CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II

CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II fringes of these forests depends upon it. A part of the land is termed as waste land and land put to other non-agricultural uses. Waste land includes rocky, arid and desert areas and land put to other non-agricultural uses includes settlements, roads, railways, industry etc. Continuous use of land over a long period of time without taking appropriate measures to conserve and manage it, has resulted in land degradation. This, in turn, has serious repercussions on society and the environment. LAND DEGRADATION AND CONSERVATION MEASURES We have shared our land with the past generations and will have to do so with the future generations too. Ninety-five per cent of our basic needs for food, shelter and clothing are obtained from land. Human activities have not only brought about degradation of land but have also aggravated the pace of natural forces to cause damage to land. Some human activities such as deforestation, over grazing, mining and quarrying too have contributed significantly in land degradation. Mining sites are abandoned after excavation work is complete leaving deep scars and traces of over-burdening. In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha deforestation due to mining have caused severe land degradation. In states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra overgrazing is one of the main reasons for land degradation. In the states of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, over irrigation is responsible for land degradation due to water logging leading to increase in salinity and alkalinity in the soil. The mineral processing like grinding of limestone for cement industry and calcite and soapstone for ceramic industry generate huge quantity of dust in the atmosphere. It retards the process of infiltration of water into the soil after it settles down on the land. In recent years, industrial effluents as waste have become a major source of land and water pollution in many parts of the country. There are many ways to solve the problems of land degradation. Afforestation and proper management of grazing can help to some extent. Planting of shelter belts of plants, control on over grazing, stabilisation of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes are some of the methods to check land degradation in arid areas. Proper management of waste lands, control of mining activities, proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after treatment can reduce land and water degradation in industrial and suburban areas. SOIL AS A RESOURCE Soil is the most important renewable natural resource. It is the medium of plant growth and supports different types of living organisms on the earth. The soil is a living system. It takes millions of years to form soil upto a few cm in depth. Relief, parent rock or bed rock, climate, vegetation and other forms of life and time are important factors in the formation of soil. Various forces of nature such as change in temperature, actions of running water, wind and glaciers, activities of decomposers etc. contribute to the formation of soil. Chemical and organic changes which take place in the Subsoil weathered rocks sand and silt clay Substratum weathered parent rock material Unweathered parent bed rock Top soil the upper soil layer Fig. . : Soil Profile Reprint -