According to India State of Forest Report 2019, in which one of the following district, very dense forest area is minimum?
- (1)Jaisalmer
- (2)Jodhpur
- (3)Alwar
- (4)Jaipur
Answer
Why
Correct — option (2), Jodhpur.
The Forest Survey of India's ISFR 2019 gives district-wise forest cover for Rajasthan in Table 11.23.4. Its Very Dense Forest (VDF) column reads, for the four options:
Alwar: 59.00 sq km
Jaipur: 12.00 sq km
Jaisalmer: 3.93 sq km
Jodhpur: 0.00 sq km
Jodhpur's figure is the smallest: it records no very dense forest. Its total forest cover, 107.78 sq km, is 0.47% of its geographical area, the lowest share in the table.
So very dense forest is minimum in Jodhpur.
The idea to remember: in ISFR 2019 Rajasthan's very dense forest totals 77.81 sq km, and Alwar alone holds 59 of it.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Jaisalmer — ISFR 2019 records 3.93 sq km of very dense forest in Jaisalmer, more than Jodhpur's 0.00.
Jaisalmer has the largest geographical area in the table, 38,401 sq km. Its total forest cover of 325.77 sq km is only 0.85% of that area, but in absolute terms it is about three times Jodhpur's 107.78 sq km.
- (3)Alwar — Alwar has the largest very dense forest figure in ISFR 2019's table, 59.00 sq km, about three-quarters of Rajasthan's total of 77.81 sq km.
Its total forest cover is 1,196.66 sq km, or 14.28% of its geographical area. It is the opposite end of the ranking from Jodhpur.
- (4)Jaipur — Jaipur records 12.00 sq km of very dense forest in ISFR 2019, the second-largest figure in the table after Alwar.
Its total forest cover is 552.76 sq km, 4.96% of its geographical area, close to the state's overall share of 4.86%.
Concept
The India State of Forest Report (ISFR) maps forest cover from satellite data. ISFR 2019's Rajasthan chapter says forest cover accounts for tree patches of 1 ha and more with canopy density above 10%.
Forest cover is split by canopy density into Very Dense Forest, Moderately Dense Forest and Open Forest; scrub is reported separately.
Forest cover is not the same as recorded forest area, which is land with legal forest status: reserved, protected or unclassed. A patch can be one without being the other.
RPSC's 2021 syllabus lists "Natural Vegetation & Soil" and "Biodiversity & its Conservation" under Geography of Rajasthan.
ISFR 2019 used IRS Resourcesat-2 LISS III satellite data from October to December 2017. It put Rajasthan's forest cover at 16,629.51 sq km, 4.86% of the state's area, an increase of 57.51 sq km over ISFR 2017.
Rajasthan's Economic Review 2020-21 repeats the 4.86% figure and gives the notified forest as 32,737 sq km, 9.57% of the state's geographical area.
Key facts
- ISFR 2019 very dense forest: Alwar 59.00, Jaipur 12.00, Jaisalmer 3.93 and Jodhpur 0.00 sq km.
- Rajasthan's very dense forest in ISFR 2019: 77.81 sq km, 0.02% of its geographical area.
- In ISFR 2019's table of 33 districts, six record any very dense forest: Alwar, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Bundi, Hanumangarh and Bikaner.
- Rajasthan's forest cover in ISFR 2019: 16,629.51 sq km (4.86%), up 57.51 sq km from ISFR 2017.
- Rajasthan's recorded forest area is 32,737 sq km, 9.57% of its area: reserved 12,475, protected 18,217 and unclassed 2,045 sq km (ISFR 2019).
Table 11.23.4, District-wise Forest Cover in Rajasthan, ISFR 2019 (Forest Survey of India), 2019 assessment.
Study next
Common traps
- A desert district is not automatically zero: Jaisalmer records 3.93 sq km of very dense forest, while Jodhpur records none.
- One density class is not total forest cover: Jaisalmer's total forest cover (325.77 sq km) is about three times Jodhpur's (107.78 sq km).
- Forest cover is not recorded forest area: ISFR 2019's 4.86% is satellite-mapped cover, while 9.57% is land with legal forest status.
A question can name an ISFR edition and ask which district has the most or least of a density class, or ask for a state's forest cover as a percentage of its area.
A question can also ask how forest cover differs from recorded forest area.
Related PYQs
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
Answer(4)
Same report series, a later edition and a state-level figure. That question gives ISFR 2021's forest cover of 16,654 square km and asks what percent of Rajasthan's geographical area it is (RPSC's key: option (4), 4.87); this one asks which district has the least very dense forest in ISFR 2019.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
According to ISFR 2019, which district of Rajasthan has the largest area under Very Dense Forest?
- (a)Udaipur
- (b)Alwar
- (c)Pratapgarh
- (d)Sirohi
Answer(2) — ISFR 2019's Table 11.23.4 gives Alwar 59.00 sq km of very dense forest. Options (1), (3) and (4) each record 0.00 sq km of very dense forest, although Udaipur has the largest total forest cover, 2,757.54 sq km. - practice — not a real PYQ
According to ISFR 2019, Rajasthan's forest cover is what percentage of its geographical area?
- (a)9.57
- (b)4.86
- (c)6.74
- (d)1.39
Answer(2) — ISFR 2019 puts forest cover at 16,629.51 sq km, 4.86% of the state. Option (1) is the recorded forest area's share, option (4) is scrub's share, and option (3) does not appear in ISFR 2019's Rajasthan chapter.