Table of Contents:
- Soil Degradation
- Soil Degradation vs Soil desertification
- Status of Soil Degradation in India
- Reason for soil degradation
- The consequence of soil degradation
- Steps to prevent Soil degradation
What is soil degradation?
Soil degradation means a decline in soil fertility and soil productivity decline. It includes:
- The decline of biophysical nutrition from soils.
- Reduction of soil depth due to misuse or erosion
Soils Degradation Vs Soils Desertification:
Soil degradation means the decline of biophysical nutrients from soil whereas desertification means the reduction of soil moisture gradually from the soil.
Desertification is one of the reasons for soil degradation.
India status:
- 25% of India's land is affected by desertification and 30% of the land is degraded. 76 drought-prone districts and Ladakh.
- In Maharashtra, Timber Mafia contributed to deforestation that leads to soil erosion.
- In Jharkhand, excess mining leads to erosion.
- In Goa, mining and urbanization are causing soil degradation.
- Northeast states, that due to population growth, the cycle of Jhum cultivation gets shorted.
- In Andhra Pradesh; low rainfall contributed to soil acidity.
- Himachal Pradesh:
- Less snow and high rainfall deepen the desertification due to climatic change
- Soil degradation and soil desertification are two main environmental issues in India.
- Soil erosion
- Loss of vegetation cover due to deforestation and overgrazing
- Salinization of soil
- Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides
- Unsustainable fuelwood, fooder extraction, and Overgrazing
- Forest fire
- Inefficient irrigation practices.
- Shifting cultivation
- Improper cop rotational
- Desertification
- Climate change
Soil erosion:
Soil erosion means the destruction of soil cover or removal of topsoil cover.
The soil formation process and erosion process go simultaneously and a balance between soil formation and soil erosion should be maintained. Degradation of soil occurs if a larger rate of the soil.
Cause of soil erosion:
- Removal of forest and vegetation cover for human settlement, cultivation, and grazing animals.
- Wind erosion in arid and semi-arid regions.
- Heavy rainfall and steep slopes lead to sheet and gully erosion.
- Sheet Erosion:
- Heavier rainfall removes finer particles which are generally not noticeable and are called sheet erosion.
- Gully erosion:
- It is common on steeper slopes and agricultural land leads to small fragmentation and makes them unfit for cultivation.
- The region is called Badlands topography having the number of deep gullies or ravines.
- The widespread ravine is found in Chambal basins.
Deforestation and overgrazing:
- It is also a major cause of soil erosion as plant roots bind soils. Forest also adds organic content and humus which makes the soil fertile.
- Due to over-irrigation soil becomes saline.
- Due to evaporation, salt from the lower profile gets accumulated at the surface which destroys the fertilizer.
Chemical fertilizer:.
- The absence of humus makes soil hard which means reductions of air in the soil which leads to infertile.
- Chemical fertilizer kills the microorganisms in soils
Desertification is the thread to :
- Political instability
- Increase social and cultural conflict
- as it is happening in Africa for land and water.
- Forced migration and the burden of the population in other places get increased which leads to unsustainable practices.
What can we do?
- Dryland farming
- Sustainable land management
- Good agricultural practices
United national convention to combat desertification( UNCCD), a part of the Rio earth summit 1992. It is a legally binding treaty to signatory parties. The conference of the party( CoP) is the supreme body to make decisions and is held every two years.
Land desertification is a global problem and global cooperation is needed to combat desertification.
Land degradation and land desertification are two main environmental issues in India.
Try to solve the following questions:
- How does climate change affect the process of desertification of India? ( UPSC 2015, 200 words, 15 marks)
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