Made by : praveen kumar Roll no: 08cv736

As

the name suggests land degradation means loosing utility of land by various conditions and situations induced by human activities directly or indirectly . Natural hazards are excluded as a cause, however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and bushfires. Land degradation occurs when the land becomes unstable. Land degradation can display as a loss of vegetative cover, an undesirable change to the soil (eg. salinity), or as soil erosion.

Land degradation is a global problem, largely related to agricultural use. The major causes include: Land clearance, such as clearcutting and deforestation Agricultural depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming practices Inappropriate Irrigation and overdrafting Urban sprawl and commercial development Land pollution including industrial waste Vehicle off-roading Quarrying of stone, sand, ore and minerals

Accelerated soil erosion by wind and water Soil acidification and the formation of acid sulfate soil resulting in barren soil Soil alkalinisation owing to irrigation with water containing sodium bicarbonate leading to poor soil structure and reduced crop yields Soil salination in irrigated land requiring soil salinity control to reclaim the land Soil waterlogging in irrigated land which calls for some form of subsurface land drainage to remediate the negative effects Destruction of soil structure including loss of organic matter

 These

land degradation processes include: Soil erosion Salinity Soil acidification Soil compaction Soil sodicity Soil fertility decline Acid sulfate soils Movement of nutrients and pesticides Effects of ponded pastures