Cholistan Desert, Pakistan Item Type text; Article Authors Akbar, Ghulam; Khan, Taj Naseeb; Arshad, Mohammad Citation Akbar, G., Khan, T. N., & Arshad, M. (1996). Cholistan Desert, Pakistan. Rangelands, 18(4), 124-128. Publisher Society for Range Management Journal Rangelands Rights Copyright © Society for Range Management. Download date 01/10/2021 23:28:21 Item License http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Version Final published version Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/640412 124 RANGELANDS 18(4), August 1996 Cholistan Desert, Pakistan Ghulam Akbar, Taj Naseeb Khan and MohammadArshad angelands in Pakistan constitute resorted sandy desert and comprised a century or so. The Hakra civilization about 70% of the total area of of river terraces, large sand dunes, that flourished here was one of the Rthe country. The importance of ridges and depressions (Baig et al. longest in the course of world history. range managementas a discipline 1980; Khan 1987). It was also the earliest civilization of was not recognized until 1954 when a the Indian subcontinent. In cultural development project with the U.S. advancement it can be compared with Government technical and financial History the Mesopotamian, Anatolian, assistance was initiated in Balochistan Egyptian, and Babylonian civilizations province (Rafi 1965). This project Around 4000 B.C. the Cholistan was No one is sure how this a cradle of civilization (FAO 1993). helped policy makers and natural commonly great Aryan civilization ended. resource managers to identify clear known as the Hakra valley civilization. a of such This was when the river Hakra flowed Probably variety problems goals. Range managementwas initiat- as hostile invading tribes, changes in ed with a number of research and through the region. The river supplied the course of the river and of water until 1200 B.C. depletion development projects in areas falling permanent irrigation facilities contributed to the About 600 B.C. it became in under different ecological zones. Initial irregular ultimate disappearance of this great demonstrated flow and vanished within projects successfully consequently civilization (Khan 1987; FAO 1993). some of the water harvesting and sand dune stabilization techniques. Establishment of potentially promising local and introduced forage species in 70 71 72 the Thai desert were also important initial projects. The government has now started its attention on Cl-lot_I STAN focussing DE SERT the, long ignored, Cholistan desert. Cholistan desert, an extension of Great Indian Desert, is located in southern Punjab province between lat- itudes 27°42' and 29° 45' north and longitude 69° 52' and 75° 24' east (Baig et al. 1980). This desert is com- 4 prised of about 2.6 million hectares q. (FAO 1993). This desert has a length 4- of about 480 km while the width varies 4 from 32 to 192 km (Khan 1987; Chaudhry 1992). Based on the topog- raphy, parent material, soil and vege- 'p + tation the whole Cholistan desert can 0 be divided into two geomorphic I N 0 I A The northern or Lesser regions. region PI4STAN Cholistan borders canal irrigated areas and covers about 7,770 km2 and the southern region or Greater Cholistan is comprised of 18,130 km2. The 7 2. Lesser Cholistan consists of saline alluvial flats (locally called 'dahars') Scale I2,OOO,OOO alternating with low sandy ridges. The _p_ ao so iO a.,. clayey flats of Lesser Cholistan are generally homogenous to a depth ranging from 30 to 90 cm. These soils - are classified as either saline or Ji2 saline-sodic, with pH ranging from 8.2 to 8.4 and from 8.8 to 9.6, respective- Map of Pakistanshowing location of Cholistandesert. ly. The Greater Cholistan is a wind RANGELANDS 18(4), August 1996 125 Climate the entire territory. These plant of water and forage. The onset of species, though slow growing, monsoon and the distributionof rainfall Cholistan is a hot arid sandy desert. respond very well to the favorable cli- mainly dictate the pattern of move- The mean annual rainfall varies from matic conditions and provide ample ment of nomadic herders. Around the less than 100 mm in the west to 200 biomass for livestock consumption. months of March or April, nomadic mm in the east. Rain usually falls dur- Important genera of grasses include households move towards surrounding ing monsoon (July through Cenchrus, Lasiurus and Panic'um. irrigated areas forced there by rising September) and in winter and spring Favored shrubs include Calligonum temperature in the desert and deplet- (January through March). Monsoon and Holoxylon and Prosopis, Zizyphus ed feed and water resources. The rains occur mostly in heavy showers. and Acacia are notable indigenous incentives for this movement include Cholistan is one of the hottest deserts trees (Rao and Arshad 1991). Each temporary employment opportunities in Pakistan. Mean minimum and maxi- site is represented by typical plant within the irrigatedfarming community, mum temperatures are 20° and 40° C, species based on availability of soil grazing of livestock on wheat stubbles, respectively.Temperatures are high in moisture, salinity and plant character- drinking water for human and livestock summer and mostly mild in winterwith istics. and readily available markets for live- no frost. The mean summer tempera- stock and livestock byproducts. ture (May-June) is 34° C with highs Farmers in the irrigated areas in turn reaching nearly 50° C. Annual rainfall Soda-Economic Aspects obtain sufficient labor for crop harvest- is highly variable both on temporal and ing and other farming operations and spatial scales. Aridity is the most strik- The total human population of animal manure to enhance soil fertility ing feature of Cholistan with wet and Cholistan desert is around 1.2 million. through camping of livestock on fallow dry years occurring in clusters. The The economy of the region is predomi- fields. The nomads and their herds have Cholistan was formed predominantly nantly pastoral. People practiced return back to the deserts around July by the deposition of aeolian sands or a nomadic life style for centuries. or August with the news of first mon- alluvium deposits. The alluvium Large herds of camels, cattle, sheep soon showers. Distances travelled and deposits are composed of granites, goats are owned by the nomads. during this migration vary from 10 to schists, gneiss and slates. The soils of The area is not served by a modern 100 km. While in the desert natural Cholistan are generally saline, alkaline communicationsystem and can be tra- vegetation is the main source of feed and gypsiferous. The dunes reach an versed by either camels or jeeps. for livestock. Tobas serve as Local grazing average height of about 100 m. people use camels as a mode of drinking water both for nomads and There are no permanent, natural transportation. Habitations are small their livestock. Tobas are made in and bodies of surface water in Cholistan. extremely scattered (Baig et al. clayey flats locally called dahars in a Factors like low rainfall, high rate of 1980). catchment area to avoid heavy water water infiltration into the sands, and The pastoral system is characterized percolation. Tobas belonging to the high evaporation rate prevent the nat- by mass migrations of animals and same clan are located close the in generally ural accumulation of surface water people throughout year search to each other (often within 1 km (FAO 1993). Fresh (rain) water is col- lected in locally made water ponds called 'tobas. Undergroundwater is at a depth of 30-40 m which, with a few exceptions, is brackish containing salts 9,000-24,000 ppm (Baig et al.. 1980). Natural Vegetation The vegetation in Cholistan is typical of arid regions and consists of xero- phytic species which are adapted to extreme seasonal temperatures, mois- ture fluctuations and wide variety of edaphic conditions. Compared to the hyper arid southern region, vegetation cover is comparatively better in east- ern Cholistan (200 mm rainfall zone). Most of Cholistan is covered by sand dunes. Fortunately, a wide range of nutritious and tolerant drought species A of grasses, shrubs and trees occupy local herder with sheep and goats grazing in the desert. 126 RANGELANDS 18(4), August1996 radius). At the start of the rainy sea- Figure 1. The figure reveals average grazed rangelands. An increasing live- son, livestock graze within one or 2 km annual herd increase of 2.7% for cattle stock population accompaniedwith radius of each toba. This distance and 3.4% for goats and a slight cutting of vegetation by the desert increases to about 15 km as the sea- decline in the numbers of sheep and pastoralists for meeting their domestic son progresses. During October and camels. All livestock are indigenous requirements for construction of November, when water resources breeds well suited to the environment. thatched houses, fuelwood and cloth become almost totally depleted, each Herd reproductiveperformance is nat- washing has seriously deterioratedthe clan moves its herds to semi-perma- urally poor with low birth rates and plant cover (FAQ 1993). One should nent centers equipped with a series of high mortality (FAQ 1993). also realize that most of the native traditional (hand-dug and unlined) vegetation of Cholistan is either mod- wells and kunds (usually lined) (FAO erately palatable or unpalatable due to 1993). Range Management:Past and selective and persistent grazing of the The nomads manage their mixed Present palatable species. livestock in such a way that milking Although range areas are in poor cows are moved nearby the urban Total area available in Cholistan for grazing shape they have potential for centers where milk is sold readily grazing is estimated to be 2.3 million development.There is a dire need for hectares.The Greater Cholistan is sel- while otheranimals like camels, goats, research directed toward improving sheep and bullocks are kept in the dom used for grazing due to lack of carrying capacities of Cholistan desert for grazing.