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Abstract

Tharparkar District is the part of the Thar Desert, situated within Sindh Province, Pakistan. The area is inhabited by a population of more than 1.77 million individuals, predominantly residing in rural settings and depending on livestock rearing and rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods. The Thar Desert (Tharparkar) is facing growing threats to its biodiversity because of new development in the area. For this reason, a detailed study was needed to examine plant community. This study aimed to assess plant diversity and identify threatened taxa of the study area. Surveys were conducted at sixty-four distinct sites encompassing various habitat types, in three separate phases. Plant data were collected using ten quadrats with a radius of 12.6 feet at each site, and the structure of plant communities was analysed. Forty-two plant families were identified, with grasses (Poaceae) being the most dominant, followed by Fabaceae and Malvaceae. The vegetation of the Tharparkar Desert was found to be dominated by perennial herbaceous species, accounting for around 62% of the total community, while trees and shrubs comprised less than 25%. TWINSPAN classification clustered the vegetation plots based on the soil and identified 27 plant groups. It recognized Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Aerva javanica, and Prosopis cineraria as indicator species of sandy deserts. A significant proportion of the plants were Therophytes and Phanerophytes. Acacia senegal, Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Prosopis juliflora , and Ziziphus nummularia were the core tree and shrub species. The study area is home to two globally endangered plant species. Commiphora wightii (Gugar) and Tecomella undulata (Desert Teak) are listed as critically endangered (CR) and endangered (EN) taxa, respectively, in the IUCN red list species. Many species, including Justicia vahlii, Farsetia hemaltoni, Blepharis scindica, Acacia leucophloea, Moringa concanensis and Sterculia urens are on the verge of local extinction due to overuse for medicinal or commercial purposes. The study findings highlight the pressing need for the implementation of a comprehensive conservation plan aimed at safeguarding species of special concern within the study area. Key priority actions to be undertaken include identification of biodiversity hotspots and community-based strategies for conservation of species to mitigate the impact on the natural ecosystem

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