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Land degradation refers to a decline in the overall quality of soil, water or vegetation condition commonly caused by human activities. The Vegetation Management Act 1999 states that the phrase includes soil erosion, rising water tables, the expression of salinity, mass movement by gravity of soil or rock, stream bank instability and a process that results in declining water quality. At Indiahousing, you can access information pertaining to Land Degradation.
Degradation is also considered to include a change in the ground cover to less palatable species, or a change from predominantly perennial grasses to predominantly annual grasses. Environmental dilapidation is brought about by pollution especially in urban areas, which not only experience a rapid growth of population due to high fertility rates, low mortality and increasing rural-urban migration, but also due to the rapid industrialization.
Major ecological and socio-economic crisis are perpetrated by land/soil degradation. Direct impacts of agricultural development on the environment arise from farming activities, which contribute to soil erosion, salinity/ brackishness of land and loss of nutrients. The Green Revolution has been accompanied by over exploitation of land and water resources and use of fertilizers and pesticides have increased manifold. In the race to urbanize virgin territory, there has been random violation of the land laws.
The current trend of economic and industrial development coupled with the steady growth of human as well as livestock population have been the major reasons behind the incidence of land gradation in India. These factors exert pressure on limited land resources of the country for agricultural, industrial and housing needs of the growing population. It is the lands under cultivation which face the biggest challenge of land degradation in India. Go through Indiahousing to know all about Land Degradation.
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