Answer:
Causes
of land degradation:
(i) Mining sites are abandoned after the excavation work is
done, leaving deep scars of overburdening. In states like Odisha, Jharkhand,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, deforestation due to mining has caused severe land
degradation.
(ii)
Overgrazing in states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra
is one of the main reasons behind land degradation.
(iii)
Over irrigation and waterlogging lead to increase in salinity and alkalinity in
the states of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, thereby leading to
land degradation.
(iv)
Mineral processing like grinding of limestone for cement industry and calcite
and soapstone for ceremic industry generate huge quantities of dust in the
atmosphere. It stops the infiltration of water in the soil.
(v)
Industrial effluents as wastes have become a major source of land and water
pollution in many parts of the country.
Ways to
check land degradation:
(i) Afforestation and proper management of grazing can help
to check land degradation.
(ii)
Planting of shelter belts help in checking the sand causing land degradation
near the deserts.
(iii)
Overgrazing can be checked and avoided.
(iv)
Stabilization of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes can also check land
degradation.
(v)
Proper management of waste land can be taken up.
(vi)
Control on mining activities, so that mining does not affect the land and by
refilling the scars.
(vii) Proper
discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after treatment can
reduce land and water degradation in industrial areas.
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