Chapter 1 - Resources And Development

Anything present in our environment that fulfill our needs is a resource. A nation can acquire any resource including renewable or nonrenewable which is within its territory.

A country can even acquire private property for the welfare of the public. Regarding oceans, area up to 12 nautical miles from the coast belongs to the nation.

Wastelands are lands that include degraded forests, overgrazed pastures, drought-struck pastures, eroded valleys, hilly slopes, waterlogged marshy lands, barren land etc.

The main reason for the formation of wastelands are:

(a) Indiscriminate and overutilization of forest produce

(b) Over-grazing of the lands

(c) effects of development projects like pollution, the influx of wastewater.

Culturable wastelands include the land that is available for cultivation, they are taken up or not taken up for cultivation once, but not cultivated during the last five years or more in succession including the current year for some reason or the other.

Such land may be either fallow or covered with shrubs and jungles which are not put to any use. They may be accessible or inaccessible and may lie in isolated blocks or within cultivated holdings.

India is separated from the rest of Asia by the Himalayas. The climate here is dominated by the tropical monsoons

a. The Himalayas are the young fold mountains. It is the youngest and highly unstable landmass of India.

b. Indo-Gangetic Plain is Between Peninsular and Himalayan region.

c. Peninsular Plateau Includes entire south India, central India, Aravalis, Rajmahal hills, Meghalaya plateau, Kuchchh-Kathiawar region (Gujarat) etc. It is the oldest and the most stable landmass of India.

d. Eastern Coastal Plains and Western Coastal Plains are Formed due to the consolidation of sediments brought by rivers.

The methods of soil conservation in hilly regions are :

(i) Plowing along the contour lines decreases the speed of water flow down the slopes.

(ii) terrace cultivation on slopes decreases erosion.

(iii) Strip cropping: large fields are divided into strips. Strips of grass are left to grow between the crops. This breaks up the force of the wind.

(iv) Shelter plantation: here Tree are planted in rows. These shelterbelts have led to the stabilization of sand dunes and in stabilizing the desert in western India.

For economic growth, the existence of natural resources in abundance is essential. A country which is deficient in natural resources will not be in a position to develop rapidly, but more availability of resources does not ensure economic development.

There are certain regions that are rich in resources but are not economically developed. The resources and technological advancement goes hand in hand. No state can ensure economic development if it does not keep pace with the latest technology.

Example: Northeast sates which are rich in mineral resources but are considered to be underdeveloped because of lack of appropriate technology.

Black soil is also called Regur soil. It is black in color and ideal for growing cotton.

The features of the soil are :

a. It is rich in soil nutrients like calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash, and lime, but poor in phosphoric content.

b. It develops deep crack during hot weather, helping in proper aeration of the soil.

It is found in the plateau areas of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh as well as in the Godavari and Krishna valleys.

(a) When the land becomes unproductive or have no further use, we say that the land is degraded. There are both natural and human activities that damage the land, but recently the increase in land degradation is mainly caused due to human activities.

1. Deforestation:

Forests are helpful in binding up of soil particles with the help of roots of vegetation. Therefore, cutting о forests will affect the soil adversely.

2. Excessive Use of Fertilizers and Pesticides:

Excessive use of fertilizers is causing an imbalance in the number of certain nutrients in the soil. This imbalance adversely affects the vegetation.

3. Overgrazing:

Increase in livestock population results in overexploitation of pastures. Due to this, grass and other types of vegetation are unable to survive and grow in the area, and lack of vegetation cover leads to soil erosion.

4.Salination:

Salts dissolved In Irrigation water accumulate on the soil surface due to inadequate drainage, especially during the flood.

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(b) Soil erosion removes the topsoil that is necessary for organic matter, nutrients, micro-organisms that ware required for plants to grow and shine. Soil conservation protects the soil from being washed away.

The methods of soil conservation are :

Contour Plowing – plowing grooves into the desired farmland, then planting the crop furrows in the grooves and following the contours is a very effective way for farmland on slopes to prevent runoff improve crop yields.

Terrace Farming – Terracing is a method of carving multiple, flat leveled areas into hills. Steps are formed by the terraces which are surrounded by a mud wall to prevent runoff and hold the soil nutrients in the beds.

Crop Rotation – Covering crops with cash crops in order to blanket the soil all year- round and produces green manure the replenishes nitrogen and other critical nutrients

Green Manures – Green manures are a few different crops that can be grown, not for produce or food usage, but grown in order to fertilize the farmland on which it grows.

A: Mountainous soil

B: Laterite soil

C: Alluvial soil

D: Red soil

E: Mountainous soil

F: Laterite soil

G: Red soil