Natural Resources

WHAT WILL BE DISCUSSED IN THIS

UNIT?
 Definition
 Natural Resource ( NR) is defined as a form of
energy and/or matter which is essential for the
functioning of organisms, population and
ecosystem.
 NR is essential for the fulfillment of
 physiological,
 social,
 economical and
 cultural

needs at the individual and community levels.

Classification
 Natural
Resource

Biotic Abiotic Flow

e.g. forest, fish, e.g. petrol, oil,
e.g. wind, water,
wildlife etc. gas, minerals
tides etc.
etc.
 Natural
Resource

Recyclable Non Recyclable

All living beings- Air, water, food, shelter, clean
surroundings.
Life supporting system- Physiological,
socioeconomic, cultural and other activities.
Environment can supply all above and Land is the
only place maintain the relation ship in the
universe.
Forest, Coal, oil and number of minerals present on
the earth surface will provide required energy and
commercial activity on the land.
Plants, animals provide food for all.
Resources are essential for the development of the
earth.
It should be properly utilized for comfortable living
and the system is likely to collapse when the
consumption exceeds the regeneration capacity,
resources are not uniformly distributed or limited
and resources are polluted.
Commercialization, over exploitation, expansion of
agricultural lands, industrialization, use of coal,
petroleum products, mining are the reasons for
depletion and degradation of our Natural resources.
Resources are classified into
1. Biotic: Plants, Animals, Fish and other for the
sustenance of the human being.
2. Abiotic: Fossil fuels, metals, mineral deposits, water,
land and other elements which supports life system.
Some resources are Renewable ie., they can be
replenished within the reasonable time like solar energy,
atmospheric nitrogen, wind movements.
Non-renewable they can not be retrieved within a
reasonable time once if they are lost like fossil fuel, water,
Land, biomass , minerals, top soil
Protection of resources:
1. Reduce the demand.
2. To control population.
3. Put resources for optimum use.
4. Reduce waste products.
5. Reuse or recycling of materials.
6. Technologies for cost effective alternate
resources.
Right to use does not mean right for polluting or
lowering the quality. Resources should not be
commercially exploited. It should be used by
care and must be preserved.
 Land resources
Land provides required rich nutrients for the
growth of plants. Top soil contains humus and
the soil can be involved in agricultural activity.
Water is stored in ground layers and number of
metallic and non metallic substances are found
as deposits and is a habitat for living beings.
EARTH’S SURFACE AREA (510 MILLION KM2)
SPLIT OF SURFACE LAND(MILLION SQ.KM)
India has 435 m ha of land..
Land resource depends upon:
Soil Formation:
Soil is formed by the weathering action of the rocks which
is a process of disintegration and decomposition of rocks
and minerals at the surface of the earth by physical or
chemical action.
Physical weathering- changes in temperature, pressure,
abrasion, erosion or transportation of smaller materials
and spreading of roots into soil.
Gravel and sand are called as cohesion less soil are
formed by physical disintegration of soil. There is no
chemical change in the soil formed from the parent rock.
In chemical weathering process, atmospheric
gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen,
oxygen in presence of moisture react with the
surface of the rock. The resulting material is
having different chemical composition
compared to parent rock. The chemical
weathering process involves hydration or
hydrolysis, oxidation and reduction, base
exchange formation of colloids and carbonation.
This results in the formation of cohesive soils.
Soil formed at a place is transported to other
places by agents like wind, water and gravity
forces. Soil transported and deposited else ware
are called as alluvial sediments.
Eg; Delta lands
Soil which are carried and deposited by wind are
called as Aeolian deposits.
Eg: sand dunes
Delta land
Soil further subjected to climate and atmospheric
changes gradually with the passage of time which
changes its characteristics. This is the reason we
find different types of soil below the ground
surface. The top soil contains humus which is highly
fertile.
Fertility of the soil depends upon its structure,
organic content, moisture content, porosity(
retaining moisture content), permeability( Allowing
water to pass).
Soil erosion: Soil erosion is the removal of top
layer of soil by the agents like wind and water.
When the rain falls on a gentle slope, loose soil
particles float and move along with the flowing
water which results skimming of soil of the top
layer. This erosion is not uniform at all places.
Patches of soil gets deposited along the flow line.
Soil erosion occurs when the vegetation that binds
the soil is removed. Land slides may also occurs.
Soil Erosion
Land degradation:
Change in characteristics of soil which affect its
fertility is called as degradation of the soil.
Soil erosion, water logging and salinity,
deforestation, agricultural practices and
industrialization are the main reasons for soil
degradation.
Land degradation makes the soil less nutrients, less
vegetation cover, pollutes water sources,
contaminates the ground water.
 Land degradation
 Is a human induced or natural process which
negatively affects the land to function effectively
within an ecosystem, by accepting, storing and
recycling water, energy, and nutrients.
 This is the decline of land quality caused by
human activities.
 Land degradation cancels out gains advanced by
improved crop yields and reduced population growth.
 Hence has an impact on world food security and
quality of environment.
Degraded land
LAND DEGRADATION MAY BE DUE TO
 Strip Farming
Prevention and control of soil erosion and land
degradation:
a) Agricultural practices:
1. Crop rotation.
2. Strip forming.
3. Ridge type irrigation.
4. Cultivation of grass land.
5. Afforestation.
Leaching is loss of water soluble plant nutrients
from the soil.
Ridge farming
 Ridge forming
In ridge plant, crops are planted into ridges formed
during cultivation of the previous crop. A band
application of herbicide behind the planter provides
weed control in the row. Crop cultivation controls
weeds between the rows and rebuilds the ridges for
the following year.

Ridge planting reduces erosion by leaving the soil

covered with residue until planting. After planting,
30% to 50% residue may be left,
Ridge farming
b) Engineering practice:
1. Trenches are excavated at intervals to
prevent water flowing on the entire area.
2. Contour farming across the slope of the hill
side are useful in collecting and diverting the
water.
3. Check dams to reduce the velocity of water
of runoff.
Desertification
Desertification
 Effects of Land Degradation &
Desertification
 Affects a significant portion of the earth's arable lands, decreasing
the wealth and economic development of nations.
 The link between a degraded environment and poverty is direct
and intimate.
 As the land resource base becomes less productive, food security
is compromised and competition for dwindling resources
increases, the seeds of potential conflict are sown.
 Species diversity is lessened and often lost as lands are cleared
and converted to agriculture.
 Thus a downward eco-social spiral is created when marginal
lands are nutrient depleted by unsustainable land management
practices resulting in lost soil stability leading to permanent
damage.
 Restoration
 Lightly degraded soils can be improved by crop rotation,
minimum tillage techniques, and other farm practices.
More severely degraded soils are more difficult to restore.
 Moderately damaged land takes more resources than an
average farmer has to restore. Changes in soil conservation
practices can slow land degradation, but not restore fertility
often. National programs will be needed for such lands,
requiring major structural change (e.g., draining, contour
banks, etc.)
 Severely eroded land generally is simply abandoned.
Restoration efforts are simply beyond developing countries -
requiring deep ditches for drainage, terraces to hold the soil
in place, mechanized deep plowing to remove compaction
etc.