Dr. Amit Kumar, Ph.D.
Scientist-D
Email: amit [at] wii [dot] gov [dot] in

Since a young age, I've been fascinated by plants, wanting to know their names, how and where they grow, and how they differed from one another. With time, my fascination grew into a desire to learn more about plants, which led me to pursue a bachelor's degree in forestry from the University of Horticulture and Forestry in Himachal Pradesh, as well as M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in forestry from the Forest Research Institute University, Dehradun.

I had the privilege of investigating the flora and ecology of the cold-arid and Trans-Himalayan zones of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve for my doctoral thesis. Delineation of a new biogeographic province in the Trans-Himalaya, designation of Caragana versicolor as a keystone species, flora of NDBR and discovery of few new species in one of the least explored regions of the Western Himalaya were few outcomes of the thesis.

I joined Wildlife Institute of India (WII) as a faculty in May, 2018. Prior to joining WII, I had the honour of teaching Systematic Botany and Forest Botany as a faculty at Forest Research Institute University, Dehradun and as a visiting faculty at Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun.

Plant ecology and field botany are the main focuses of my research. The current research includes understanding vegetation patterns, plant associations, floristic diversity assessment, ethnobotany, and the threatened medicinal plants conservation in the Western Himalaya. I enjoy photographing plants, hiking, biking and playing table tennis.

Key Publications:

1. Chandra, N., Kumar, A., Mishra, A.P., Singh, G., & Rawat, G.S. (2023). Wigandia urens (Ruiz & Pav.) Kunth: a new emergent invasive alien species in the Western Himalaya. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 1-14.

2. Kumar, A., Adhikari B.S. and Rawat G.S. (2022). A hierarchy of landscape-habitat-plant physiognomic classes in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. Trees Forests and People 7 (2022) 100172.

3. Sharma, M., Mathela, M., Sharma, R., Bargali, H., Goraya, G.S. and Kumar, A. (2022). Counting the cost: high demand puts Bunium persicum (Boiss.) B.Fedtsch. in jeopardy. Journal of Threatened Taxa 14(1): 20530–20533.

4. Bargali, H., Kumar, A., and Singh, P. (2022). Plant studies in Uttarakhand, Western Himalaya. Trees Forests and People 8 (2022) 100203.

5. Bargali, H., Mathela, M., Sharma, R., Sharma, M., Yaming, D., and Kumar, A. (2021). Plant studies in Himachal Pradesh, Western Himalaya. Journal of Mountain Science 18(7):1856-1873.

6. Mathela, M., Kumar, A., Sharma, M., and Goraya, G.S. (2021). Hue and cry for Fritillaria cirrhosa D.Don, a threatened medicinal plant in the Western Himalaya. Discover Sustainability 2:38.

7. Mathela, M., Bargali, H., Sharma, M., Sharma, R., and Kumar, A. (2020). Brainstorming on the future of the highly threatened medicinal plants of the Western Himalaya, India. Current Science 118(10): 1485-1486.

8. Kumar, A., Srivastav M., Adhikari, B.S. and Rawat, G.S. (2019). Plant studies in first Himalayan Biosphere Reserve: a review. Journal of Mountain Science 16(2): 351-363.

9. Sharma, S., Kumar, A., Srivastava, A., Kholia, B.S. and Bargali S.S. (2019). Commercialization- a suggested approach for the conserving a threatened fern, Pteris tricolor Linden. Current Science 116(11): 1790-1792.

10. Kumar, A., Adhikari B.S. and Rawat G.S. (2017). Biogeographic delineation of the Indian Trans-Himalaya: Need for revision. Current Science113(6): 1032-33.

11. Kumar, A., Adhikari B.S. and Rawat G.S. (2016). Caragana versicolor Benth. (Fabaceae), a keystone species of high conservation concern in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Current Science 111(6): 985–987.