The Thar Desert of India ranks among the most densely populated deserts globally, yet it lacks a well-defined regulatory framework for managing land use. Unsustainable agriculture and unrestrained livestock grazing are major threats to the wildlife inhabiting the Thar Desert. The adoption of global agro-technologies, coupled with government-funded irrigation projects, has significantly intensified land use and land cover (LU/LC) changes. To assess the impacts of ongoing LU/LC changes on the occurrence and behaviour of an ecologically important prey species, this study focused on the Indian desert gerbil Meriones hurrianae (IDG), a rodent native to the Thar Desert. My studies revealed that the IDG prefers to construct burrow systems mainly in mixed vegetation land cover, followed by agricultural lands with native vegetation, and shrublands. Although the combined mean relative abundance of Capparis decidua and Haloxylon salicornicum is less than 10%, most gerbil burrow systems were found beneath these two shrubs, along with Citrullus colosynthis. This rodent relies on these native plants for food and shelter, and its occurrence is positively correlated with their presence. The conversion of natural landscapes into croplands led to a significant decline in suitable habitats for native species in the Thar Desert, creating an idiosyncratic pattern characterised by the spatial confinement of both IDG and its predators into limited patches with adequate microhabitat conditions. Since the effects of grazing on gerbil presence remain uncertain, the occurrence probability of IDG can be mathematically estimated using habitat variables such as land cover types, availability of native shrubs providing food and shelter, and predator presence. As the sustenance of native biodiversity in this arid landscape depends on suitable land covers, legal protection and effective land use policies are essential for conserving the Thar Desert.
Arnab Chatterjee (Wed,) studied this question.