Editing Thar Desert (section)

===Desertification control===
[[File:GreeningdesertTharIndia.jpg|thumb|Greening desert with plantations of [[jojoba]] at [[Fatehpur, Shekhawati]]]]
[[File:Greeningdesert1.jpg|thumb|Checking of shifting sand dunes through plantations of ''[[Acacia tortilis]]'' near [[Laxmangarh]] town]]
[[File:Indira Gandhi Canal.jpg|thumb|[[Indira Gandhi Canal]] flowing in Thar Desert near Sattasar village, [[Bikaner district]], Rajasthan]]
[[File:Tharparkar1 Pakistan.jpg|thumb|Due to severe weather conditions, few highways are in the Thar Desert. Shown here is a road in [[Tharparkar]] district of Sindh, Pakistan.]]
The soil of the Thar Desert remains dry for much of the year, so it is prone to [[wind erosion]]. High-velocity winds blow soil from the desert, depositing some of it on neighboring fertile lands, and causing [[sand dunes]] within the desert to shift. To counteract this problem, sand dunes are stabilised by first erecting micro [[windbreak]] barriers with scrub material and then by [[afforestation]] of the treated dunes—planting the seedlings of shrubs (such as [[Calligonum polygonoides|phog]], [[Cassia auriculata|senna]], and [[Ricinus communis|castor oil plant]]) and trees (such as [[Acacia senegal|gum acacia]], ''[[Prosopis juliflora]]'', and [[Albizzia lebbeck|lebbek tree]]). The 649-km-long [[Indira Gandhi Canal]] brings fresh water to the Thar Desert.<ref name="Sinha1996"/> It was built to halt any spreading of the desert into fertile areas.