HISTORY OF DECLINE AND PRESENT STATUS OF NATURAL TROPICAL THORN FOREST IN PUNJAB

Natural tropical thorn forests once formed one of the most remarkable landscapes of the Punjab plains in Pakistan. Before land reclamation following canal irrigation these forests were the main source of firewood supplies for urban and rural populations. They also contributed to the stability of the fragile areas and supported a thriving wildlife. The past distribution and gradual decline of these forests is traced by literature search. The present status of natural tropical thorn forest was appraised by surveying areas formerly under these forests. The comparison indicated that the natural tropical thorn forest system of the Punjab has almost disappeared The last few remnants are also severely degraded due to overgrazing, felling, wind erosion, desertification, salinity and waterlogging. Although the main emphasis of this study was to identify and conserve the whole complex, Salvadora oleoides is given special attention because of its great ecological and ethnobotanical importance. It was envisaged that this approach would highlight the significance of preserving the indigenous forest as a whole rather than selecting some species and eliminating others.