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 profileof 100 alien 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.

Autorentext

Ruquia Gulzar is a doctoral student at Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir. Since the last 5 years, she is working on the "Naturalised Flora of Kashmir Himalaya" and has conducted extensive field- and laboratory-based studies. She has published over 15 research papers and book chapters.

Anzar Ahmad Khuroo is an Associate Professor at Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir. His research interests include plant taxonomy, ecology and biodiversity with focus on Kashmir Himalaya. He has two-decades long research experience on alien flora of the Himalaya. He has published over 170 research papers and book chapters, and recently edited an encyclopaedic book entitled "Biodiversity of the Himalaya: Jammu and Kashmir State".

Irfan Rashid is a Senior Assistant Professor at Department of Geoinformatics, University of Kashmir. His main areas of research interest include ecosystem dynamics, natural resource mapping, and glaciology. He has published over 70 research papers and book chapters.