Research in recent years has increasingly shifted away from purely academic research, and into applied aspects of the discipline, including climate change research, conservation, and sustainable development. It has by now widely been recognized that “traditional” knowledge is always in flux and adapting to a quickly changing environment. Trends of globalization, especially the globalization of plant markets, have greatly influenced how plant resources are managed nowadays. While ethnobotanical studies are now available from many regions of the world, no comprehensive encyclopedic series focusing on the worlds mountain regions is available in the market. Scholars in plant sciences worldwide will be interested in this website and its dynamic content. The field (and thus the market) of ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology has grown considerably in recent years. Student interest is on the rise, attendance at professional conferences has grown steadily, and the number of professionals calling themselves ethnobotanists has increased significantly (the various societies, like the Society for Economic Botany, the International Society of Ethnopharmacology, the Society of Ethnobiology, and the International Society for Ethnobiology currently have thousands of members). Growth has been most robust in BRIC countries. This new MRW on Ethnobotany of the Himalayas takes advantage of the increasing international interest and scholarship in the field of mountain research. It includes the best and latest research on a full range of descriptive, methodological, theoretical, and applied research on the most important plants in the Himalayas. Each contribution is scientifically rigorous and contributes to the overall field of study.

Biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic activities around the world. This book is the second volume in the new series Biodiversity Hotspots of the World, which highlights the 36 hotspot regions of the world, regions that have been designated as reaping maximum benefit from preservation efforts. This series is our humble attempt to document these hotspots as a conservation and preservation measure. The concise volumes in this series focus on the most interesting and important properties of these hotspots, covering physiography and climatology; vegetation and forest types; amphibian and reptile biodiversity; genetic diversity of crops, plants, fishes, butterflies, insects, birds, mammals, angiosperms, and gymnosperms; and much more. And of course, the unique threats and conservation efforts for the areas are addressed as well. The Himalayan Mountains are the highest mountain range in the world and include Mount Everest as well as eight other highest peaks of the world. While it is difficult to document the biodiversity of this inhospitable terrain, we do know that out of the 9,000 different species of plants recorded in the area, 3,500 plants are endemic to the Eastern Himalaya region. Anthropogenic activities including deforestation, fragmentation of habitats, pollution, high population, climate change, and poaching of wildlife pose serious threats to the biodiversity of the region. The highlands have exceptionally rich biodiversity, high endemism, and over 160 globally threatened species, including the densest population of Bengal tigers and the three largest herbivores on the continent: the Asian elephant, greater one-horned rhinoceros, and wild water buffalo. The region boasts the world’s richest counts of alpine flora within its temperate broad-leaved forests, with a total of 10,000 species of plants. This volume, Biodiversity Hotspot of the Himalayas, as well as the other volumes in this series, will be essential resources for researchers and practitioners in the fields of conservation biology, ecology, and evolution as the series concisely records the existing biodiversity of these hotspots of the world.

Handbook of Flowering Plants of Nepal (Shrestha et al. 2018) is an updated version of 'Enumeration of the Flowering Plants of Nepal Vols. 1-3 (Hara et al. 1978-1982)' and 'Annotated Checklist of Flowering plants of Nepal (Press et al. 2000)' • Arrangement of orders and families, based on relationships on the basis of DNA sequences, according to Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG IV, 2016) Whereas, genera and species are arranged in alphabetical order • The book covers basic information on global biodiversity; vegetation, forest types and flora of Nepal • The Handbook of Flowering Plants of Nepal will be published in two volumes Volume 1 comprises 91 families (Cycadaceae – Betulaceae), 696 genera and ca. 3004 taxa (2857 species, 33 subspecies, 113 varieties, and 1 forma) of gymnosperms and flowering plants (nearly 40 percent species of Nepal flora) • It also includes 103 species of exotic species, and 137 species of doubtful or uncertain species • The volume two will comprise remaining species belonging to Coriariaceae–Apiaceae • Additional information includes information on Type specimen of endemic species of Nepal • Similarly, Nepali names, English names, life forms, elevation ranges, and general distribution are provided for each species • Furthermore, economic use values of most of the species (with parts use), and information on species with IUCN Red List category, and CITES Appendices are also provided. “This book represents a major stepping-stone on the pathway in completing the Flora of Nepal, and is an indispensible resource for anyone working on Nepalese plants”. Foreword: Dr. Mark F Watson, Editor-in-Chief, Flora of Nepal Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK.