At a glance
- Forest cover (tree canopy measured from satellite images, ISFR), recorded forest area (land recorded as forest, with or without trees) and tree cover (small tree patches outside the recorded forest) are three different measures; check which one a question names.
- Learn every forest figure with its edition or year: RAS 2023 asked the ISFR 2021 share, and ISFR 2023, released in December 2024, is still the latest edition in October 2026.
- Forest follows rain: most forest is in the hilly south and east; the arid west has thorn forest, scrub and grass.
- Highest share of a district's area: Pratapgarh by recorded forest area (2024), Udaipur (then including today's Salumbar) by ISFR 2023 forest cover (23.60%); Churu is lowest on both.
Where the vegetation grows
The hilly districts of Udaipur, Rajsamand, Kota, Baran, Sawai Madhopur, Chittorgarh, Sirohi, Bundi, Alwar, Jhalawar and Banswara hold about half of the state's forests.
Westwards the trees become dwarf and scattered and bushes take over; in Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Barmer (then including today's Balotra) and western Jodhpur (then including today's Phalodi) trees almost disappear. On a hill the slopes carry denser growth than the top, because soil and moisture collect lower down. Overgrazing, felling, clearing land for farming and valra (shifting) cultivation by tribal communities are the main causes of the loss of natural vegetation.
The natural vegetation is of three kinds (districts as they were in 1989):
| Kind | Where | Main plants |
|---|---|---|
| Forests | East and south-east | Dhokra, teak, salar, mahua, tendu, khair, bamboo |
| Grasslands (bid) | Large parts of Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Ajmer (then including part of today's Beawar); smaller parts of Bhilwara (then including part of today's Beawar), Udaipur (then including today's Rajsamand and Salumbar and part of Pratapgarh) and Sirohi | |
| Desert vegetation | North-west of the Aravalli: Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Barmer (then including today's Balotra), Jodhpur (then including today's Phalodi) | Khejri, kair, bui, rohida, babool, ber, jal |
Forest cover and tree cover (ISFR)
The Forest Survey of India publishes the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) every two years. Forest cover is all land of one hectare or more with tree canopy of 10% or more, whatever its ownership or legal status. Tree cover is tree patches smaller than one hectare outside the recorded forest area, including scattered trees in villages and towns.
| Edition | Forest cover (sq km) | Tree cover (sq km) |
|---|---|---|
| ISFR 2021 | 16,655 (4.87% of the state's area) | |
| ISFR 2023 | 16,548 (4.84% of the state's area) | 10,841 |
ISFR 2023 by canopy density: very dense forest (70% and above) 223.20, moderately dense forest (40–70%) 4,237.41 and open forest (10–40%) 12,087.60 sq km; scrub (below 10%), not counted as forest cover, 5,476.75 sq km.
In ISFR 2023 Rajasthan's tree cover is second only to Maharashtra's (14,525 sq km), and forest and tree cover together come to 27,389 sq km.
ISFR 2023 recalculates the 2021 forest cover, without a normalisation factor, as 16,632 sq km; 16,655 is ISFR 2021's own figure.
Recorded forest area and legal classes
Recorded forest area is land recorded as forest in government records, whether or not trees stand on it. It has three legal classes (areas for 2024-25):
| Class | What is allowed | Area 2024-25 (sq km) |
|---|---|---|
| Reserved forest | Government property; felling and grazing are not allowed | 12,198.71 |
| Protected forest | Grazing and felling are allowed under rules | 18,671.49 |
| Unclassed forest | No restriction on felling or grazing; the government charges a fee | 2,150.12 |
| Total | 33,020.32 |
Districts by forest area
The 2024 table of recorded forest area by district gives a total of 33,014.02 sq km (9.65% of the state). It still uses the 33 districts of the map before August 2023. First the six districts with the largest area, then the five with the smallest share of their own area:
| District | Recorded forest area (sq km) | Share of the district's area (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Udaipur (including today's Salumbar) | 4,161.92 | 35.51 |
| Baran | 2,250.56 | 32.13 |
| Karauli | 1,810.76 | 36.16 |
| Chittorgarh | 1,789.02 | 22.87 |
| Alwar (including today's Khairthal-Tijara and part of Kotputli-Behror) | 1,786.58 | 21.31 |
| Pratapgarh | 1,667.78 | 37.61 |
| Churu | 79.92 | 0.58 |
| Jodhpur (including today's Phalodi) | 246.95 | 1.09 |
| Nagaur (including today's Didwana-Kuchaman) | 242.40 | 1.36 |
| Jaisalmer | 691.60 | 1.80 |
| Barmer (including today's Balotra) | 626.14 | 2.21 |
Forest types
Four broad types of natural forest, as the Forest Department lists them:
| Type | Where | Main trees |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical thorn forest | Western Rajasthan, arid and semi-arid: Jodhpur, Pali, Jalore, Barmer, Nagaur, Churu, Bikaner; it merges gradually with the dry deciduous mixed forests of the Aravalli hills | Acacia nilotica, Acacia leucophloea, Prosopis cineraria (khejri), Capparis aphylla, Zizyphus and Flacourtia species |
| Tropical dry deciduous forest | Small patches on the northern and eastern slopes of the Aravalli (Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur); scattered along dry river beds in Jalore, Nagaur, Ganganagar and Bikaner | Anogeissus pendula, Anogeissus latifolia, Acacia catechu, Terminalia tomentosa, T. bellirica, T. arjuna, Boswellia serrata, Dendrocalamus strictus, Lannea grandis |
| Central Indian sub-tropical hill forest | Sirohi district, mostly the hills around Mount Abu, best developed at 700–800 m | Semi-evergreen and some evergreen trees, like the vegetation of the Himalayan sub-tropical region |
| Mixed miscellaneous forest | South-east and east: Chittorgarh, Kota, Udaipur, Sirohi, Banswara, Dungarpur, Baran, Jhalawar | Anogeissus pendula, Anogeissus latifolia, Terminalia tomentosa, T. arjuna, T. chebula, Albizia lebbeck, Dalbergia paniculata |
ISFR 2023 maps Rajasthan's forest cover and scrub into 20 forest types of the Champion and Seth classification (1968). The largest is northern dry mixed deciduous forest (5B/C2, 38.15% of the mapped area), then Anogeissus pendula forest (14.72%) and dry deciduous scrub (11.41%).
Khejri and desert plants
| Khejri | Prosopis cineraria. Also called khejra, jant or janti in several districts and jando locally; shami in Indian scriptures; the 'kalpavriksha of the Thar' |
|---|---|
| Uses of khejri | Leaves (loong) as fodder, green pods as the vegetable sangri, bark in folk medicine, twigs as fuel. It fixes nitrogen and raises soil fertility, and crops grow well under it |
| Rohida | Tecomella undulata, also called rohira, luar or desert teak; a tree of the thorn forest whose wood is used for furniture, tools and printing blocks |
| Kair | Capparis decidua, a bush that binds sand dunes; its flowers and fruit are pickled or cooked as vegetables |
| Phog | Calligonum polygonoides, a shrub up to 1–2 m high; its flowers (phogalo) are eaten and its charcoal is used to melt iron |
Desert trees are of two kinds: those that depend on the year's rain, and those that draw on water deep in the soil, such as kair, khejri and bui.
Grasses: between Pokaran and Jaisalmer the commonest are sewan, dhaman and murat, good fodder for livestock and sheep. The 2024 CET (Graduation) paper names sewan, dhaman and karad as grasses. Hindi spellings differ: सेवण (Vikaspedia), सेवन (CET 2024) and सावन (Bhalla) for sewan; धामन (Bhalla) and धमन (CET 2024) for dhaman.
Desertification, dune fixation by plantations and the Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) are in the Soils notes.
Forest produce
Major produce is round wood, timber and fuel wood; minor produce is leaves, fruit, grass, gum, bamboo, kattha, khus, honey, wax and herbs. Dhokra was the commonest tree in the late 1980s, on about 60% of the forest area; its wood goes mostly for fuel and charcoal.
The districts below are as they were in 1989: Udaipur then included today's Rajsamand and Salumbar; Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Banswara each included part of today's Pratapgarh; Bharatpur included today's Deeg; Jaipur included today's Dausa and part of Kotputli-Behror; Alwar included today's Khairthal-Tijara and part of Kotputli-Behror; Sawai Madhopur included today's Karauli; Jodhpur included today's Phalodi.
| Produce | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bamboo | Banswara, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Sirohi, Bharatpur | Baskets, cots, huts and paper-making |
| Kattha | Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Jhalawar, Bundi, Bharatpur, Jaipur | Made by boiling pieces of the inner trunk of khair trees; the state used the handi method, which gives less kattha than the factory method |
| Tendu leaves | Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Jhalawar, Banswara and the Baran area (then Kota district) | Used to roll bidis; about half is used in Rajasthan's bidi centres (Jaipur, Ajmer, Beawar, Kota, Nasirabad, Bhilwara, Pali), the rest goes to nearby states |
| Khus | Bharatpur, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk | A grass whose roots yield oil; used for perfume, cooler screens, hand fans and sherbet |
| Gum | From khejra, babool, dhak, neem, peepal and other trees; the Chauhtan area of the western desert is known for it | |
| Honey and wax | Alwar, Bharatpur, Sirohi, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Banswara | Taken from the combs of wild bees on trees and bushes |
| Mahua | Dungarpur, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Jhalawar, Sirohi | Fruit used as food, for oil and for country liquor |
Rajasthan Forestry and Biodiversity Project (Phase 2)
| Funding | Japanese ODA loan from JICA; loan agreement June 2011; ¥15,749 million approved, ¥15,070 million disbursed |
|---|---|
| Executing agency | Rajasthan Forest Department |
| Area | 15 districts (10 in desert areas, 5 in non-desert areas) and 7 protected areas with their surrounding areas |
| Method | Community-based joint forest management through village forest protection and management committees and eco-development committees |
| Works | Afforestation, soil and water conservation structures, fencing and water points in the sanctuaries, and livelihood work through self-help groups |
| Biological parks | Machia (Machiya), Jodhpur, developed; Abheda, Kota, added later; Nahargarh and Sajjangarh improved |
| Completed | October 2021 |
Remember: often mixed up
- Highest forest share in older books: Banswara, about 35% in the late 1980s, before Pratapgarh district was formed in 2008 from parts of Chittorgarh, Udaipur and Banswara
- Four or seven forest typesthe Forest Department lists four · older books list seven (dry teak, dry deciduous or dhokra, mixed deciduous, salar, dhak or palas, tropical thorn, sub-tropical evergreen); match the list the question uses
- Khejri or vilayati khejrakhejri is native · vilayati khejra was brought in from outside, and is grown in dry areas for fodder and to hold dunes
Test yourself: asked in exams
CET Graduation Level 2022 · Q60
Khus grass is mainly found in Rajasthan in-
- (1)Bharatpur and Tonk Forest division
- (2)Western Rajasthan
- (3)South-Eastern Rajasthan (Hadoti)
- (4)Abu Mountain region
Show answer
✓ (1) Bharatpur and Tonk Forest division
See the full paperCET Graduation Level 2024 · Q48
Sewan, Dhaman and Karad are ____________.
- (1)Types of folk dances
- (2)Desert soils
- (3)Types of grasses
- (4)Types of Rajasthani painting forms
Show answer
✓ (3) Types of grasses
See the full paperCET Senior Secondary Level 2024 · Q52
Select the incorrect statement about subtropical mountain forests. (Choose the most appropriate option from below:)
- (1)These forests are found only in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
- (2)Subtropical Mountain forests are found only in Mount Abu region in Rajasthan.
- (3)In these forests, greenery is available permanently.
- (4)These forests can be found in Sirohi which is situated in Rajasthan
Show answer
✓ (1) These forests are found only in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
See the full paperRAS Prelims 2023 · Q5
As per the India State of Forest Report 2021, the forest cover in terms of vegetation cover is 16,654 square km, it is ________ percent of Rajasthan's geographical area.
- (1)6.74
- (2)7.48
- (3)8.47
- (4)4.87
Show answer
✓ (4) 4.87
See the full paperRAS Prelims 2024 · Q75
Select the incorrect statement regarding the Rajasthan Forestry and Biodiversity Project (Phase-2).
- (1)It is assisted by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
- (2)It covers 18 districts and 8 wild-life sanctuaries.
- (3)Abheda and Machia Biological Parks have been developed under the project.
- (4)Water Conservation has also been incorporated in the project.
Show answer
✓ (2) It covers 18 districts and 8 wild-life sanctuaries.
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