Key facts

  • ISFR 2023 recorded Rajasthan's forest cover at 16,548.21 sq km, 4.84% of the state's geographical area, with open forest as the largest forest-cover c...
  • Rajasthan's vegetation pattern is controlled mainly by aridity, the Aravalli divide and the east-west moisture gradient.
  • Western districts such as Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner and Churu have thorny xerophytic vegetation, scattered grasses and drought-adapted shrubs.
  • East and south-east Rajasthan have more dry deciduous and mixed deciduous vegetation, especially from the Alwar-Jaipur side toward Kota, Baran, Jhalaw...
  • Mount Abu in Sirohi forms a small but important sub-tropical hill forest pocket in Rajasthan.

Key Points at a Glance

  1. 1

    ISFR 2023 recorded Rajasthan's forest cover at 16,548.21 sq km, 4.84% of the state's geographical area, with open forest as the largest forest-cover class.

  2. 2

    Rajasthan's vegetation pattern is controlled mainly by aridity, the Aravalli divide and the east-west moisture gradient.

  3. 3

    Western districts such as Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner and Churu have thorny xerophytic vegetation, scattered grasses and drought-adapted shrubs.

  4. 4

    East and south-east Rajasthan have more dry deciduous and mixed deciduous vegetation, especially from the Alwar-Jaipur side toward Kota, Baran, Jhalawar, Banswara and Dungarpur.

  5. 5

    Mount Abu in Sirohi forms a small but important sub-tropical hill forest pocket in Rajasthan.

  6. 6

    Khejri, Rohida, Ber, Ker, Phog, Thor and Lana are high-yield dryland vegetation names for Rajasthan objective exams.

  7. 7

    Rajasthan conservation includes forests, scrub, orans, grasslands, wetlands and desert habitats, not only dense forest or tiger reserves.

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Forest Cover and ISFR Categories

Rajasthan has sparse forest cover compared with many humid states, so the correct reading of forest data matters in objective exams. According to the Forest Survey of India's India State of Forest Report 2023, the state's forest cover was 16,548.21 sq km. Within this, very dense forest was 223.20 sq km, moderately dense forest was 4,237.41 sq km, and open forest was 12,087.60 sq km. Open forest is therefore the largest forest-cover class in the state.

Scrub was separately recorded at 5,476.75 sq km. This distinction is important because forest cover, tree cover and scrub should not be merged into one figure. In Rajasthan, low forest percentage makes open forests, scrubland, village commons, orans, grasslands and wetlands ecologically important. A Vanpal candidate should read Rajasthan's vegetation as a dryland system rather than as a state with one continuous green forest belt.

Exam takeaway: remember the ISFR 2023 total, the three forest-density classes and the separate status of scrub.

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