RESOURCE: Everything available in the environment which can be used to satisfy our needs,

provided it is technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally acceptable can be

termed as a resource.

Resource Planning: It is a strategy for judicious use of resources.

Need for Resource Planning -

1) Resources are unevenly distributed. There are some regions which may be rich in

some types of resources and deficient in other types. For e.g. Arunachal Pradesh

has abundant water resources but lacks in infrastructural development.

2) Resources are limited.

3) For the judicious use of resources.

4) To prevent over exploitation of resources.

5) To save for the future generations.

Three stages of Resource Planning:

i) Identification and inventory of resources, it includes surveying, mapping, quantitative

and qualitative estimation and measurement of the resources.

ii) Evolving a planning structure endowed with appropriate technology, skill and

institutional set up for implementing resource development plan.

iii) Matching the resource development plan with the overall development plan.

Conservation of Resources: A judicious and a planned way to utilize resources

Need to conserve Resources:

1) Resources are limited.

2) Most of the Resources are non- renewable.

3) Any irrational consumption or over-utilization of resource can lead to serious

socio- economic repercussions

LAND RESOURCE - Land is a vital natural resource which support natural vegetation , wild life ,
human life , economic activities , transport and communication system.

Importance of land resource

1) Human beings live on land.

2) Land is a resource of finite magnitude.

3) It supports natural vegetation and wildlife.

4) Almost all the economic activities are practiced over land.

LAND USE : A judicious and a planned way of using the land for different purposes to ensure its

optimum utilization.

1) Forest

2) Land not available for cultivation: It includes barren and waste land and land put to non -
agricultural uses such as roads, building, factories etc. also called wasteland.

3) Pasture land

4) Land under tree crops (not included in the net sown area).

5) Culturable waste land (left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural years)

6) Fallow land: Current fallow land (left without cultivation up to one year and other than

current fallow land left for 1-5 agricultural year)

7) Net Sown Area: Area which is sown at least once a year.

Land Use Data of India

Area: 3.28 Million sq. km.

Data available for 93% of total area

Areas which could not be covered for data – Most of the north eastern states except Assam and

some areas of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan and China.

Causes of Land degradation

1) Deforestation: When the trees are cut the roots loosen their grip on the soil. This loose

soil gets easily eroded by wind and water ultimately leading to land degradation. For eg

Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

2) Overgrazing: When the cattle is left to graze without supervision, it has a tendency to

overgraze over some patches of land due to which the plants and grass gets uprooted. The

soil becomes loose and gets eroded easily leading to land degradation. For eg. Gujarat,

Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

3) Mining and quarrying

a) Mining sites are often abandoned after the excavation work is complete.

b) Mineral processing like grinding of limestone for cement industry and calcite and

soapstone for ceramic industry generate huge quantity of dust in the atmosphere. It

retards the process of infiltration of water into the soil after it settles down on the land.

4) Industrial effluents: Industrial effluents are thrown over the land without giving proper
treatment to the waste. It leads to pollution and land degradation.

5) Over irrigation: Water logging leads to the increase of salinity or alkalinity of the

soil which is responsible for land degradation. For eg. Punjab and Haryana.

Measures to control Land degradation

1) Afforestation

2) Grazing of cattle under supervision.

3) Mining activities must be controlled.

4) Treatment must be given to the industrial effluents.

5) Optimum use of water for irrigation.

SOIL- Soil is the most important renewable natural resources.

Important factors in the formation of soil are: relief, parent rock, climate, vegetation and other
forms of life. These factors contribute in the development of various types of soils: Alluvial, Black,
Red and Yellow, Laterite, Arid, Forest soil.

TYPES OF SOIL

ALLUVIAL SOIL

Location: Ganga- Satluj basin, delta regions of the Eastern Coastal Plains, parts of Gujarat and

Rajasthan.

Formation: Formed due to the deposition brought by the river systems of the Ganga, the Indus

and the Brahmaputra.

Features:

# Most fertile,

# Most widespread,

# Rich in phosphoric acid potash and lime # composed of sand, silt and clay

# On the basis of their age it is classified as khadar and bhangra.

BLACK SOIL

Location: Deccan Trap – Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh.

Formation: Climatic conditions along with the parent rock material are the important

factors for the formation of soil.

Features: # rich in soil nutrients like calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime.

# Poor phosphoric content.

# made up extremely fine particles like clayey material

# develops deep cracks in hot weather, helping in proper aeration of soil.

# Sticky when wet, so tilled immediately after the first shower.

# Black in color, ideal to grow cotton.

RED AND YELLOW SOIL

Location: Eastern and Southern parts of Deccan Plateau, parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh,

piedmont zone of the Western Ghats.

Formation: Develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall.

Features: # reddish colour due to diffusion of iron in the soil

#looks yellow in hydrated form

LATERITE SOIL

Location: Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh

Formation: develops in the areas receiving high rainfall. Formed due to leaching.

Features: #Humus content is very low. Most of the micro-organisms a particularly

bacterium gets destroyed due to high temperature.

# Suitable for cultivation with adequate doses of manure and fertilizers.

#Tea, Coffee, Cashew nuts are the crops grown here.

ARID SOIL

Location: Rajasthan

Features: #sandy texture, saline in nature

#salt content is high, salt is obtained from here

#after proper irrigation these soils become cultivable

FOREST SOIL

Location: Hilly and mountainous areas

Features: Loamy and silty in valley sides. Acidic with low humus content in the snow-covered areas
of

the Himalayas in the lower parts, particularly in river terraces and alluvial fans are fertile.

SOIL EROSION AND CONSERVATION

Soil Erosion: The denudation and subsequent washing away of soil.

Types of soil erosion

Sheet Erosion: Sometimes water flows as a sheet over large areas, such that the top soil.
Gully Erosion: When the running water cuts through the clayey soil and makes deep

channel as gullies.

Wind Erosion: Wind blows loose soil away from the flat land and slopes.

Causes of Soil Erosion -

Human Factors

● Deforestation

● Overgrazing

● Mining and Construction

● Over irrigation

Natural Factors

● Wind

● Glacier

● Running water

Measures to Conserve Soil Conservation

● Contour Ploughing: Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate (reduce)the flow

of water down the slopes.

● Terrace Farming: Steps can be made on the slopes making terraces. It restricts erosion.

● Strip Cropping: Large fields can be divided into strips. Strips of grass are left to grow

between the crops.

● Shelter Belts: Rows of trees are planted to create shelter. It has helped in stabilizing the

sand dunes and thus stabilizing the desert to western India.