Question

discuss in detail the various causes of land degradation.

Answer 1

Careless use of land becomes one of the major causes of land degradation which is the result of the following activities:

i. Excessive use of fertilizers, pesticides.
ii. Over grazing further degrades land and impacts natural vegetation cover
iii. Deforestation and recklessly cutting down of trees.
iv.Over irrigation increases the salt deposits in the soil
v. Mining-leaves deep scars and traces of over-burdening
vi. Dumping of industrial effluent
vii. . Excessive practise of shifting cultivation
viii. Other cause: oil spillage, domestic sewage discharge in water bodies, the reservoirs which are built on the food plains have submerged the existing vegetation and soil leading to soil erosion and land degradation.