Key facts

  • Rajasthan's forest cover is sparse and category-sensitive: ISFR 2023 records 16,548.21 sq km of forest cover, with open forest forming the largest cla…
  • The five tiger-reserve chain has a chronology: Ranthambore, Sariska, Mukundra Hills, Ramgarh Vishdhari and Dholpur-Karauli.
  • Desert National Park, Tal Chhapar, Keoladeo, Sambhar and Khichan show that conservation in Rajasthan is not only forested tiger habitat.
  • Khejri, Rohida, Godawan and camel connect arid-zone ecology with official state-symbol memory.
  • Community conservation is a live theme: Khejarli, Bishnoi norms, orans, grasslands and corridor protection all shape Rajasthan biodiversity.

Key Points at a Glance

  1. 1

    Rajasthan's forest cover is sparse and category-sensitive: ISFR 2023 records 16,548.21 sq km of forest cover, with open forest forming the largest class.

  2. 2

    The five tiger-reserve chain has a chronology: Ranthambore, Sariska, Mukundra Hills, Ramgarh Vishdhari and Dholpur-Karauli.

  3. 3

    Desert National Park, Tal Chhapar, Keoladeo, Sambhar and Khichan show that conservation in Rajasthan is not only forested tiger habitat.

  4. 4

    Khejri, Rohida, Godawan and camel connect arid-zone ecology with official state-symbol memory.

  5. 5

    Community conservation is a live theme: Khejarli, Bishnoi norms, orans, grasslands and corridor protection all shape Rajasthan biodiversity.

What shapes Rajasthan's natural vegetation and forest cover?

Rajasthan's natural vegetation and forest cover are shaped by aridity, the Aravalli divide, and a sharp east-west moisture gradient that separates thorny desert vegetation from drier deciduous and hill-forest pockets.

According to the Forest Survey of India's India State of Forest Report 2023, Rajasthan's forest cover was 16,548.21 sq km.

Rajasthan Forest Cover (ISFR 2023)

Category Area
Forest cover in the state 16,548.21 sq km
Very dense forest 223.20 sq km
Moderately dense forest 4,237.41 sq km
Open forest 12,087.60 sq km
Scrub, separately recorded 5,476.75 sq km
  • Forest cover, tree cover and scrub should not be merged into one figure.

Regional Vegetation Pattern

Region / districts Vegetation and ecological meaning
Western districts such as Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner and Churu Thorny xerophytic species, scattered grasses and shrubs adapted to drought, grazing and wind erosion
Dryland ecological vocabulary Khejri, Rohida, Ber, Ker, Phog, Thor and Lana
East and south-east Rajasthan More dry deciduous and mixed deciduous vegetation because rainfall, rocky hill slopes and water availability improve from Alwar and Jaipur toward Kota, Baran, Jhalawar, Banswara and Dungarpur
Mount Abu in Sirohi The small but important sub-tropical hill forest pocket
  • The Aravalli range is therefore not only a landform; it is a vegetation boundary, a water-divide and a corridor for species movement.
  • Rajasthan's low forest percentage makes open forests, village commons, orans, grasslands, wetlands and scrubland ecologically important.

District Comparison and Risk Map

Districts Reason / condition
Udaipur, Sirohi and Pratapgarh Gain from hill slopes and comparatively better rainfall
Churu, Hanumangarh and Sri Ganganagar Remain extremely sparse because irrigated farming and desert plains dominate the land surface
  • The vegetation map is therefore a risk map as well, showing where fire, grazing, invasive Prosopis, mining and drought can quickly shift habitat quality.
  • A narrow reading that counts only dense forests misses Godawan habitat in Desert National Park, blackbuck grassland in Tal Chhapar and saline wetland bird habitats at Sambhar.

PREDICTED Predicted RAS Questions

Based on PYQ trends and 2026 syllabus analysis

1 MCQ An official forest-cover table separates very dense, moderately dense and open categories for Rajasthan in 2023. Which total belongs to that table?
  1. A 16,548.21 sq km total forest cover Correct answer
  2. B 24,000 ha saline Ramsar wetland
  3. C 7.1977 sq km blackbuck sanctuary
  4. D 1501.88 sq km tiger-reserve landscape

Explanation

The ISFR 2023 Rajasthan forest-cover table gives 16,548.21 sq km after adding very dense, moderately dense and open forest. Sambhar is the 24,000 ha saline wetland. Tal Chhapar is the 7.1977 sq km blackbuck sanctuary. Ramgarh Vishdhari is the 1501.88 sq km tiger-reserve landscape.