Assessment of Degraded and Wastelands of India

摘要

The natural resources of a country are of prime importance for assessment of productivity of lands and sustainability of the ecosystem. Soil, the most important component of the land, performs many functions to provide us food, fuel, fibre and shelter. For sustained performance, it is essential that the soils are cared for their productive capacity and good health. However, the soil is deteriorating in its capacity of productivity due to natural and human-induced degradational processes. Land degradation is a complex ensemble of surface processes viz. erosion, soil compaction, salinization, acidification, waterlogging, etc. Land degradation has affected about 1900 million hectares (Mha) of lands worldwide (UNEP 1999). Improper use, poor management and exploitive farming practices result in degradation of lands. Ecolo-gists and environmentalists believe that accelerated erosion is a cancer on land that depletes rapidly the productive capacity and causes pollution and eutrophi-cation of natural water(Lai 1988). Therefore, management of soil resources is essential for both continued agricultural productivity and protection of the environment. In India, a large portion of the land area shows clear evidence of land degradation which, in turn, affectsthe country's production base (Abrol and Sehgal 1994). Non-availability of correct information on spatial extent and area under various categories of degraded lands/wastelands remains a major constraint for the overall development of the country and needs immediate attention.