B.

Com (Computer Application)-Semester III

Course Name-Environmental Studies
Topic-Land Resources

Reference Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt-e8963oe4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3VTOwqT_RI

 Land is one of the most important natural resources and It covers up only 29% of
the earth’s surface.
 All parts of the land are not habitable.
 The availability of rich and fertile land makes it suitable for living.
 Land resource is our basic resource. It is useful to us as a source of food, as a
place to live, work and play. It is a productive economic factor in agriculture,
forestry, grazing, fishing and mining. It is considered as a foundation of social
prestige and is the basis of wealth and political power
 Land resources can be taken to mean the resources available from the land. the
agricultural land, the underground water, the various minerals like coal, bauxite,
gold and other raw materials. In a wider sense, land resource can also mean the
land available for exploitation, like non-agricultural lands for buildings,
developing townships etc.
 Land resources includes natural resources for an example - gold , timber , coal ,
iron ore , uranium, oil, water , soil , air , plants, and animals.
 Land is a vital resource to humankind, like air and water.
 Land degradation the deterioration or loss of the productive capacity of the
soils for present and future
Importance of Land Resources
Land is used for a variety of purposes say for agriculture, setting up of industries,
building houses, airports, shopping, malls, mining, forestry, construction of roads,
railway offices, etc.
 The human civilization has thrived on land.
  Land is used for agriculture.
 Land contains huge amount of mineral deposits.
 It also contains water in the form of underground water.
 Most of the animals find their habitat on land.
 Land directly or indirectly provides all the resources required to fulfil the basic
needs of humans: food, cloth, and shelter.
Land Degradation
 Land is a vital resource to humankind, like air and water.
 Land degradation the deterioration or loss of the productive capacity of the
soils for present and future
 It can be define as Any change that decreases productivity of the land

Causes of Land Degradation

 Population: More land is needed for producing food, fibre and fuel wood. So
land is degraded due to over exploitation.
 Urbanisation reduces the agricultural land. Urbanisation leads to
deforestation, which in turn affects millions of plants and animals.
 Fertilizers and pesticides It affects fertility of the soil and causes land
pollution.
 Soil Erosion- Soil erosion is the displacement of the upper layer of soil; it is a
form of soil degradation.
 Deforestation forests play an important role in maintaining fertility of soil by
shedding their leaves which contain many nutrients. Forests are also helpful
in binding up of soil particles with the help of roots of vegetation. Therefore,
cutting о forests will affect the soil adversely.

 Overgrazing occurs when plants are unprotected to intensive grazing for

extended periods of time, or without enough recovery periods. It can be a
result of either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, or by
overpopulations of native or non-native wild animals.
  Overgrazing reduces the usefulness, biodiversity, and productivity of the land
and is one cause of desertification and erosion.

 Desertification is a widespread process of land degradation in arid, semi-

arid, and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including
climatic variations and human activities. The UNO Conference on
Desertification (1977) has defined desertification as the “diminution or
destruction of the biological potential of land, and can lead ultimately to
desert like conditions.”

 The sudden movement of the soil and the weathered rock material down the
slope due to the force of gravity is called a landslide. Lad-slides are common
in mountainous regions especially those which are situated along the river
banks or near the coastline.

Prevention and Control Measures for Land Degradation

1. Strip farming:

It is & practice in which cultivated crops are sown in alternative strips to prevent water
movement.

2. Crop Rotation:

It is one of the agricultural practice in which different crops are grown in same area
following a rotation system which helps in replenishment of the soil.

4. Construction of Dams:

This usually checks or reduces the velocity of run off so that soil support vegetation.

5. Contour Farming:

This type of farming is usually practiced across the hill side and is useful in collecting
and diverting the run off to avoid erosion.