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| {{Infobox ecoregion
| | #REDIRECT [[Khathiar–Gir dry deciduous forests]] |
| |name = Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests
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| |image = File:The Gir forest.jpg
| | {{Redirect category shell| |
| |image_size =
| | {{R from move}} |
| |image_alt =
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| |caption = arid landscape in [[Gir Forest]]
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| |map = Ecoregion IM0206.png
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| |map_size =
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| |map_alt =
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| |map_caption = Ecoregion territory (in purple)
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| |ecozone = [[Indomalayan realm|Indomalayan]]
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| |biome = [[tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests]]
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| |animals =
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| |bird_species =
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| |mammal_species =
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| |border1 = [[Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests]]
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| |border2 = [[North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests]]
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| |border3 = [[Northwestern thorn scrub forests]]
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| |border4 = [[Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests]]
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| |area = 265995
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| |country = [[India]]
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| |state1 = [[Gujarat]]
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| |state2 = [[Madhya Pradesh]]
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| |state3 = [[Rajasthan]]
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| |region_type = states
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| |elevation =
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| |geology =
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| |seas =
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| |rivers =
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| |climate =
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| |soil =
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| |conservation = critical/endangered
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| |global200 =
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| |habitat_loss =
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| |habitat_loss_ref =
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| |coordinates = {{coords|24.8|75.8|region:IN-RJ|notes=<ref>{{Cite web |author=World Database on Protected Areas |year=2019 |title=Darrah in India |website=Protected Planet United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre |url=http://protectedplanet.net/sites/Darrah_Sanctuary}}</ref>|display=inline, title}}
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| |protected = 11,335 km² (4
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| |protected_ref = )<ref>Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b. [https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/bix014]</ref>
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| |embedded =
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| }} | | }} |
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| [[File:The Gir forest.jpg|thumb|Arid landscape in the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests]]
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| The '''Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests''' (also Kathiarbar-Gir or Kathiawar-Gir) is a mostly [[arid]] [[ecoregion]] in northwestern [[India]] that stretches over {{convert|103100|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}} across [[Gujarat]], [[Rajasthan]] and [[Madhya Pradesh]]. The [[dry deciduous forest]]s in the region are dominated by [[teak]], and thorny trees and scrub in drier areas.<ref name=IM0206>{{WWF ecoregion |id=im0206 |name=Khathiar-Gir Dry Deciduous Forests |access-date=2017-02-14}}</ref>
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| ==Landscape==
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| [[File:Aravali Hills in winter fog.JPG|thumb|right|The Aravalli Range is part of this ecoregion]]
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| The Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests include the [[Aravalli Range]], the high point of which is [[Mount Abu]] with an elevation of {{convert|1721|m|ft|abbr=in}}, and a small part of the [[Northwestern thorn scrub forests]] in the west.
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| In the west is the [[Kathiawar]] Peninsula and the strip of western Rajasthan between the Aravalli Range and [[Thar Desert]]. To the northwest, the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests transit to the [[Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests]]. To the southeast lies the [[Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests]], of the [[Vindhya Range]], and the [[Narmada River]] Valley. The ecoregion also borders the [[North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests]] in southeastern Gujarat.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}
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| The ecoregion has a [[tropical monsoon climate]], with most of its 550 to 700 mm average annual rainfall during the June–September [[southwest monsoon]] and little for the remaining months of the year, while temperatures often exceed 40 °C. Higher elevations of the Aravallis stay cooler, and the windward slopes (generally southeast-facing) receive higher rainfall. This results in a dry landscape of thorny scrub, bare trees and rocks.<ref name=IM0206/>
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| ==Flora==
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| [[File:Silk Cotton Tree ( Bombax ceiba) flowers.JPG|thumb|A silk-cotton tree in full bloom]]
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| The composition of the ecoregion's forests varies with moisture and soil. They have a three-storied structure, with the top story reaching {{convert|15|to|25|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Arid areas are dominated by ''[[Anogeissus pendula]]'' growing in association with [[Senegalia catechu|khair]], especially on the [[quartzite]] ridges and [[gneiss]] hillocks of the Aravalli Range. Less arid areas are dominated by [[teak]] (''Tectona grandis''), [[Aegle marmelos|bael]] (''Aegle marmelos''), ''[[Boswellia serrata]]'', ''[[Desmodium oojeinense]]'', ''[[Diospyros]]'' [[species]], [[Bombax ceiba|silk-cotton tree]], ''[[Sterculia urens]]'', ''[[Phyllanthus emblica]]'', ''[[Dalbergia]] paniculata'', and ''[[Terminalia elliptica]]''. [[Mount Abu]] is covered in dry deciduous forest with [[conifer]]s at the highest elevations. Thorn scrub forests, characterized by ''[[Euphorbia]] caducifolia'', ''[[Maytenus]] emarginata'', ''[[Acacia senegal]]'', ''[[Commiphora mukul]]'', ''[[Wrightia tinctoria]]'', ''[[Flueggea]] leucopyrus'', ''[[Grewia]]'' species, occur on rocky Aravalli hillsides and in degraded areas. The endemic species ''[[Dicliptera]] abuensis'', ''[[Strobilanthes]] halbergii'', and ''[[Veronica (plant)|Veronica]] anagallis'' also grow in these areas. Date palms (''[[Phoenix sylvestris]]'') and fig trees (''[[Ficus racemosa]]'') grow near rivers and streams of the hills.<ref name=IM0206/>
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| ==Fauna==
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| [[Bird]] species include the:<ref name=IM0206/>
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| *endangered [[great Indian bustard]] (''Ardeotis nigriceps'')
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| *[[lesser florican]] (''Eupodotis indica'')
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| *near-[[Endemism|endemic]] [[white-naped tit]] (''Parus nuchalis''), which inhabits the thorny scrub areas of the ecoregion.
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| The protected areas of this region are also home to 80 [[mammal]] species including<ref name=IM0206/>
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| * [[Indian leopard]] (''Panthera pardus fusca''), [[Indian wolf]] (''Canis lupus pallipes''), [[striped hyena]] (''Hyaena hyaena''), [[four-horned antelope]] (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), [[blackbuck]] (''Antilope cervicapra''), and [[chinkara]] (''Gazella bennettii'')
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| *[[jungle cat]] (''Felis chaus''), [[Asiatic wildcat]] (''Felis silvestris ornata'') and [[rusty-spotted cat]] (''Prionailurus rubiginosus'').<ref>{{cite journal |author=Pathak, B. J. |year=1990 |title=Rusty-spotted Cat ''Felis rubiginosa'' Geoffroy: a new record for Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |issue=87 |page=8}}</ref>
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| *[[golden jackal]] (''Canis aureus'')<ref>{{cite journal |author=Alam, M. S. |author2=Khan, J. A. |author3=Njoroge, C. H. |author4=Kumar, S. |author5=Meena, R. L. |year=2015 |title=Food preferences of the Golden Jackal ''Canis aureus'' in the Gir National Park and Sanctuary, Gujarat, India |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=6927–6933 |doi=10.11609/jott.o3954.6927-33|doi-access=free }}</ref>
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| *[[Bengal tiger]] (''Panthera tigris tigris'') in the eastern part of this ecoregion<ref>{{cite book |editor=Jhala, Y. V. |editor2=Qureshi, Q. |editor3=Sinha, P. R. |year=2011 |title=Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India, 2010. TR 2011/003 pp-302 |location=New Delhi, Dehradun |publisher=National Tiger Conservation Authority, Govt. of India, and Wildlife Institute of India |url=http://www.projecttiger.nic.in/whtsnew/Tiger_Status_oct_2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120232451/http://www.projecttiger.nic.in/whtsnew/Tiger_Status_oct_2010.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-01-20 }}</ref>
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| *[[Asiatic lion]] (''Panthera leo leo'') in Gir National Park and surrounding areas in Kathiawar Peninsula<ref name=Singh2011>{{cite journal |url=http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/lab/cons-lab/documents/Singh_Gibson_Biol_Cons_2011.pdf |title=A conservation success story in the otherwise dire megafauna extinction crisis: The Asiatic lion (''Panthera leo persica'') of Gir forest |author=Singh, H. S. |author2=Gibson, L. |year=2011 |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=144 |issue=5 |pages=1753–1757 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2011.02.009}}</ref>
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| *[[Sloth bear]] (''Melursus ursinus'') in Ratan Mahal Wildlife Sanctuary<ref>{{cite book |url=http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/000ADOBES/Bears/Bears_IUCN_ActionPlan/bearsAP_chapter12.pdf |chapter=Sloth Bear Conservation Action Plan |pages=225–240 |author1=Garshelis, D. L. |author2=Joshi, A. R. |author3=Smith, J. L. D. |author4=Rice, C. G. |name-list-style=amp |access-date=18 April 2011 |title=Bears: status survey and conservation action plan |publisher=IUCN |location=Gland |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723235317/http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/000ADOBES/Bears/Bears_IUCN_ActionPlan/bearsAP_chapter12.pdf}}</ref>
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| <gallery mode=packed>
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| Ranthambore Tiger.jpg|Bengal tiger in [[Ranthambore National Park]], Rajasthan
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| Asiatic lion 02.jpg|Male Asiatic lion in Gir Forest National Park, Gujarat
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| 20150316 IMG 9999 276.jpg|Indian leopard at Gir
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| Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena).jpg|Striped hyena
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| Golden Jackal at Rajkot.jpg|Golden jackal in the area of [[Rajkot]]
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| A fragile co-existence of between sloth bears and humans at Ratanmahal Sloth Bear Sactuary, Dahod, Gujarat, India.jpg|An Indian sloth bear walking on the road in Ratan Mahal Sloth Bear Sanctuary
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| Mugger crocodile in Gir Forest National Park.jpg|[[Mugger crocodile]] at Gir
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| Great Indian bustard.jpg|Great Indian bustard at the Naliya grasslands, [[Kutch]]
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| Adult White napped Tit.jpg|White-naped tit foraging on ''[[Prosopis juliflora]]'' at Kutch
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| Female Lesser Florican in flight.jpg|A female lesser florican in flight from Rajasthan
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| </gallery>
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| ==Threats to biodiversity==
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| The human population in the region is growing, and wildlife habitats have mostly been removed or degraded due to collection of firewood and timber, and use as grazing land for livestock.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}
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| ==Protected areas==
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| Protected areas cover {{convert|8980|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} in this ecoregion, and include:<ref name=IM0206/>
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| *[[Balaram Ambaji Wildlife Sanctuary]]
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| *[[Darrah National Park]] (including [[Jawahar Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary]] and [[National Chambal Sanctuary]])
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| *[[Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary]]
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| *[[Ghatigaon Wildlife Sanctuary]]
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| *[[Gir Forest National Park]]
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| *[[Jaisamand Wildlife Sanctuary]]
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| *[[Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary]]
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| *[[Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary]]
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| *[[Kuno National Park]]
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| *[[Madhav National Park]]
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| *[[Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary]]
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| *[[Nahargarh Biological Park]]
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| *[[Ramgarh Wildlife Sanctuary]]
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| *[[Ranthambore National Park]]
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| *[[Ratan Mahal Wildlife Sanctuary]]
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| *[[Sailana Kharmour Bird Sanctuary]]
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| *[[Sariska Tiger Reserve]]
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| *[[Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary]]
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| ==See also==
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| * [[Ecoregions of India]]
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| ==References==
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| {{reflist}}
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| ==External link==
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| {{commons cat}}
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| * {{WWF ecoregion |id=im0206 |name=Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests}}
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| {{Ecoregions of India}}
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| {{DEFAULTSORT:Khathiar Gir Dry Deciduous Forests}}
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| [[Category:Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests| ]]
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| [[Category:Ecoregions of India]]
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| [[Category:Environment of Gujarat]]
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| [[Category:Environment of Madhya Pradesh]]
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| [[Category:Environment of Rajasthan]]
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| [[Category:Forests of India]]
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| [[Category:Geography of Gujarat]]
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| [[Category:Geography of Madhya Pradesh]]
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| [[Category:Geography of Rajasthan]]
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| [[Category:Indomalayan ecoregions]]
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| [[Category:Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests]]
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