Modern pollen dispersal in relation to present vegetation distribution and land use in the Baspa valley, Kinnaur, western Himalayas.

Interpretation of a fossil pollen data for the vegetation and climate reconstruction of any region needs a modern pollen-vegetation analogue for its calibration. We analyzed the surface sediments and moss polsters for the pollen and microcharcoal records to understand the modern pollen-vegetation relationship and human activities in the Baspa Valley, Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. Presently, valley is occupied by the arboreal and non-arboreal vegetation of temperate to subalpine habitats and land use activities.

Chemical properties of emissions from solid residential fuels used for energy in the rural sector of the southern region of India.

In the present study, we have estimated the emission factors (EFs) of particulate matter (PM), organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC), oxide of sulfur and nitrogen, and water-soluble ionic species emitted from residential fuels (fuelwood, crop residue, dung cake) used in the rural sector of five states (Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu) of the southern region of India. Average EFs of PM, OC, and EC from fuelwood (FW), crop residues (CR), and dung cakes (DC) from southern region of India are estimated as follows: PM: 6.35 ± 5.