Agroforestry for Carbon and Ecosystem Management

Dr. Manoj Kumar Jhariya is a senior assistant professor in the Department of Farm Forestry at Sant Gahira Guru Vishwavidyalaya, Sarguja, Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, India. His research focuses on forest ecology, agroforestry, natural resource management and sustainability, and carbon sequestration. Dr. Jhariya was listed among the world’s top 2% scientists by Stanford University and Elsevier in 2023, 2024, and 2025, thanks to his extensive publishing activities (Springer, Elsevier, Wiley, Apple Academic Press, Taylor & Francis, CRC, etc.). Dr. Jhariya holds a BSc in Agriculture, an MSc in Forestry, and a PhD in Forestry from Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. He serves on the editorial boards of several journals and is a life member of numerous professional societies, including the Indian Science Congress Association, the Applied and Natural Science Foundation, the Society for Advancement of Human and Nature, the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Association of India, the ISDS Society, the International Journal of Development and Sustainability, the Asia Society of Researchers, the Agriculture Forum for Technical Education of Farming Society, the Society of Green Development (India), the National Academy of Biological Sciences (India), the Society for Science and Climate Change and Sustainable Environment, and the Indian Society of Agroforestry. Currently, Dr. Jhariya is working on carbon incentives and green economy, agroforestry-based land restoration, quality planting materials in forestry, non-timber forest products’ utilization and value addition, and the application of underutilized plants in land restoration.

Dr. Ram Swaroop Meena was born into a farming family and is working in the Department of Agronomy at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IAS), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. With an excellent academic background, he has been elected a fellow of several academies, including the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), the National Academy of Biological Sciences (NABS), the Indian Society of Agronomy (ISA), and the Society for Rapeseed-Mustard Research (SRMR). The Ministry of Education has also awarded him the Raman Fellowship for the USA under World Food Prize Laureate Prof. Rattan Lal, and he was an INSA visiting scientist at ISARC-IRRI (IRRI South Asia Regional Center-The International Rice Research Institute). Additionally, he has been listed among the world’s top 2% of scientists for his research impact. He has guided PhD and master’s students and completed 10 externally funded projects from IRRI, The ‘Institute of Eminence’ (IoE)-Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) Department of Science and Technology (DST), The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Education (MOE), The Government of India (GOI). He has published books, at an international level (Springer, Elsevier, etc.). He has made significant research contributions to natural resource management and to farm and industrial waste recycling for soil health. Dr. Meena's research evaluates energy flow, atmospheric CO₂ capture, carbon credit and auditing, and eco-friendly techniques for a sustainable food system and soil regeneration, as evidenced by high-impact publications and extension work at the farmer level. His work is crucial for understanding the long-term stability of soil carbon, which enhances soil microbial and nutrient dynamics in rice-based diversified cropping systems. He trained farmers from the Deep Forest Tribe to adopt climate-smart practices to secure their livelihoods under the DST-SEED grant project. Dr. Meena has also contributed to agricultural extension activities in villages designated under the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India's initiative. His future work aims to reduce soil organic carbon oxidation and enhance its stability in agroecosystems, enabling farmers to benefit from carbon credits and generate additional income.

Dr. Arnab Banerjee is an associate professor in the School of Studies in Environmental Science, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. He completed an MSc and a PhD (environmental science) from Burdwan University, Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal, India, and MPhil (environmental science) from Kalyani University, Kalyani, West Bengal, India. He was awarded the University Gold Medal for securing first place with first-class honors in the MSc examination. He has also received the Young Scientist Award for best oral presentation at an international conference held at the University of Burdwan. He was a project fellow under a UGC sponsored major research project. He is a life member of the Academy of Environmental Biology. He has supervised postgraduate students and is engaged in postgraduate teaching and research, alongside publishing books, book chapters, and research articles in reputed national and international journals.

Dr. Sandeep Kumar is currently working as a scientist (Agronomy) at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Regional Station, Karnal, India. His research interests have focused on enhancing resource use efficiencies for sustainable crop production. He has published extensively, received numerous national awards, including Young Scientist, Best Paper Awards, Best Research Scholar, and received Best Master’s Thesis awards.

Dr. Abhishek Raj is Assistant Professor at the School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar (Punjab), India, and the author or co-author of an extensive number of books, papers and book chapters. He acquired B.Sc. (Forestry) from SHUATS, Allahabad (U.P.), M.Sc. and PhD. (both in Forestry) degrees from Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur (Chhattisgarh) India. He has qualified ICAR- NET (National Eligibility Test) in Agroforestry and received Young Scientist Award in 2016