Safeguarding the world’s remaining forests is a high-priority goal. We assess the biophysical option space for feeding the world in 2050 in a hypothetical zero-deforestation world. We systematically combine realistic assumptions on future yields, agricultural areas, livestock feed and human diets. For each scenario, we determine whether the supply of crop products meets the demand and whether the grazing intensity stays within plausible limits. We find that many options exist to meet the global food supply in 2050 without deforestation, even at low crop-yield levels.

Wildlife conservation in human-dominated landscapes requires that we understand how animals, when making habitat-use decisions, obtain diverse and dynamically occurring resources while avoiding risks, induced by both natural predators and anthropogenic threats. Little is known about the underlying processes that enable wild animals to persist in densely populated human-dominated landscapes, particularly in developing countries.

The National Mission for a Green India proposal, released under the aegis of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, is a significant attempt to integrate the mechanism of ecosystem services in the overall framework of forest conservation in India. It suggests a series of strategies for improving the quality of forests and proposes reforms for strengthening joint forest management. This paper discusses the likely impact of these reforms on current forest use practice. It does so by analysing the various provisions of the mission and how they support or contradict ongoing forest uses.

Rapid changes in Tibetan grasslands are threatening Asia's main water supply and the livelihood of nomads.

Land use change can have negative or positive effects on soil quality. Our objective was to assess the effects of land uses changes on the dynamics of selected soil physical and chemical properties. Soil samples were collected from three adjacent land uses, namely forestland, grazing land and cultivated land at 0–15 cm depth, and tested in National Soil Testing Center, Ministry of Agriculture of Ethiopia.

Large landscapes encompassing reserves and areas with other human uses are necessary for conservation of many species. Generating information for conservation planning over such landscapes may be expensive and time-consuming, though resources for conservation are generally limited and conservation is often urgent.

We assessed the effects of the elimination of livestock in riparian systems at Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in southeastern Oregon, 23 years after the removal of cattle grazing, using 64 photos taken before grazing was removed compared with later retake photos. Two methods were used for this assessment: (1) a qualitative visual method comparing seven cover types and processes and (2) a new quantitative method of inserting digital line transects into photos. Results indicated that channel widths and eroding banks decreased in 64 and 73 % of sites, respectively.

This work aimed to review the aspect of desertification, its concept, causes and its control with special reference to Sudan. It appeared that there was a wide controversy among scientists on the concept of desertification and its causes.