GordonCoulston at 08:30, 7 May 2026

2026-05-07T08:30:25Z

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{{Short description|Ecoregion of Pakistan and India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox ecoregion
|name = Northwestern thorn scrub forests
|image = Wheat Fields in Sialkot.jpg
|image_size =
|image_alt =
|caption = Crop fields in [[Sialkot]], [[Punjab, Pakistan]]
|map = Ecoregion IM1303.svg
|map_size =
|map_alt =
|map_caption = Map of the Northwestern thorn scrub forests ecoregion
|ecozone = [[Indomalayan realm|Indomalayan]]
|biome = [[deserts and xeric shrublands]]
|animals =
|bird_species =
|mammal_species =
|border1 = [[Baluchistan xeric woodlands]]
|border2 = [[Himalayan subtropical pine forests]]
|border3 = [[Indus River Delta–Arabian Sea mangroves]]
|border4 = [[Indus Valley desert]]
|border5 = [[Khathiar–Gir dry deciduous forests]]
|border6 = [[Thar Desert]]
|border7 = [[Western Himalayan broadleaf forests]]
|border8 = [[Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests]]
|area = 486906
|country1 = [[India]]
|country2 = [[Pakistan]]
|state1 = [[Gujarat]]
|state2 = [[Haryana]]
|state3 = [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]
|state4 = [[Punjab]]
|state5 = [[Rajasthan]] (India);
|state6 = [[Baluchistan]]
|state7 = [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]
|state8 = [[Punjab]],
|state9 = [[Sind]] (Pakistan)
|region_type = states of India & provinces of Pakistan
|elevation =
|geology =
|seas =
|rivers =
|climate =
|soil =
|conservation = critical/endangered
|global200 =
|habitat_loss =
|habitat_loss_ref =
|coordinates =
|protected = 20,150 km² (4
|protected_ref = )<ref>Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b. [https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/bix014]</ref>
|embedded =
}}

The '''Northwestern thorn scrub forests''', presently known as '''Aravalli west thorn scrub forests''',<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dinerstein |first=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |date=June 2017 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |url=https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/biosci/bix014 |journal=BioScience |language=en |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=534–545 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |issn=0006-3568 |pmc=5451287 |pmid=28608869}}</ref> is a [[Deserts and xeric shrublands|xeric shrubland]] [[ecoregion]] of [[Pakistan]] and [[Northern India]], stretching along the border lowlands and hills between the two countries. Once covered in deciduous forest, this ecoregion has been [[land degradation|degraded]] through [[agriculture]] and the extraction of [[timber]] so that it currently has a scanty covering of thorny scrub dominated by such trees as ''[[Acacia senegal]]'', ''[[Acacia leucophloea]]'' and ''[[Prosopis cineraria]]''. Where the soils are particularly saline, there are patches of semi-desert. A number of mammals are found in this habitat, as well as about four hundred species of bird. Some small areas are protected but the collection of [[firewood]] and the [[land conversion|conversion of the land]] to [[subsistence farming]] continues.

==Location and description==
The ecoregion encircles the [[Thar Desert]] and [[Indus Valley Desert]] ecoregions. It stretches along the border lowlands and hills between India and Pakistan and includes: the western half of [[Gujarat]] (excluding the mountain of [[Girnar]]), and extending through Rajasthan, where it is bounded on the southeast by the [[Aravalli Range]]; most of [[Haryana]] and [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] states of India as well as the [[Jammu]] region of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], extending to the foothills of the Himalayas; in Pakistan, most of [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab province]], extending into easternmost [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Northwest Frontier]] and [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Baluchistan]] provinces and western [[Sindh]].

This ecoregion, together with the Thar Desert and Indus Valley Desert ecoregions, form [[Miklos Udvardy]]'s "Thar Desert" [[Biogeographic province]].<ref>{{WWF ecoregion|id=im1303|name=Northwestern thorn scrub forests}}</ref>

== Climate ==
The climate of the ecoregion consists of ''[[Semi-arid climate#Hot semi-arid climates|Hot semi-arid]]'' ([[Köppen climate classification]] [[Semi-arid climate#Hot semi-arid climates|(BSh)]]) and [[Desert climate|''Arid'']] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ([[BWh]])) climates. This climate is characteristic of steppes, grasslands, and forests. The temperature includes, hot summers and cool or dry winters. Precipitation averages 500–600 mm/year with heavy rainfalls and evening thunderstorms with the possibility of cloudbursts and flash floods in the monsoon season, late July–August. This being said, it only receives enough rainfall to support scrub. It does not receive enough rainfall to feature in the [[humid subtropical climate]].

==Flora==
The Northwestern thorn scrub forests are thought to be [[tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests|tropical dry forests]] that have been degraded through [[intensive agriculture]] and [[overgrazing|grazing]] into stunted and open thorn scrub, dominated by trees such as ''[[Acacia senegal]]'' and ''[[Acacia leucophloea]]'', as well as ''[[Prosopis cineraria]]'', ''[[Capparis zeylanica]]'', and species of ''[[Salvadora (plant)|Salvadora]]'', ''[[Gymnosporia]]'', ''[[Grewia]],'' and ''[[Gardenia]]''. However the region also contains patches of semi-desert where the soil is particularly saline.<ref>Champion, H. G., and S. K. Seth. 1968. A revised survey of the forest types of India. Government of India Press</ref><ref>Puri, G.S., Gupta, R.K., and Meher-Homji, V.M.P.S. 1989. Forest Ecology Volume 2. New Delhi, India: Oxford & IBH Publishing Company</ref>

==Fauna==
Despite the large scale [[forest clearance]] large mammals still remain in the ecoregion including [[Indian leopard]] and their prey such as [[chinkara]] (''Gazella bennettii''), [[nilgai]] (Boselaphus tragocamelus), [[Indian hog deer]] (Axis porcinus) [[sambar deer]] (Rusa unicolor) and the threatened species [[chousingha]] (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), and [[blackbuck]] (''Antilope cervicapra''). The scrubland is also home to another large cat, the [[caracal]], which preys on mice, birds, and reptiles. There are two endemic mammals, both bats: ''[[Triaenops persicus]]'' and the [[small mouse-tailed bat]] (''Rhinopoma muscatellum'').
[[File:Lal suhanra canal, Punjab.jpg|thumb|Surviving [[Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests|tropical dry forests]] in [[Lal Suhanra National Park]].]]
There are more than 400 species of birds in the region including the endemic [[rufous-vented grass babbler]] (''Laticilla burnesii''), the near-endemic [[white-naped tit|white-winged tit]] (''Parus nuchalis'') and the threatened [[great Indian bustard]] (''Ardeotis nigriceps'') and [[lesser florican]] (''Eupodotis indica'').

==Threats and preservation==
Over 90% of the ecoregion has been converted to human use, and the remaining habitat is highly [[habitat fragmentation|fragmented]]. There are many protected areas but they are very small and unconnected and even these are liable to invasion for [[firewood]] collecting and clearance for planting. However the traditions of the [[Bishnoi]] community based in this region extend protection to some wildlife, especially the blackbuck and the tree.{{fact|date=May 2022}}

==See also==
*[[List of ecoregions in India]]
*[[Arid Forest Research Institute]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Ecoregions of India}}

[[Category:Thar Desert]]
[[Category:Deserts and xeric shrublands]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of India]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Environment of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Geography of Punjab, Pakistan]]
[[Category:Geography of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Indomalayan ecoregions]]

Aravalli West Thorn Scrub Forests - Revision history

GordonCoulston at 08:30, 7 May 2026