One of the major contributions of Gadgil is his effort towards the preservation of ecology of India.
His early researches in the 1980s have helped in the identification of the Nilgiris as the first biosphere reserve in India.
As the chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), which later came to be known as the Gadgil Commission, he submitted a report in 2011, marking around 64 percent of the Western Ghats region as Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA).
The report attracted support and dissension, the environmentalists welcoming the recommendations and the state governments of the neighbouring states and the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church of Kerala disapproving it.
This paved way for the subsequent Kasturirangan Commission, which diluted the recommendations to a level more acceptable to the state governments.
He has been credited by many with the introduction of quantitative investigations of ecology and animal behaviour in India and for including humans as a vital part of ecosystems.
His contributions, as a member of the draft committee, has been reported in the preparation of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 and the manual he prepared for the People's Biodiversity Registers has been accepted by the National Biodiversity Authority.
He is still associated with the Authority in the preparation of a biodiversity inventory at the local bodies' level.

Gadgil is known to have done extensive researches in the areas of population biology, conservation biology, human ecology and ecological history.
His researches have been documented by over 250 scientific articles, published in various journals and magazines.
He developed a penchant for writing at an early age and his first publication was a series of ten articles on animal behaviour, published in Srishtidnyan, a Marathi language science magazine, when he was studying in the 10th standard.
His doctoral thesis is reported to have been a citation classic.
He published his first book in English, This Fissured Land, a book on the ecological history of India, in 1992.
The next book, Ecology and Equity: The Use and Abuse of Nature in Contemporary India, again co-authored by Ramachandra Guha, was released in 1995, followed by Nurturing Biodiversity: An Indian Agenda, a book co-authored by P. R. Seshagiri Rao, in 1998.
In 2005, he published two books, Diversity : The cornerstone of life and Ecological Journeys.
As a part of his responsibilities as a Pew Fellow in Conservation and the Environment, he has contributed towards the preparation of People's Biodiversity Registers and has published a manual, People's Biodiversity Registers: A Methodology Manual.
Some of his books have been translated into many languages and serve as texts for academic studies.
He has also published two books, Nisarganiyojan Lokasahabhagane being one among them, and over 40 articles in Marathi and handled a fortnightly column on natural history, in The Hindu, from 1999 till 2004.
He handles a monthly column in the Marathi daily, Sakal.

Books
Madhav Gadgil, Ramachandra Guha (1992).
This Fissured Land.
Oxford University Press India.
p. 312.
ISBN 9780198077442.

Madhav Gadgil, Ramachandra Guha (1995).
Ecology and Equity: The Use and Abuse of Nature in Contemporary India.
Routeledge.
p. 223.
ISBN 978-0415125246.

Madhav Gadgil, P. R. Seshagiri Rao (1998).
Nurturing Biodiversity: An Indian Agenda.
Centre for Environment Education.
p. 163.
ISBN 9788186385135.

Madhav Gadgil (2005).
Diversity : The cornerstone of life.
Vigyan Prasar.
p. 64.
ISBN 8174800263.

Madhav Gadgil (2005).
Ecological Journeys.
Orient Blackswan.
p. 257.
ISBN 9788178241128.

Madhav Gadgil (2013), Science, democracy and ecology in India.
Nehru Memorial Museum & Library ISBN 978-8187614760
One of the major contributions of Gadgil is his effort towards the preservation of ecology of India. His early researches in the 1980s have helped in the identification of the Nilgiris as the first biosphere reserve in India. As the chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), which later came to be known as the Gadgil Commission, he submitted a report in 2011, marking around 64 percent of the Western Ghats region as Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). The report attracted support and dissension, the environmentalists welcoming the recommendations and the state governments of the neighbouring states and the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church of Kerala disapproving it. This paved way for the subsequent Kasturirangan Commission, which diluted the recommendations to a level more acceptable to the state governments. He has been credited by many with the introduction of quantitative investigations of ecology and animal behaviour in India and for including humans as a vital part of ecosystems. His contributions, as a member of the draft committee, has been reported in the preparation of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 and the manual he prepared for the People's Biodiversity Registers has been accepted by the National Biodiversity Authority. He is still associated with the Authority in the preparation of a biodiversity inventory at the local bodies' level.
Gadgil is known to have done extensive researches in the areas of population biology, conservation biology, human ecology and ecological history. His researches have been documented by over 250 scientific articles, published in various journals and magazines. He developed a penchant for writing at an early age and his first publication was a series of ten articles on animal behaviour, published in Srishtidnyan, a Marathi language science magazine, when he was studying in the 10th standard. His doctoral thesis is reported to have been a citation classic. He published his first book in English, This Fissured Land, a book on the ecological history of India, in 1992. The next book, Ecology and Equity: The Use and Abuse of Nature in Contemporary India, again co-authored by Ramachandra Guha, was released in 1995, followed by Nurturing Biodiversity: An Indian Agenda, a book co-authored by P. R. Seshagiri Rao, in 1998. In 2005, he published two books, Diversity : The cornerstone of life and Ecological Journeys. As a part of his responsibilities as a Pew Fellow in Conservation and the Environment, he has contributed towards the preparation of People's Biodiversity Registers and has published a manual, People's Biodiversity Registers: A Methodology Manual. Some of his books have been translated into many languages and serve as texts for academic studies. He has also published two books, Nisarganiyojan Lokasahabhagane being one among them, and over 40 articles in Marathi and handled a fortnightly column on natural history, in The Hindu, from 1999 till 2004. He handles a monthly column in the Marathi daily, Sakal.
Books
Madhav Gadgil, Ramachandra Guha (1992). This Fissured Land. Oxford University Press India. p. 312. ISBN 9780198077442.
Madhav Gadgil, Ramachandra Guha (1995). Ecology and Equity: The Use and Abuse of Nature in Contemporary India. Routeledge. p. 223. ISBN 978-0415125246.
Madhav Gadgil, P. R. Seshagiri Rao (1998). Nurturing Biodiversity: An Indian Agenda. Centre for Environment Education. p. 163. ISBN 9788186385135.
Madhav Gadgil (2005). Diversity : The cornerstone of life. Vigyan Prasar. p. 64. ISBN 8174800263.
Madhav Gadgil (2005). Ecological Journeys. Orient Blackswan. p. 257. ISBN 9788178241128.
Madhav Gadgil (2013), Science, democracy and ecology in India. Nehru Memorial Museum & Library ISBN 978-8187614760
Madhav Gadgil