Department of Microbiology

I B. Sc., Microbiology

Course Title : Environmental Studies

Course Code : 22ANC01

Unit/Class : 1/3 - 4

Natural Resources
SNAPTALK

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 2

 NEWS READING
Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 3
Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 4
Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 5
Contents

Food Resources

Impacts Of Over Grazing

Effects Of Modern Agriculture

Food Security

Energy Resources

Land Resources

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 6

 Food resources

Food comes from the three sources

 Croplands: that provide 76 % of
the total, mostly grains.
 Rangelands: that produce meat
mostly from grazing livestock,
accounting for about 17% of the
total food.
 Fisheries: That supply the remaining
7 per cent

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 7

 World Food Problem
Natural Disasters

Poverty

Demand on Fertilizers

Global Food Prices

Uncontrolled populations

Foreign Companies

Undernourishment

Malnourishment

Over nutrition
Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 8
 Impacts of Over-Grazing
 Overgrazing: India leads in livestock population in the world. The
huge population of livestock needs to be fed and the grazing
lands or pasture areas are not adequate.
 Soil erosion
 Land Degradation
 The humus content
 Lower the level of nutrients
 Lose of water percolation
 Decline in organic recycling
 Loss of useful species
 Floods
 Reduction in plant diversity
Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 9
 Impact of Agriculture
Changes brought about by agriculture on environment can broadly be
divided into three classes
1. Local Changes
a) Soil erosion
b) Pollution of rivers
c) Poisoning of fish
d) Depletion of nutrients
2. Regional changes
a) Deforestation
b) Desertification
c) Soil infertility
d) large pollution
3. Global changes
a) Climatic changes
b) Global warming
Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 10
 Effects of Modern Agriculture

Impacts related to high yielding varieties(HYVs): loss of genotype and

attack of pathogens and pests
1. Water-logging
2. Salinity problem
3. Fertilizers related problems
a) Micronutrient Imbalance
b) Nitrate pollution
c) Eutrophication
4. Pesticide related problem
a) Creating resistance- Super PESTs
b) Biological Magnification-Accumalation of pesticides
c) Death of non-target organisms

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 11

 Food Security means

availability,

accessibility &

affordability of food to all people at all times.

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 12

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 13
 Need for Food Security

• For the poor sections of the society

• Natural disasters or calamity like earthquake, drought,
flood, tsunami,
• Widespread crop failure due to drought

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 14

How drought affects food security

Drought takes place

Total
production of food grains

Shortage of food in the

affected areas

Prices

Some people
cannot afford to buy food = Food
Insecurity
Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 15
States facing problem of food insecurity

• Uttar Pradesh (eastern and south-eastern parts)

• Bihar
• Jharkhand
• Orissa
• West Bengal
• Chhattisgarh
• Parts of Madhya Pradesh
• Maharashtra

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 16

Hunger, another aspect of Food Insecurity

Chronic Seasonal Due agricultural

Hunger Inadequate diet Hunger activities-rural
for a long time regions & urban
areas- casual
labour

Poor people When a person is

suffer from unable to get
chronic hunger work for the
entire year

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 17

Energy Resources
Renewable Energy Sources
 Renewable sources of energy or flow sources, rely on natural
energy flows and sources in the environment and thus have the
potential of being continually replenished.
 These include firewood, animal dung, solar energy, wind energy,
geothermal energy, tidal energy, etc.
Non-renewable Energy Sources
• Non-renewable energy sources are available in limited amount
and develop over a longer period.
• Because of indiscriminate use they are likely to be exhausted in
the near future.
• These include coal, mineral oil, natural gas, nuclear power, etc.
Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 18
Renewable Sources of
Energy
 Solar Energy

 Wind Energy

 Tidal Energy

 Geothermal Energy

 Biomass Based Energy (natural

vegetation, animal waster)

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 19

 Non-Renewable Sources of Energy

 Coal
 Natural gas and oil
 Nuclear energy
 Controversial, because use of the
radioactive substance but it does
not emit any green house gas or
toxic gases.

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 20

 Use of alternative source of energy
 15 European union nations including Spain and Germany have committed
that by 2020; these countries will generate 20% of the energy using
alterative energy resources.
 Alternative energy resources not only save the non renewable energy
resources from being used up but also it’s a green and clean technology.
 India has also taken several initiatives to promote the non renewable energy
resources.
 Currently, India is in 4th position in the world in generating wind energy.
 With the increasing price of petroleum, alternative energy resources are not
optional but mandatory.
 India plans to manufacture biodiesel from vegetable oil.
 The cost of setting up a biomass plant is same as that of coal based power
plant.

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 21

Limitation of alternative energy sources
 Alternative sources provide a ray of hope.
 High installation costs and require maintenance.
 Short in availability of material which may be used in
designing and manufacturing, like as supply of silicon is short
which is essential for photovoltaic cell.
 Lack of human capital, affect the whole energy industry
worldwide.
 Still, the benefits are driving governments, businesses and
individuals all-over the world to adopt this technology.

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 22

 Energy Recovery

 The concept is to get energy by burning the waste

 By this principle the main benefits what we can get…
1. Longer availability of crude oil.
2. Reduction of waste volume by upto 90%.
3. Reduced number of coal fired power plants.
4. Slow climate change.
 Waste to energy plants (which is much advanced today) extract
energy from trash
 This plant reduces the emission of green house gases
 Disadvantages…
1. Proper care must be taken on choosing the trash which is to be
burn.
2. Indiscriminate burning may promote air pollution and may release
toxic gases.
3. Combustion of heavy metals are
Dr. A. Vinoth very
Kanna (SKASC)harmful. 23
 Urban Problems Related to Energy
The energy requirement in urban areas is many times greater than that
in rural areas because of the following reasons:
 Activities that require large amounts of energy (industries, institutions,
transportation, etc.) are concentrated in urban areas.
 Urban people have a higher standard of living compared to rural
people and hence demand more energy for comfortable living.

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 24

 Land Resources
The Importance of Land
 Land is used for agriculture which contain minerals
 It also contains water in the form of underground water.
 Most of the animals find their habitat on land and in addition gives
direct and indirect resources to humans.
Soil Profile
 Soil profile is a vertical cross section from surface down to the parent
materials and the horizons are sometimes also called as zones.
 The soil profile is important tool for nutrient management and soil fertility.
 Five most common horizons are collectively known as master horizons.
 Study of soil profile is essential for proposed the soil structure and for
technical descriptions.

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 25

 Functions of Soil
 Role in nutrient cycles
 In agriculture
 Regulate the water
 Regulate the emissions of gases
 Degrade pollutants and filter ground water
 Producing clay
 Provide the structural material as brick, cement etc.
 Sequester carbon as organic matter.
Land Degradation
The fertility of land supports the growth and productivity of natural vegetation and
agricultural crops by natural and man made factors lowers the land quality called as
land degradation.
Causes of land degradation Anthropogenic factors
Natural factors  Mining.
 Heavy rains  Urbanization
 High speed wind and storms  The indiscriminate and uncontrolled removal
of trees
 Natural disasters like earthquakes,
 Excess use of fertilizers
floods, prolonged drought, etc.  Industrial discharges
 Overgrazing, soil erosion, etc..
Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 26
Soil Erosion
Soil erosion is removal of top soil from its resting place by various
physical agencies like wind and water.
Causes of Soil Erosion
 Large-scale deforestation for meeting commercial as well
as day-to-day needs
 Heavy floods in rivers
 Overgrazing by cattle
 Dry violent winds
 Improper agricultural techniques
Effects of Soil Erosion
 Desertification of land
 Decrease in productivity of land
 Reduction in the agricultural land at the banks of rivers
 Deposition of soil in river beds and canals causing diversion of their natural flow and hence
leading to disasters
Methods of Controlling Soil Erosion Control of overgrazing
Reduced tillage Construction of small check dams
Contour cultivation Promotion of equitable use of water resources
Strip cropping Prevention of excavation of rocks
Terracing
Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 27
A forestation on barren land
 Methods to control Soil Erosion

Strip cropping Contour banding

Construction of small check dams

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 28

Afforestation Terracing
Desertification: Conversion of fertile land into an infertile desert land is
called desertification.
Causes of Desertification Anthropogenic Factors
Natural Factors Overgrazing
Very low rainfall Over irrigation
High salinity of soils Excessive ploughing
Excessive evaporation Excessive use of fertilizers
Vast difference in diurnal Continuous cutting of trees
temperature extremes Effects of Desertification
 Poor soil quality
 Rapid soil erosion
 Unfavorable climate
 Huge economic losses
 Low water table, salty and hard water
Control of Desertification
 Promoting large-scale plantation of trees
 Changing agricultural practices and promoting dry land farming
 Development of pasture lands (suitable for Grazing) and control of overgrazing
 Promoting equitable use of water resources
Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 29
 Development of water catchment areas.
• Water
• Deforestation
• Salinity
• Desertification
• Grazing

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 30

 Summary

• The Earth's natural resources are vital to the survival and

development of the human population.
• However, these resources are limited by the Earth's capability
to renew them.
• Freshwater, forests and harvesting products are renewable,
provided that exploitation does not exceed regeneration.
• Fossil fuels and metal ores are non-renewable.
• Although many effects of overexploitation are felt locally, the
growing interdependence of nations, and international trade in
natural resources, make their demand and sustainable
management a global issue.

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 31

 Points to Ponder
Natural resources are a component of the environmental setting.

The environmental setting embraces the totality of materials, features and

processes of landscapes.

These environmental settings give the regions of the world their own, quite
specific and distinctive settings with different options concerning the
transmutations of materials and energy.

The materials, features and processes which are usable constitute the potential
of the landscape.

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 32

MCQs
• 1. Which of the following is a disadvantage of renewable energy?
a) High pollution b) Available only in few places
c) High running cost d) Unreliable supply
• 2. A Solar cell is an electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into
electricity by the ____________
a) Photovoltaic effect b) Chemical effect
c) Atmospheric effect d) Physical effect
• 3. Wood is a renewable resource.
a) True b) False
• 4. In hydroelectric power, what is necessary for the production of power throughout
the year?
a) Dams filled with water b) High amount of air
c) High intense sunlight d) Nuclear power
View Answer
• 5. The main composition of biogas is _______________
a) Methane b) Carbon dioxide
c) Nitrogen d) Hydrogen

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 33

• 6. Which Ministry is mainly responsible for research and development in renewable
energy sources such as wind power, small hydro, biogas and solar power?
a) Human Resource Development b) Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
c) Ministry of New and Renewable Energy d) Health and Family Welfare

• 7. Which among the following have a large amount of installed grid interactive renewable
power capacity in India?
a) Wind power b) Solar power
c) Biomass power d) Small Hydro power

• 8. The world’s first 100% solar powered airport located at ____________

a) Cochin, Kerala b) Bengaluru, Karnataka
c) Chennai, Tamil Nadu d) Mumbai, Maharashtra

• 9. Which of the following is not under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy?
a) Wind energy b) Solar energy
c) Tidal energy d) Large hydro

• 10. Where is the largest Wind Farm located in India?

a) Jaisalmer Wind Park, Rajasthan
b) Muppandal Wind Farm, Tamil Nadu
c) Vaspet Wind Farm, Maharashtra
d) Chakala Wind Farm, Maharashtra

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 34

Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 35
Dr. A. Vinoth Kanna (SKASC) 36