The Himalayas are known for high floristic diversity and rich ethnobotanical practices. However, not all parts of the Himalayan regions are thoroughly studied. The present study aims to document the ethnoveterinary medicines used by migratory shepherds in Trans-Himalayan Rakchham-Chitkul Wildlife Sanctuary,Baspa (Sangla) valley of the Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh. The shepherds are very close to nature as they spend most of their time in forests with their livestock. Shepherding depends more on traditional healthcare practices based on local medicinal plants. In this study, we are reporting for the first time commonly used ethnoveterinary medicines in Rakchham and Chitkul Wildlife Sanctuary and their application, procedures of preparation, as well as listing 51 plant species. Such documentations are done first time in the Himachal Pradesh region of India as per our information. Our research emphasizes the urgent need to document traditional medicine preparation procedures from migratory shepherds. The required information on various ethnoveterinary medicines used by migratory shepherds was collected through personal field visits, participatory observations, interview and using a pretested questionnaire. It was observed that in all 51 species of ethnoveterinary were used by shepherds in Trans-Himalayan Rakchham-Chitkul Wildlife Sanctuary in Baspa (Sangla) valley of Kinnaur district. The results of this survey show that shepherds in tribal areas are highly dependent on ethnoveterinary remedies for their livestock which evolved over generations of practices for healthcare. There is an urgent need to document this vast knowledge of migratory shepherds concerning the use of ethnoveterinary remedies for animal health care in the regions of the Himalayas.

Due to climate change, droughts have been occurring more frequently in Germany in recent years. More frequent and prolonged drought affects the health of trees and increases the risk of forest fires. A large-scale forest fire broke out near Treuenbrietzen, Brandenburg, in the summer of 2018 in pine monospecific forests. In addition to evaluating the damage caused, future reforestation is discussed, which is related mainly to the expectations of the forest owners. A telephone survey of seven affected forest owners was conducted using a semi-structured guided interview. The results from our interview demonstrated the support of private forest owners for mixed forests over monospecific pine forests. Most forest owners do not prioritize economic benefit with the forest land as forestry was not the primary source of income. Instead, the ownership of the forest tends to be linked to idealistic, cultural, and family values. The motives for reforestation vary but are often externally influenced. Different goals of forest owners lead to the challenge of finding consensus among them. We conclude that forestry advice by the federal and state governments is essential, especially on how climate change can affect local forests, to sensitize private forest owners to this problem.

Scientific studies had shown that mixed forests of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) provide higher ecosystem services than monospecific forests. Mixed forests are known for their high resilience to climate change impacts and superior biodiversity compared to monospecific forests. In many countries, promotion of mixed forests in forest management is becoming a government policy since they can contribute to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nation, respectively Goal 13 and 15. However, not much is known about public perceptions on mixed forests compared to monoculture forests. Our study on ecosystem services provided by mixed and monospecific forests in southwest Germany fill this gap. Based on a survey with 520 valid responses we analyzed people’s perception on 18 different supporting, cultural, regulating and provisioning ecosystem services measured by Likert scale. Stepwise regression analyses show relations between social profiles (gender, age, education, profession) and preferences on respondents’ perceptions. Our findings show that people perceive that mixed forests provide better cultural, regulating and supporting ecosystem services than monospecific forests of fir and beech whereas provisioning services were perceived as being equally or better provided by monospecific forests. Significant effects towards a positive perception on ecosystem services provided by mixed forests were mainly influenced by the perceived abundance of old trees, feeling of pleasantness in mixed forests, age, profession, and education. Our findings indicate that there is a high public support for the promotion of silver fir and beech mixed forests in Southwest Germany.

The montane subtropical broadleaved humid forests of Meghalaya (Northeast India) are highly diverse and situated at the transition zone between the Eastern Himalayas and Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspots. Fagaceae family are the keystone species forms an important component of these forests. These forests in Meghalaya are highly degraded and fragmented due to anthropogenic disturbances (e.g., mining, unsustainable forest utilization, shifting cultivation, browsing, etc.). In this study, we assessed for the first time, the restoration potential (i.e. capacity to naturally regenerate and sustain desired forest structure) of Fagaceae species (2 Lithocarpus, 4 Castanopsis, and 4 Quercus species) in Meghalaya and how the biotic and abiotic factors, as well as anthropogenic disturbances, influence the restoration potential of these species. We selected fragmented forest patches in six locations on an elevational gradient on south-facing slopes in the Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. Fagaceae was the most dominant family in all sites except one site (Laitkynsew) where Fagaceae was co-dominant with Lauraceae. The family also had high natural regeneration (i.e., a high number of seedlings and saplings) but low recruitment to adult trees (DBH ≥ 10cm) at all sites. This study provides a means for assessing regeneration and a basis for forest management strategies in degraded and fragmented forests of Meghalaya.

The Himalaya is well known for high diversity and ethnobotanical uses of medicinal plants. However, not all areas of the Himalayas are well studied. In particular, studies on ethnobotanical uses of plants from the Eastern Himalayas are rare and lacking for many tribes. Past studies primarily focused on listing plants name and their traditional medicinal uses. However, studies on traditional ethnopharmacological practices on medicine preparation had not yet been reported in published literature from the Eastern Himalaya. In this study, we are reporting the first time ethnopharmacological used 24 medicines, their procedures of preparation and listed 53 plant species used for those medicines for Monpa tribe. Such documentations had not yet been done for other tribes in India. Our research demonstrates the urgent need to documents traditional medicine preparation procedures from the local healers before rapid cultural modernization forgets them in transforming country like India. This study should motivate national and international researchers to do more works on ethnopharmacology and bioprospecting.