Climate change and forests are intrinsically linked and better forest management has key role to play in dealing with climate change. Forests influence atmospheric conditions causing rain and control temperature and provide clean air. They take in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and provide oxygen. They protect soil from erosion and control floods. They are the house to many living organisms (macro and micro). A large number of people rely on forests for their livelihood. They serve as carbon sinks and are recognized as the principal contributor to climate change adaptation and mitigation. The main drivers of climate change are anthropogenic activities such as land-use change, over exploitation of forest resources, fossil fuel burning and industrial processes. The present review is aimed at providing the impacts of climate change on forests and the role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation particularly in Indian context.

The ever-increasing incidents of forest fire in the Himalayan region cause a threat to flora, fauna, livelihoods, and the environment. The Chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) forests are especially susceptible to forest fires due to their resin-rich leaf litter. This study investigates forest structure, regeneration, biomass-carbon dynamics, leaf-litter, and soil physio-chemical properties in two Chir pine stands in the Upper-Kosi watershed, Almora district, Uttarakhand. Both stands exhibited lower tree density, good regeneration potential, biomass-carbon, and litter mass due to intense biotic pressure. Although, stand 2 has been subjected to oak-plantation in recent years and showed an improving status. The study revealed that Chir pine stands are subjected to fodder collection, grazing, and resin extraction, while its litter is susceptible to fire which leads to the release of a significant flux of biogenic carbon back to the atmosphere. This highlights the need to manage Chir pine stands on a priority basis. Recommendations for improving Chir pine stands with the support of village panchayats (i.e. Van panchayats) have been given.

The current communication provides up-to-date information on the diversity of angiosperm plants in Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh. A total of 369 species and 2 varieties recorded as wild or naturalized in the study area have been enumerated following APG IV system. These species are distributed in 265 genera and 82 families. Of total, 69 families, 208 genera and 288 species belong to dicotyledons and 13 families, 57 genera and 83 species belong to monocotyledons. Information on family, habit, collection number and IUCN status has been provided herewith.

Chloris quinquesetica Bhide, Enteropogon monostachyos (Vahl) K. Schum., Oropetium villosulum Stapf ex Bor and Sporobolus ioclados (Trin.) Nees, four chloridoid grasses collected from different parts of Telangana state are reported as new records to the flora of Telangana State, India.

Digitaria violascens Link and Urochloa glumaris (Trin.) Veldkamp are good fodder grass species are reported here as additions to the Flora of Andhra Pradesh from Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The detailed description and colour plates are provided for easy identification.

Corchorus pseudo-olitorius Islam & Zaid, a little known species recently collected by the authors from Haridwar district is being reported as an addition to the flora of Uttarakhand.  A detailed taxonomic description along with phenology and distribution of the species is provided here to aid field identification.

Argemone subfusiformis Ownbey (Papaveraceae), a less known invasive species, hitherto recorded only from Udaipur, Rajasthan state, is reported here for the first time from Madhya Pradesh with detailed description, color photographs and relevant notes.

Tripogon capillatus Jaub. & Spach and Tripogon filiformis Nees ex Steud., two grass species collected from Visakhapatnam and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh are being reported as new distributional records for Andhra Pradesh.

Polygala rosmarinifolia Wight & Arn. (Polygalaceae), a rare species has been recorded for the first time for Maharashtra state from Ambazari, Nagpur. Detailed description, relevant notes and photographs are provided to facilitate easy identification.

Diplacrum poklei (Wad. Khan) K.C. Mohan, a less known endemic species, hitherto recorded from Maharashtra and Odisha, is reported here for the first time from Madhya Pradesh. Detailed description, photo plate, distribution map and relevant notes are provided.

Two genera i.e. Erycibe Roxb. (Convolvulaceae) and Phaulopsis Willd. (Acanthaceae) are reported here as  additions to the Flora of Telangana from Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary, Telangana, India. The detailed description and colour plates are provided for easy identification.

We outline the phytogeographical relations of Turkish pteridophytes following revision of our previous check-list. Although mainly European, the Turkish fern-flora has c. 40% of its species and subspecies in common with or related to the West Himalayan European phytogeographical element. In the pteridophyte accounts of the recent Illustrated Flora of Turkey, it is clear that many specimens have been misidentified and various species incorrectly illustrated.  In addition the extensive Turkish pteridophyte collections in international herbaria made by non-Turkish collectors, including those of the present first author, were not drawn upon and international consultation was intentionally not entered into. Although it is unfortunately not possible in the present circumstances to study and re-identify the great bulk of authentic specimens in Turkish herbaria cited in the Flora, we have reassessed some important records and corrected the many obvious anomalies in the Flora and we have added to the distributional data from our own critically studied collections. We therefore present an updated and taxonomically revised checklist with notes and additional distributions, including a few taxa overlooked in the Flora.  We also treat the important subspecies which were omitted there. A new hybrid Asplenium and another of Cystopteris are described and a few necessary new combinations are made.

The genus Usnea Dill.ex Adans. is worked out based on the new collections and represented by 29 species in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, a biodiversity hotspot in north-east India. Six species viz. Usnea angulata Ach., U. compressa Taylor, U. himalayana Bab. U. montisfuji Motyka, U. perplexans Stirt., U. picta (J. Steiner) Motyka are new additions to the state lichen biota. Two species namely U. cineraria Motyka and U. thomsonii Stirt. are endemic to  the Himalayan region. The genus is a potent source of phytomedicine and has multifarious ethnobotanical, phytochemical and pharmacological significance. An identification key to all the species is provided to facilitate their identification while new additions to the state are dealt briefly along with their photographs and a table showing the distribution of species within the state. Indian species of Usnea need thorough phytochemical screening to record their unique uses for the human benefits.