition to attain some desirable structure and adapt rotation ages to improve the runoff from water catchments. Virtually all landscapes are utilized by humans, which implies that the dynamics of a forest ecosystem is not only determined by natural processes,...

Trees outside the forest (TOF) comprise a heterogeneous and locally very different natural resource, also referred to as tree resource outside the forest (TROF). Traditional systems of growing trees in and around agriculture fields, raising arable crops or grasses and animals have provided life support and sustainability to the agro-ecosystems in...

Forests play a significant role in the climate system. They are important carbon sinks and sources and wood is the dominant source of renewable energy in many countries. Several scenarios predict increasing demands for plantation-grown wood in rural and urban households, and in the commercial timber processing industry. Eucalyptus grandis is one of...

Tecomella undulata is an important indigenous tree species found in the hot desert areas of Rajasthan State in India. Data from 22 sample plots were used to model the dominant height growth of T. undulata. Four algebraic difference form equations were compared to select the best model. Autocorrelation was modeled as a first-order autoregressive pro...