White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis) is a critically endangered bird species with a current estimated population size of
around 50–249 mature individuals globally. Namdapha National Park (NNP), Arunachal Pradesh might act as a breeding ground of the species although specific documentation has not been done. It was also recorded in regions of Dholong River and the upper reaches of the Panchnoi River (Pachin River) and Dafla hills in Arunachal Pradesh. (Correspondence)

The closed evergreen forest, called the shola, occurs above 1700 m in patches in the higher hills of South India in the
Nilgiris, Annamalai and Palani hills. Sholas are patches of stunted evergreen tropical montane forests which attain a
low height of about 16–20 m. These forests have high ecological significance in protecting the head waters of rivers by
holding up of water received by precipitation like a sponge, thus preventing rapid run-off. (Correspondence)

Carbon has been building up in the atmosphere. Presently, much emphasis is given on mitigation at ‘source’. But a substantial amount of carbon still remains unabsorbed and enters the atmosphere, causing global warming. This is where ‘sinks’ come in. Our objective should be to maintain a balance between the worldwide sources and sinks of CO2 so that further build-up stops. This has to be our first guiding principle to avoid global warming and prevent climate change. (Correspondence)

India is the largest tea-producing country in the world and contributes 33% of the global tea production. Much of this tea comes from the biodiversity hotspots in the northeastern regions and the Western Ghats. Due to market fluctuations, increasing costs of production and lease expiry, many coffee, tea and cardamom plantations have become unviable for active management, resulting in labour unrest. In Thiruvananthapuram division of Kerala alone, 536 ha (55%) of the total 969 ha of the planted area was abandoned.

Indian water policies have adopted the current water management paradigms like Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) as early as 1987 and in 2002 mainly to cope with growing challenges of water sector as a result of economic growth, burgeoning population and limited water resources.

In the present study an indigenous biopesticide formulation (BPF) comprising easily accessible botanicals along with cow urine, was evaluated for its efficacy against insect pests of tomato crop under field. BPF gave promising results in controlling tomato fruit borers and afforded substantial yield of the produce. The BPF treatment could control 70–80% of fruit borers compared to check plots, resulting in enhanced fruit yield of 35 tonnes/ha as compared to 15 tonnes/ha
in the check plots. The main aim of this study was to reduce the load of synthetic chemical pesticides and

India’s phenomenal economic growth over the last decade has been accompanied by a much-needed expansion and improvement in transport and other infrastructure networks. While there are legally mandated assessments of the potential ecological impacts of such infrastructure projects prior to implementation, rarely are there post-implementation assessments of their real ecological impacts.

A low-cost free-air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) system has been developed at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, for assessing the climate change impacts on crops. In the FACE system, the supply and monitoring of CO2 is regulated by the computer-based SCADA system. Carbon dioxide concentration recorded at 5 min intervals varied from 507 to 559 ppm in an hourly period. Monthly mean values of CO2 concentration inside the ring ranged from 525 to 553 ppm from July to April. Crops grown inside the FACE ring showed increased yield over ambient CO2 condition.

In the present study an estimation of livestock enteric CH4 emission has been made from feeding systems (diets) for different animal functions (maintenance, production and growth) prevailing in different agroecological regions (AERs) of India using livestock population 2003. Estimations comprised of dietary intake, digestibility and CH4 emission factors for ruminant species of different age groups determined from feeding systems/diets. Methane production (ml g–1) from production diets in animal species tended to be more than growth and maintenance diets.

For long, widely divergent views (based on isolated pieces of historical evidence or broad geological evolution of the subcontinent, notably the rise of the Himalayas in mid-late Miocene), had prevailed regarding origin and antiquity of the Thar Desert. Studies of the past few decades have since provided a wealth of new information on landform styles, evolutionary processes and palaeoclimate history with chronometric and isotopic constraints. Salt lakes, dunes and calcrete-bearing alluvial aggradations have been the focus of interest.