Land degradation is the over exploitation and depletion of land resources, such as, soil, forests, and pasture

land.

It happens as a result of deforestation and desertification.

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR LAND DEGRADATION

Deforestation
Soil Erosion

Mining activities
Solid waste disposal

Agricultural practices

WHAT IS A FOREST?

It is a plant community consisting of trees and woody vegetation with a more or less closed canopy.

It is a renewable resource with rich flora and fauna It provides fuel wood, timber and other forest produce.

Cleans the air Protects the soil Influences the environment to make it habitable

What is Deforestation?
Deforestation is the permanent conversion of forests to other uses such as; pastures,
shifting

cultivation,

agricultural land ...

Shifting Cultivation is preceded by slash and burn of forests leading to massive deforestation

or for other activities, like Setting up industries

Building roads and railway tracks

Road building in the Amazon forest

Constructing dams

Effects of deforestation on the general environment:

loss of genetic material, Loss of flora and fauna

decline in agricultural productivity due to massive soil erosion and landscape degradation

Increase in levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide leading to the melting of polar ice caps and thus causing the sea level to rise.

IMPACT OF DEFORESTATION ON HUMAN POPULATIONS Under develop ment

Low Quality of Life

Poverty

MEASURES TO CHECK DESTRUCTION OF FORESTS -Proper management of forests A forest sensitive development policy

Extensive afforestation in degraded areas

Desertification:

A process by which land becomes increasingly infertile and unproductive until almost no vegetation grows on it, making it a desert.This could happen due to soil erosion, increasing salinity or water logging.

Mining Activities

:the two types of mining activities;

open cast and underground mining, lead to the deposition of ore on adjacent sites.This not only causes unwanted occupation of land, but when this ore is washed out to agricultural fields the debris blocks drainage channels and results in water logging. The other environmental problem is run off of acids and toxic substances into nearby surface water and soil erosion.

Overgrazing

:it results in the absence of ground

vegetation, which causes soil erosion, gradual depletion of soil organisms, ultimately leading to the transformation of land into wasteland.

Soil erosion

:It is a natural and normal

process, by which the earths crust is constantly eroded under the forces of weathering

Solid waste disposal

:any unwanted or discharged

non-liquid waste material generated from domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural activities

WHAT IS AFFORESTATION?
Afforestation involves plantation in wastelands, degraded government lands, private and village panchayat land, road sides, canal banks, along railway lines etc. the purpose is to grow trees and other vegetation to provide green cover which may be of commercial importance.
see an example of successful afforestation at Kudremukh, Karnataka where iron ore mines had ravaged the landscape