Prosopis juliflora

• In a pilot project, work to remove Vilayati Kikar (Prosopis juliflora) will start at Central Ridge in Delhi in order to restore its natural biodiversity.
• Vilayati Kikar is an invasive species first imported into India by British as an exotic and decorative species.
• Prosopis Juliflora is a shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae.
• Also known as Vilayati Babool, it is native to Mexico, South America and the Caribbean.
• An important fuelwood in dry regions, it can survive hostile drought-like conditions.

Negative impact

• It causes stomach poisoning in livestock by inducing a permanent impairment of its ability to digest cellulose.
• It causes drying up of water bodies and ground water as it absorbs more than 4 litres of water to obtain one kg of biomass.
• It cannot even shelter birds as it produces less oxygen and more carbon dioxide.
• It causes land erosion due to the loss of the grasslands that are habitats for native plants and animals.