Explanation:

The state of Rajasthan has recorded a negligible increase of 25sqkm forest area, according to India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2021.

Out of the total geographical area of 3,42,239sqkm, the present forest cover is 16,655sqkm, which is 4.87%.

According to the report, while very dense forest (VDF) area remained unchanged from 2019 with 78sqkm, the moderately dense forest (MDF) witnessed a small increase from 4,342sqkm in 2019 to 4,369sqkm in 2021.

Experts claimed that while the survey report is robust in terms of data, it does not take into consideration few other parameters including the quality of the vegetation and biodiversity which means that even though the forest cover might not have increased considerably, it has improved in terms of quality.

IFSR said the reasons for increase were plantation and conservation activities as well as improvement in interpretation.

The forest cover is broadly classified in four classes — Very dense forest, Moderately dense forest, Open forest and Mangrove.

The classification of the cover into dense and open forests is based on internationally adopted norms of classification.