Impact of Altered Land Use Pattern on Small Mammalian Diversity of Hilly Tracts of Rajasthan, India

This chapter describes the studies made on the small mammalian fauna of the eastern hilly zone of the state, considering the paucity of the information on the subject. Since almost all the patches of land have been converted into crop field, the small mammalian diversity has undergone a series of changes and species replacements. Four study zones viz., crop fields and hilly tracks of Abu Hills, main Aravallis, southern Rajasthan, and southeastern Rajasthan were selected for the present study. The flora of every zone has also been mentioned in the text. Trapping of small mammals in every small field was done for almost seven years at a stretch. Out of the 15 species of small mammalian fauna found in the study areas, the insectivorous House Shrew is the most abundant species. Abu Hills have 12 species of rodents, while the southern part has eight species. Absence of Cutch Rock-rat in southeastern Rajasthan is surprising. The diversity of Aravalli has been greatly altered during the last decade possibly due to the impact of irrigation by Indira Gandhi irrigation canal. In search of shelter in upland bushes, small mammals have started moving toward the Thar which has resulted in increased diversity of destructive rodent species in the area. Other pressures faced by these animals have also been discussed.