The book “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 on 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-I provides a general introduction to the discipline of invasion ecology. Chapter-II guides the readers on how to use the Manual, including brief information on the study region, methods, definitions and terminology used. Chapter-III comprises the bulk of this Manual, providing profile of 100alien 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 on the threats posed by plant invasions among all the stakeholders - researchers, land managers, policy makers, 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.