What is Land Degradation - Burning Issues

Table of Contents

Land degradation is the process of deterioration of soil or loss of fertility of soil. The causes of land degradation can be divided into natural hazards, direct causes, and underlying causes.
Natural hazards are the conditions of the physical environment which lead to the existence of a high degradation hazard, for example steep slopes as a hazard for water erosion.

Soil degradation is the decline in soil quality caused by its improper use, usually for agricultural, pastoral, industrial or urban purposes.
Soil degradation is a serious global environmental problem and may be exacerbated by climate change.
It encompasses physical (soil erosion), chemical (salinity and alkalinity, pollution) and biological deterioration (pollution and deterioration of vegetal cover).

Causes

Population
Human Activities
Urbanization
Fertilizers and Pesticides• Damage to top soil

Deforestation

‘Deforestation’ is the conversion of forest to another land use or the long-term reduction of tree canopy cover below the 10% threshold. Deforestation defined broadly can include not only conversion to non-forest but also degradation that reduces forest quality – the density and structure of the trees, the ecological services supplied, the biomass of plants and animals, the species diversity and the genetic diversity.

Expansion of farming land.

Shifting cultivation.
Demand for firewood.
Demand of wood for industry and commercial purposes.
Urbanization and developmental projects.
Increase of wildlife tourism.
Overpopulation and poverty.
Construction of dam reservoirs.
Shifting cultivation
In this practice a patch of land is cleared, vegetation is burned, and the ash is mixed with the soil thus adding nutrients to the soil.
Plantation Boom
Increase in demand for cocoa, coffee, tea, sugar, palm oil, rubber etc. have resulted in deforestation in the tropical rainforests.
Forests recycle moisture (natural motors) from soil into their immediate atmosphere by transpiration where it again precipitates as rain.
Deforestation results in an immediate lowering of groundwater level
Deforestation affects the biota and neighbouring ecosystems, soil erosion, land degradation, alteration of groundwater channels, pollution and scarce.
Overgrazing
During the rainy season, there is plenty of vegetation and animals get enough fodder.
But during the dry period, there is a shortage of fodder, and the grass is grazed to the ground and torn out by the roots by animals.
Much of the soil erosion in India is caused by faulty methods of agriculture.
Wrong ploughing, lack of crop rotation and practice of shifting cultivation are the most adversely affecting methods of agriculture.
If the fields are ploughed along the slope, there is no obstruction to the flow of water and the water washes away the topsoil easily.

Desertification

Desertification is the spread of desert-like conditions in arid or semi-arid areas due to man’s influence or climatic change.
A large part of the arid and semi-arid region lying between the Indus and the Aravalli range is affected by spreading desert conditions.
Waterlogging
The flat surfaces and depressions result in waterlogging.
Waterlogged soils are soaked with water accumulated during the rainy season or due to leakage from various water sources.
The extent of waterlogged soils is about 12 million hectares in India – half of which lies along the coast and the other half in the inland area.

Soil Conservation

Soil conservation is the prevention of soil from erosion or reduced fertility caused by overuse, acidification, salinisation or other chemical soil contamination.
Soil erosion is the greatest single evil to Indian agriculture and animal husbandry.

Remedial Measures

Intensive development schemes for afforestation should be adopted. High yielding varieties should be planted in suitable areas.
• Latest techniques of seasoning and preservation are necessary to avoid wastage.
• Proper arrangement to save forests from fires and plant diseases can go a long way to solve several problems.
• A thorough inventory of forest resources is necessary to make an accurate assessment of our forest resources and make plans for their proper use.
Shifting cultivation should be discouraged and tribals depending on this type of cultivation should be provided with alternate sources of livelihood.
• People associated with forest protection should be properly trained.
Survey and inventorisation of floral and faunal resources are carried out by Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). The Forest Survey of India assesses the forest cover to develop an accurate database for planning and monitoring purposes.
Biological Diversity Act 2002 has been enacted and Biological Diversity Rules 2004 have been notified, which aim at conservation of biological resources of the country and regulation of access to these resources to ensure equitable sharing of benefits arising out of their use.
Environmental Impact Assessment of developmental projects and preparation of Environmental Management Plan as per the provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment notification of September, 2006.
Adoption of cleaner technologies and use of improved fuel quality.
Regular monitoring of industrial units for environmental compliance.
Crop Rotation
Adopting sustainable agricultural practices is the most important measure to conserve soil.
In many parts of India, a particular crop is sown in the same field year after year. This practice leads to exhaustion of certain nutrients in the soil making it infertile.

Strip Cropping

Crops may be cultivated in alternate strips, parallel to one another. Some strips may be allowed to lie fallow while in other different crops may be sown.
Various crops are harvested at different intervals. This ensures that at no time of the year the entire area is left bare or exposed.
Contour Ploughing
If ploughing is done at right angles to the hill slope, the ridges and furrows break the flow of water down the hill.
This prevents excessive soil loss as gullies are less likely to develop and also reduce run-off so that plants receive more water.
Afforestation
It includes the prevention of forest destruction along with growing new forests or increase area under forests.
A minimum area 20 to 25 per cent of forest land was considered healthy for soil and water conservation for the whole country.
It was raised to 33 per cent in the second five-year plan – 20 per cent for the plains and 60 per cent for hilly and mountainous regions.
Terrace farming
In terracing, a number of terraces are cut along the hill slope.
These are made on the steep slopes so that flat surfaces are available to grow crops. They can reduce surface run-off and soil erosion.
India is facing a severe problem of land degradation ie. soil becoming unfit for cultivation. About 29% or about 96.4 million hectares are considered degraded.
To fight this menace, India will convert degraded land of nearly 50 lakh (5 million) hectares to fertile land in the next 10 years (between 2021 and 2030).

Sustainable management of land

Management on overgrazing: Management practices like water development, placement of salt and supplements, fertilizer application, fencing, burning can control the overgrazing.
• Managing irrigation: Irrigation system can be controlled like drip irrigation to reduce soil erosion. Using high and low salt water was most effective in maintaining the productive capacity of the clay soil.
• Managing urban sprawl: The urban planning is the most important factor, to control the urban sprawl. Fertile field near by the urbane area need to be protected by the local government rules. There should be a proper waste management system dumping of these waste generated as part of urban sprawling will degrade the land, can cause soil salinity, acidity and loss of it vegetative properties.
Managing mining and quarrying: The impact can be reduced by proper management of mining process, using advanced technologies rather than conventional methods. After mining by proper back filling, spreading the soil back over the top, the land can be reclaimed.
• Managing agricultural intensification: Agricultural intensification need to be managed properly to reduce the environmental effect. This can be done through education of the farmers.

Q. Which of the following is/are the possible consequence/s of heavy sand mining in riverbeds? (2018)

Decreased salinity in the river
Pollution of groundwater
Lowering of the water-table

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
1 ,2 and 3

Q.)Consider the following statements regarding the land and soil resources:
I.   Rapid increase in human population has placed a great strain on the land and soil resources resulting in land degradation and soil erosion.
II.   Soil is the uppermost layer of the earth’s crust, which can be dug or ploughed, and in which plants grow.
III.   Land is a solid, substratum which supports human and many other organisms.Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a.   Only I
b.   I and II
c.   II and III
d.   All of the above
Consider the following statements regarding the land and soil resources:
I.   Rapid increase in human population has placed a great strain on the land and soil resources resulting in land degradation and soil erosion.
II.   Soil is the uppermost layer of the earth’s crust, which can be dug or ploughed, and in which plants grow.
III.   Land is a solid, substratum which supports human and many other organisms.Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a.   Only I
b.   I and II
c.   II and III
d.   All of the above
Consider the following statements regarding the soil and land conservation:
I.   Soil erosion is the loosening and displacement of topsoil particles from the land.
II.   Soil erosion is a natural process that occurs on all lands.
III.   Land degradation is the deterioration in the quality of land.Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a.   Only I
b.   I and II
c.   II and III
d.   All of the above
Consider the following statements regarding the soil and land conservation:
I.   Soil erosion is the loosening and displacement of topsoil particles from the land.
II.   Soil erosion is a natural process that occurs on all lands.
III.   Land degradation is the deterioration in the quality of land.Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a.   Only I
b.   I and II
c.   II and III
d.   All of the above