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Field Manual on Alien Flora of Kashmir Himalaya: Casual, Naturalised and Invasive Plants has been prepared with two main goals in mind: (i) to promote awareness of the threats of invasive alien plants to biodiversity, ecology and environment, and (ii) to encourage research on, and management of, the alien plants. The Manual contains concise information on the taxonomy, ecology, invasion status, impacts, distribution and illustrated photo-plates of the alien plant species of Kashmir Himalaya, India. The Manual has three chapters: Chapter 1 provides a general introduction to the discipline of invasion ecology. Chapter 2 guides the readers on how to use the Manual, including brief information on the study region, methods, definitions and terminology used. Chapter 3 comprises the bulk of this Manual, providing profiles of 100 alien plant species with scientific information on the botanical, English and local names, taxonomic characters, ecological traits, current invasion status (casual, naturalised and invasive), impacts, native range, species' distribution-map in Kashmir Himalaya and coloured illustrations that will aid in field identification.
It is hoped that the Manual will increase awareness of the threats posed by plant invasions among all the stakeholders – researchers, land managers, policymakers, environmentalists, naturalists, citizen-scientists, students, and the general public. It will also help in promoting research, formulating policies and planning management actions to deal with invasive alien species.
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Introduction
- Biological invasions: a multi-stage process Species invasiveness and habitat invasibility Impacts of biological invasions Management and policy making Relevance of the Field Manual
Chapter 2: How to use the Field Manual?
- Study region
- Methods used
- Terminology and definitions
Chapter 3: Species' Profile
Index to the species
Bibliography
Ruquia Gulzar is a doctoral student at the Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir. For the last 5 years, she has been working on the "Naturalised Flora of Kashmir Himalaya" and has conducted extensive field- and laboratory-based studies. She has published over 15 research papers and book chapters.
Anzar Ahmad Khuroo is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir. His research interests include plant taxonomy, ecology and biodiversity with a focus on Kashmir Himalaya. He has two decades-long research experience on the alien flora of the Himalayas. He has published over 170 research papers and book chapters and recently edited an encyclopaedic book entitled Biodiversity of the Himalaya: Jammu and Kashmir State.
Irfan Rashid is a Senior Assistant Professor at the Department of Geoinformatics, University of Kashmir. His main areas of research interest include ecosystem dynamics, natural resource mapping, and glaciology. He has published over 70 research papers and book chapters.
