Applications of Nanotechnology in Forest Management

Relatively a new branch of technology, Nanotechnology has been found effective and applicable in various scientific disciplines. Its effectiveness has attracted many researchers to use it for solving various issues related to the natural resource management. Lots of studies have been carried out so far and published related to the applications of nanotechnology in climate science, forestry, agro-ecosystem, medical science and industrial sectors. Solving climate change issues in forestry sector, development of new nanomaterials for the management of forests from risks like drought, flood, salinity, fire, invasion, pathogen etc., water resource management in forest system, increasing energy efficiency of forests, improved forest produce, applications in forest based paper industries and other potential domains and its application has been reviewed in this paper along with some of frequently used nanomaterials, generally used or have potential to be used. Some industries currently using this technology are also enlisted. It was concluded that the nanotechnology has significant scope in the field of forestry as an enabling technology yet the future directions and requirements of applying nanotechnology in forestry sector are still in budding stage especially in India and may be applied at large scale by facilitating technical and legal institutions, large R&D grants and research collaborations.