RAS question
Which type of vegetation is found in the Thar Desert?
Correct answer: (A) Thorny Bushes and Scrub.
The Thar Desert region supports thorny bushes and scrub, a drought-resistant xerophytic vegetation type classed in Rajasthan as Northern Desert Thorn Forest and northwestern thorn scrub.
Explanation
The answer is thorny bushes and scrub because the Thar is an arid desert environment where vegetation has to survive low moisture and long dry spells. This is xerophytic vegetation: sparse, drought-resistant growth such as thorny bushes, cacti, babool, kikar and khejri. The Rajasthan State Biodiversity Board supports the classification by describing Rajasthan's natural vegetation as Northern Desert Thorn Forest and noting that northwestern thorn scrub forests occur around the Thar Desert. It also explains that these vegetation patches are open and scattered, with density increasing from west to east as rainfall increases. That directly matches the desert pattern: sparse thorn scrub, not a closed, high-rainfall forest.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Tropical deciduous vegetation is wrong because deciduous forests need 70-200 cm rainfall, whereas the Thar setting described here supports sparse xerophytic thorn scrub.
- (C) Alpine meadows are wrong because they belong to high-altitude environments, while the question asks about desert vegetation in the Thar.
- (D) Tropical evergreen vegetation is wrong because evergreen forests need over 200 cm rainfall, the opposite of the dry conditions behind Thar's drought-resistant scrub.
Concept
This tests natural vegetation and ecological adaptation in Indian geography, especially the link between rainfall, physiography and plant type. It recurs in RAS because Rajasthan's arid west and its desert-thorn vegetation are core state geography themes.