Editing Thar Desert (section)

==Biodiversity==

=== Fauna ===
Some [[wildlife]] species that are fast vanishing in other parts of India are found in the desert in large numbers, including the [[blackbuck]] (''Antilope cervicapra''), [[chinkara]] (''Gazella bennettii''), and [[Indian wild ass]] (''Equus hemionus khur'') in the [[Rann of Kutch]]. This may be partly because they are well adapted to this environment: they are smaller than similar animals that live in other environments, and they are mainly nocturnal. It may also be because [[grasslands]] in this region have not been transformed into cropland as fast as in other regions, and because a local community, the [[Bishnoi]]s, has made special efforts to protect them.

Other mammals in the Thar Desert include a subspecies of [[red fox]] (''[[White-footed fox|Vulpes vulpes pusilla]]'') and the [[caracal]], and a number of reptiles dwell there too.

The region is a haven for 141 species of [[Bird migration|migratory]] and resident desert birds, including [[harrier (bird)|harrier]]s, [[falcon]]s, [[buzzard]]s, [[kestrel]]s, [[vulture]]s, [[short-toed eagle]]s (''Circaetus gallicus''), [[tawny eagle]]s (''Aquila rapax''), [[greater spotted eagle]]s (''Aquila clanga''), and [[laggar falcon]]s (''Falco jugger'').

The [[Indian peafowl]] is a resident breeder in the Thar region. The peacock is designated as the national bird of India and the provincial bird of the [[Punjab (Pakistan)]]. It can be seen sitting on khejri or [[Sacred fig|pipal]] trees in villages.

The [[Great Indian Bustard]] (Ardeotis nigriceps), one of the world’s heaviest flying birds, inhabits the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. Critically endangered, it thrives in open grasslands and semi-arid regions.
{{gallery
|File:Peacock Thathawata.JPG|Peacock on a [[khejri]] tree
|File:Peafowl eating pieces of Chapati in Tharparkar.jpg|Peafowl eating pieces of'' [[chapati]]'' in [[Tharparkar District]], Sindh
|File:Blackbuck male female.jpg|Blackbuck male and female
|File:Chinkara.jpg|The chinkara or Indian gazelle is found across the Thar Desert.
}}

=== Flora ===
[[File:Khumbhi (local name for mushroom in Tharparkar).jpg|alt=Vessel full of mushroom |thumb|Local [[mushrooms]] (''khumbi'')  from [[Tharparkar District|Tharparkar]], Sindh]]
[[File:Khejri.jpg|thumb|''[[Prosopis cineraria]]'' or ''khejri'' or ''kandi'']]
The natural vegetation of this dry area is classified as [[northwestern thorn scrub forest]] (i.e. small, loosely-scattered patches of greenery).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Champion |first1=H. G. |first2=S. K. |last2=Seth |year=1968 |title=A revised survey of the forest types of India |publisher=Government of India Press |oclc=549213 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Negi |first=S. S. |year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZrP3-4IFtMUC&pg=PA182 |title=Biosphere Reserves in India: Landuse, Biodiversity and Conservation |publisher=Indus Publishing Company |location=Delhi |isbn=9788173870439 }}</ref> The densities and sizes of these green patches increase from west to east, following an increase in rainfall. The primary vegetation of the Thar Desert is composed of trees, [[shrub]]s, and [[perennial]] herb species, including:<ref name=Kaul1970>{{cite book |last=Kaul |first=R. N. |year=1970 |title=Afforestation in arid zones |series=Monographiiae Biologicae |volume=20 |location=The Hague |oclc=115047 }}</ref>
*Trees and shrubs: ''[[Aerva javanica]]'', ''[[Balanites roxburghii]]'', ''[[Calotropis procera]]'',  ''[[Capparis decidua]]'', ''[[Clerodendrum multiflorum]]'', ''[[Commiphora mukul]]'', ''[[Cordia sinensis]]'', ''[[Crotalaria burhia]]'', ''[[Euphorbia caducifolia]]'', ''[[Euphorbia neriifolia]]'', ''[[Grewia tenax]]'', ''[[Leptadenia pyrotechnica]]'', ''[[Lycium barbarum]]'', ''[[Maytenus emarginata]]'', ''[[Mimosa hamata]]'', ''[[Suaeda fruticosa]]'', ''[[Vachellia jacquemontii]]'', ''[[Ziziphus nummularia]]'' and ''[[Ziziphus zizyphus|Z. zizyphus]]''.
*Herbs and grasses: ''[[Ochthochloa]] compressa'', ''[[Dactyloctenium scindicum]]'', ''[[Cenchrus biflorus]]'', ''[[Cenchrus setiger]]'', ''[[Lasiurus scindicus]]'', ''[[Cynodon dactylon]]'', ''[[Panicum turgidum]]'', ''[[Panicum antidotale]]'', ''[[Dichanthium annulatum]]'', ''[[Sporobolus marginatus]]'', ''[[Saccharum spontaneum]]'', ''[[Cenchrus ciliaris]]'', ''[[Desmostachya bipinnata]]'', ''[[Eragrostis]]'' species, ''[[Ergamopagan]]'' species, ''[[Phragmites]]'' species, ''[[Tribulus terrestris]]'', ''[[Typha]]'' species, ''[[Sorghum halepense]]'', ''[[Citrullus colocynthis]]''

The [[endemic]] floral species include ''[[Calligonum polygonoides]]'', ''[[Prosopis cineraria]]'', ''[[Acacia nilotica]]'', ''[[Tamarix aphylla]]'', and ''[[Cenchrus biflorus]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Khan |first1=T. I. |last2=Frost |first2=S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2001 |title=Floral biodiversity: a question of survival in the Indian Thar Desert |journal=Environmentalist |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=231–236 |doi=10.1023/A:1017991606974 |s2cid=82472637 }}</ref>