Vegetation Recovery and Biodiversity Enhancement Following Ecological Restoration of a Degraded Rocky Hill in the Indian Thar Desert

Abstract

Aims: To assess early vegetation recovery and biodiversity enhancement following ecological restoration of a degraded rocky hill at Lunawas Bhakhar, Jodhpur, western Rajasthan. Study Design: A comparative site-level assessment was conducted between a plantation/restoration field (PF) and an adjoining outside plantation field (OPF). Place and Duration of Study: Lunawas Bhakhar, Jodhpur, western Rajasthan, India; restoration began in 2022 and vegetation was surveyed in 2024. Methodology: Vegetation was sampled using nested 30 × 30 m plots for trees, 5 × 5 m plots for shrubs and 1 × 1 m quadrats for herbaceous vegetation. Thirty sampling units were examined, with 15 in each field. Species density, frequency and abundance were recorded, and species richness, Shannon diversity and evenness were compared descriptively because only species-level summary data were available. Results: Thirty-four plant species were recorded in PF and six in OPF, giving PF approximately 5.7 times the recorded species richness. Shannon diversity was 2.088 in PF and approximately 1.635 in OPF, whereas evenness was 0.592 and approximately 0.913, respectively. The PF community included planted woody species together with spontaneously occurring grasses, herbs, legumes and shrubs, and the herbaceous layer was dominated by Aristida funiculata. Conclusion: After two years, the protected restoration field supported a richer and more functionally varied plant community than the adjoining outside field. The findings represent an early site-level restoration response rather than natural recruitment alone.