Indian Forest Service (IFS) Examination : Syllabus
Syllabus - Forestry
PAPER-ISection A
1. Silviculture - General:
General Silvicultural Principles: ecological and physiological factors
influencing vegetation, natural and artificial regeneration of forests;
methods of propagation, grafting techniques; site factors; nursery and
planting techniques-nursery beds, polybags and maintenance, water budgeting,
grading and hardening of seedlings; special approaches; establishment
and tending.
2. Silviculture - Systems: Clear felling, uniform shelter wood selection,
coppice and conversion systems. Management of silviculture systems of
temperate, subtropical, humid tropical, dry tropical and coastal tropical
forests with special reference to plantation silviculture, choice of species,
establishment and management of standards, enrichment methods, technical
constraints, intensive mechanized methods, aerial seeding thinning.
3. Silviculture - Mangrove and Cold desert:
Mangrove: habitat and characteristics, mangrove, plantation-establishment
and rehabilitation of degraded mangrove formations; silvicultural systems
for mangrove; protection of habitats against natural disasters.
Cold desert: Characteristics, identification and management of species.
4. Silviculture of Trees: Traditional and recent advances in tropical
silvicultural research and practices. Silviculture of some of the economically
important species in India such as Acacia catechu, Acacia nilotica, Acacia
auriculiformis, Albizzia lebbeck, Albizzia procera, Anthocephalus Cadamba,
Anogeissus latifolia, Azadirachta indica, Bamboo spp, Butea monosperma,
Cassia siamea, Casuarina equisetifolia, Cedrus deodara, Chukrasia tabularis,
Dalbergia sisoo, Dipterocarpus spp., Emblica officindils, Eucalyptus spp,
Gmelina Arborea, Hardwickia binata, Largerstroemia Lanceolata, Pinus roxburghi,
Populus spp, Pterocarpus marsupium, Prosopis juliflora, Santalum album,
Semecarpus anacardium,. Shorea robusta, Salmalia malabaricum, Tectona
grandis, Terminalis tomemtosa, Tamarindus indica.
Section B
1. Agroforestry, Social Forestry, Joint Forest Management and Tribology
:
Agroforestry: scope and necessity; role in the life of people and domestic
animals and in integrated land use, planning especially related to (i)
soil and water conservation; (ii) water recharge; (iii) nutrient availability
to crops; (iv) nature and eco-system preservation including ecological
blances through pest-predator relationships and (v) providing opportunities
for enhancing bio-diversity, medicinal and other flora and fauna. Agro
forestry systems under different agro-ecological zones; selection of species
and role of multipurpose trees and NTFPs, techniques, food, fodder and
fuel security. Research and Extension needs.
Social/Urban Forestry : objectives, scope and necessity; peoples participation.
JFM: principles, objectives, methodology, scope, benefits and role of
NGOs.
Tribology: tribal scene in India; tribes, concept of races, principles
of social grouping, stages of tribal economy, education, cultural tradition,
customs, ethos and participation in forestry programmes.
2. Forest Soils, Soil Conservation and Watershed management:
Forests Soils: classification, factors affecting soil formation; physical,
chemical and biological properties.
Soil conservation: definition, causes for erosion; types - wind and water
erosion; conservation and management of eroded soils/areas, wind breaks,
shelter belts; sand dunes; reclamation of saline and alkaline soils, water
logged and other waste lands. Role of forests in conserving soils. Maintenance
and build up of soil organic matter, provision of loppings for green leaf
manuring; forest leaf litter and composting; Role of microorganisms in
ameliorating soils; N and C cycles, VAM.
Watershed Management: concepts of watershed; role of mini-forests and
forest trees in overall resource management, forest hydrology, watershed
development in respect of torrent control, river channel stabilization,
avalanche and landslide controls, rehabilitation of degraded areas; hilly
and mountain areas; watershed management and environmental functions of
forests; water-harvesting and conservation; ground water recharge and
watershed management; role of integrating forest trees, horticultural
crops, field crops, grass and fodders.
3. Environmental Conservation and Biodiversity :
Environment: components and importance, principles of conservation, impact
of deforestation; forest fires and various human activities like mining,
construction and developmental projects, population growth on environment.
Pollution: types, global warming, green house effects, ozone layer depletion,
acid rain, impact and control measures, environmental monitoring; concept
of sustainable development. Role of trees and forests in environmental
conservation; control and prevention of air, water and noise pollution.
Environmental policy and legislation in India. Environmental Impact Assessment.
Economics assessment of watershed development vis-a-vis ecological and
environmental protection.
4. Tree Improvement and Seed Technology:
General concept of tree improvement, methods and techniques, variation
and its use, provenance, seed source, exotics; quantitative aspects of
forest tree improvement, seed production and seed orchards, progeny tests,
use of tree improvement in natural forest and stand improvement, genetic
testing programming, selection and breeding for resistance to diseases,
insects, and adverse environment; the genetic base, forest genetic resources
and gene conservation in situ and ex-situ. Cost benefit ratio, economic
evaluation.
PAPER II - Section A
1. Forest Management and Management Systems: Objective and principles;
techniques; stand structure and dynamics, sustained yield relation; rotation,
normal forest, growing stock; regulation of yield; management of forest
plantations, commercial forests, forest cover monitoring. Approaches viz.,
(i) site-specific planning, (ii) strategic planning, (iii) Approval, sanction
and expenditure, (iv) Monitoring (v) Reporting and governance. Details
of steps involved such as formation of Village Forest Committees, Joint
Forest Participatory Management.
2. Forest Working Plan: Forest planning, evaluation and monitoring tools
and approaches for integrated planning; multipurpose development of forest
resources and forest industries development; working plans and working
schemes, their role in nature conservation, bio-diversity and other dimensions;
preparation and control. Divisional Working Plans, Annual Plan of Operations.
3. Forest Mensuration and Remote Sensing: Methods of measuring - diameter,
girth, height and volume of trees; form-factor; volume estimation of stand,
current anuual increment; mean annual increment. Sampling methods and
sample plots. Yield calculation; yield and stand tables, forest cover
monitoring through remote sensing; Geographic Information Systems for
management and modelling.
4. Surveying and Forest Engineering: Forest surveying - different methods
of surveying, maps and map reading. Basic principles of forest engineering.
Building materials and construction. Roads and Bridges; General principles,
objects, types, simple design and construction of timber bridges.
PAPER II - Section B
1. Forest Ecology and Ethnobotany :
Forest ecology - Biotic and aboitic components, forest eco-systems; forest
community concepts; vegetation concepts, ecological succession and climax,
primary productivity, nutrient cycling and water relations; physiology
in stress environments (drought, water logging salinity and alkalinity).
Forest types in India, identification of species, composition and associations;
dendrology, taxonomic classification, principles and establishment of
herbaria and arboreta. Conservation of forest ecosystems. Clonal parks,
Role of Ethnobotany in Indian Systems of Medicine; Ayurveda and Unani
- Introduction, nomenclature, habitat, distribution and botanical features
of medicinal and aromatic plants. Factors affecting action and toxicity
of drug plants and their chemical constituents.
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2. Forest Resources and Utilization :
Environmenatlly sound forest harvesting practices; logging and extraction
techniques and principles, transportation system, storage and sale; Non-Timber
Forest Products (NTFPs) definition and scope; gums, resins, oleoresins,
fibres, oil seeds nuts, rubber, canes, bamboos, medicinal plants, charcoal,
lac and shellac, Katha and Bidi leaves, collection; processing and disposal.
Need and importance of wood seasoning and preservation; general principles
of seasoning, air and kiln seasoning, solar dehumidification, steam heated
and electrical kilns. Composite wood; adhesives-manufacture, properties,
uses, plywood manufacture-properties, uses, fibre boards-manufacture properties,
uses; particle boards manufacture; properties uses. Present status of
composite wood industry in India in future expansion plans. Pulp-paper
and rayon; present position of supply of raw material to industry, wood
substitution, utilization of plantation wood; problems and possibilities.
Anatomical structure of wood, defects and abnormalities of wood, timber
identification - general principles.
3. Forest Protection & Wildlife Biology :
Injuries to forest - abiotic and biotic, destructive agencies, insect-pests
and disease, effects of air pollution on forests and forest die back.
Susceptibility of forests to damage, nature of damage, cause, prevention,
protective measures and benefits due to chemical and biological control.
General forest protection against fire, equipment and methods, controlled
use of fire, economic and environmental costs; timber salvage operations
after natural disasters. Role of afforestation and forest regeneration
in absorption of CO2. Rotational and controlled grazing, different methods
of control against grazing and browsing animals; effect of wild animals
on forest regeneration, human impacts; encroachement, poaching, grazing,
live fencing, theft, shifting cultiation and control.
4. Forest Economics and Legislation :
Forest economics–fundamental principles, cost-benefit analyses;
estimation of demand and supply; analysis of trends in the national and
international market and changes in production and consumption patterns;
assessment and projection of market structures; role of private sector
and co-operatives; role of corporate financing. Socio-economic analyses
of forest productivity and attitudes; valuation of forest goods and service.
Legislation–History of forest development; Indian Forest Policy
of 1894, 1952 and 1990. National Forest Policy, 1988 of People’s
involvement, Joint Forest Management, Involvement of women; Forestry Policies
and issues related to land use, timber and non-timber products, sustainable
forest management; industrialisation policies; institutional and structural
changes. Decentralization and Forestry Public Administration. Forest laws,
necessity; general principles, Indian Forest Act 1927; Forest Conservation
Act, 1980; Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and their amendments; Application
of Indian Penal Code to Forestry. Scope and objectives of Forest Inventory.
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