India once planted this tree on purpose to fight desertification. Decades later, it has become one of the very biodiversity threats it was meant to prevent.
🏛️ Must Know
Why Prosopis Juliflora Keeps Making News
- Reduces Local Biodiversity Prosopis juliflora is often in the news for one reason. It tends to reduce biodiversity in the areas where it spreads.
- Not About Cosmetics Its extract is not widely used in cosmetics, unlike some other plant species that make headlines for that reason.
- Not a Pesticide Source It is also not primarily known for pesticide synthesis, despite some minor research uses.
- One of the World’s Worst Invasives It ranks among the world’s 100 most dominant invasive species, spreading aggressively across arid and semi-arid regions.
Good to Know
📘 Good to Know
Why It Was Planted, and What It Displaces
- Originally Introduced to Help Prosopis juliflora was introduced to combat desertification and supply fuelwood. It was not planted with malicious intent.
- Displaces Native Grasses and Shrubs It has spread across landscapes, displacing native vegetation essential for wildlife and pastoral livelihoods.
- Blocks Access to Resources Dense Prosopis stands can block access to pasture, firewood, and water, forcing communities to travel farther.
📝 Previous Year Questions
UPSC CSP 2018 — Why Prosopis Juliflora Is Often in the News
- UPSC 2018 Prosopis juliflora is often mentioned in news because it tends to reduce the biodiversity in the area where it grows. See UPSC CSP 2018 GS Paper I, Q86. View this question.
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Great to Know
🌟 Great to Know
A Complicated Legacy in India’s Drylands
- A Real Nationwide Spread India loses roughly 15,500 square kilometres of natural area each year to fast-spreading invasive species like this one.
- Removal Helps Recovery Removing Prosopis has been shown to increase native species richness by up to 38% at some sites.
- Connects to Other PYQ Facts Its impact on grazing land connects it to Kharai camel habitat loss and other coastal- and dryland-species PYQs.
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