The present volume emphasizes the importance of studying the structure and functioning of ecological systems and their mode of reaction on exposure to human intervention in the Himalayas. It stresses the impact of man on his environment and vice-versa, considered in the areas of biological and adaptative entity, as well as a social, cultural and economic being.

The collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates 50 million years ago created the Himalaya, along with massive glaciers, intensified monsoon, turbulent rivers, and an efflorescence of ecosystems. Today, the Himalaya is at risk of catastrophic loss of life. Maharaj Pandit outlines the mountain’s past in order to map a way toward a sustainable future.

This book brings together comprehensive multi-disciplinary knowledge on diverse aspects of the Himalayan treeline ecotone which is considered one of the most sensitive ecosystems to climate change. The contents of this book are based on the results of extensive research and provide a holistic understanding of the treeline ecotone in Himalaya. The book will serve as an important reference manual and a textbook on treeline ecology. The book is unique in the sense that it provides an engaging account of almost all the aspects of the treeline ecotone, such as taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic species diversity, temperature lapse rates, tree phenology, water relations, and stress physiology, tree ring width chronology, and climate relationships and the role of treeline ecotone in human sustenance in the Indian Himalayan region The treelines in the Himalaya, being the highest in the Northern Hemisphere (up to 4900 m), are among the least investigated systems and hence this book is timely and fills all-important knowledge gaps vis-à-vis treeline shifts, physiognomic, structural, and functional changes in mountain landscapes and ecosystems, particularly under the changing climate This book, for the first time, summarizes evidence-based knowledge about various aspects of treeline ecotone in Himalaya that was largely generated through a well-coordinated a team science approach. The book will be of interest to ecologists, climatologists, dendrochronologists, foresters, plant physiologists and resource managers and policy planners for a better understanding of the organization and dynamics of this fragile ecosystem in relation to climate change and other anthropogenic stresses that are rampant in the Himalaya. The book lays a solid foundation for further investigation of the ecology and dynamics of the treeline ecotone in the Himalayas and provides a rationale for pursuing a team science approach for macroecological investigations.

Today environment and ecology are the buzzwords. The pace of development and modernization has endangered the ecological balance of Himalaya. When the British brought railways in the India in the late 18th century, the Himalayan jungles were denuded of the vast forests covers due to the demand for sleepers. When in early 19th century, the Britishers attempted to curb wanton tree-felling, there arose resentment among the people of Garhwal and Kumaon in Uttarakhand. But in later times, those very women folk took to Chipko movement to curb tree-felling. The book gives a multitude of ill-effects of tree-felling ranging from soil-erosion to causing floods in the plains, and depositing silt. The shrinking of various Himalayan glaciers has also created alarm among the global ecologists and environmentalists. Denudation of forests also has been causing landslides and endangering the wildlife. Now the efforts are being made to advert the man-made disaster. This book comes to grips with the magnitude of problem in the entire Himalayan region.