Geography notes # 9

(Source: X NCERT Geography Chapter 1 and 2)

Types of Resources:
On the basis of Origin - Biotic resources and Abiotic resources

Biotic Resources:  These are obtained from biosphere and have life such as human beings, flora and fauna, fisheries, livestock etc.

Abiotic Resources: All those things which are composed of non-living things are called abiotic resources. For example, rocks and metals.

On the Basis of Exhaustibility - Renewable resources and Non Renewable resources

 Renewable Resources:The resources which can be renewed or reproduced by physical, chemical or mechanical processes are known as renewable or replenishable resources. For example, solar and wind energy, water, forests and wildlife, etc. The renewable resource may further be divided into continuous or flow.

Non-Renewable Resources:These occur over a very long geological time. Minerals and fossil fuels are examples of such resources. These resources take millions of years in their formation. Some of the resources like metals are recyclable and some like fossil fuels cannot be recycled and get exhausted with their use.

Stock:  Materials in the environment which have the potential to satisfy human needs but human beings do not have the appropriate technology to access these, are included among stock. For example, water is a compound of two inflammable gases; hydrogen and oxygen, which can be used as a rich source of energy. But we do not have the required technical ‘know-how’ to use them for this purpose. Hence, it can be considered as stock.

Reserves are the subset of the stock, which can be put into use with the help of existing technical ‘know-how’ but their use has not been started. These can be used for meeting future requirements. River water can be used for generating hydroelectric power but presently, it is being utilised only to a limited extent. Thus, the water in the dams, forests etc. is a reserve which can be used in the future.

Resource planning is a complex process which involves :

 (i) identification and inventory of resources across the regions of the country. This involves surveying, mapping and qualitative and quantitative estimation and measurement of the resources.

 (ii) Evolving a planning structure endowed with appropriate technology, skill and institutional set up for implementing resource development plans. 

(iii) Matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans.

India has land under a variety of relief features, namely; mountains, plateaus, plains and islands. About 43 per cent of the land area is plain, which provides facilities for agriculture and industry. Mountains account for 30 per cent of the total surface area of the country and ensure perennial flow of some rivers, provide facilities for tourism and ecological aspects. About 27 per cent of the area of the country is the plateau region. It possesses rich reserves of minerals, fossil fuels and forests.

Area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus net sown area is known as gross cropped area.

Soil is the most important renewable natural Resource. 

Classification of Soils :    India has varied relief features, landforms, climatic realms and vegetation types. These have contributed in the development of various types of soils.

Alluvial Soils

•  This is the most widely spread and important soil.
•  In fact, the entire northern plains are made of alluvial soil. 
• These have been deposited by three important Himalayan river systems – the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. 
• These soils also extend in Rajasthan and Gujarat through a narrow corridor . 
• Alluvial soil is also found in the eastern coastal plains particularly in the deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri rivers. 
• The alluvial soil consists of various proportions of sand, silt and clay. 
• As we move inlands towards the river valleys, soil particles appear some what bigger in size.
•  In the upper reaches of the river valley i.e. near the place of the break of slope, the soils are coarse.
• Such soils are more common in piedmont plains such as  Duars, Chosand Terai. 
• Apart from the size of their grains or components, soils are also described on the basis of their age. According to their age alluvial soils can be classified as old alluvial (Bangar) and new alluvial (Khadar). 
• The  bangarsoil has higher concentration of kankernodules than the Khadar 
• .It has more fine particles and is more fertile than the  bangar. 
• Alluvial soils as a whole are very fertile. 
• Mostly these soils contain adequate proportion of potash, phosphoric acid and lime which are ideal for the growth of sugarcane, paddy, wheat and other cereal and pulse crops. 
• Due to its high fertility, regions of alluvial soils are intensively cultivated and densely populated.
• Soils in the drier areas are more alkaline and can be productive after proper treatment and irrigation.

Black Soil

•  These soils are black in colour and are also known as  regursoils.
•  Black soil is ideal for growing cotton and is also known as  black cotton soil. 
• They cover the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra Malwa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and extend in the south east direction along the Godavari and the Krishna valleys. 
• The black soils are made up of extremely fine i.e. clayey material. 
• They are well-known for their capacity to hold moisture. 
• In addition, they are rich in soil nutrients, such as calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime.
• These soils are generally poor in phosphoric contents. 
• They develop deep cracks during hot weather , which helps in the proper aeration of the soil. 
• These soils are sticky when wet and difficult to work on unless tilled immediately after the first shower or during the pre-monsoon period.

Red and Yellow Soils

•  Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern parts of the Deccan plateau. 
• Yellow and red soils are also found in parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of the middle Ganga plain and along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghats. 
• These soils develop a reddish colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks. 
• It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form.

Laterite Soil

•  Laterite has been derived from the Latin word ‘later’ which means brick.
•  The laterite soil develops in areas with high temperature and heavy rainfall. 
• This is the result of intense leaching due to heavy rain. Humus content of the soil is low because most of the micro organisms, particularly the decomposers, like bacteria, get destroyed due to high temperature. 
• Laterite soils are suitable for cultivation with adequate doses of manures and fertilizers.
•  These soils are mainly found in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and the hilly areas of Odisha and Assam. 
• After adopting appropriate soil conservation techniques particularly in the hilly areas of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, this soil is very useful for growing tea andcoffee. 
• Red laterite soils in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are more suitable for crops like cashew nut. 

Arid Soils 

• Arid soils range from red to brown in colour .
•  They are generally sandy in texture and saline in nature.
•  In some areas the salt content is very high and common salt is obtained by evaporating the water.
• Due to the dry climate, high temperature, evaporation is faster and the soil lacks humus and moisture. The lower horizons of the soil are occupied by Kankar because of the increasing calcium content downwards. 
• The Kankar layer formations in the bottom horizons restrict the infiltration of water . 
• After proper irrigation these soils become cultivable as has been in the case of western Rajasthan.

Forest Soils 

• These soilsare found in the hilly and mountainous areas where sufficient rain forests are available.
• The soils texture varies according to the mountain environment where they are formed. 
• They are loamy and silty in valley sides and coarse grained in the upper slopes. 
• In the snow covered areas of Himalayas, these soils experience denudation and are acidic with low humus content. 
• The soils found in the lower parts of the valleys particularly on the river terraces and alluvial fans are fertile.

The denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down is described as soil erosion.   

The processes of soil formation and erosion, go on simultaneously and generally there is a balance between the two. Sometimes, this balance is disturbed due to human activities like deforestation, over -grazing, construction and mining etc., while natural forces like wind, glacier and water lead to soil erosion.
The running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes deep channels as gullies. The land becomes unfit for cultivation and is known as  bad land. In the Chambal basin such lands are called ravines. 

Sometimes water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope. In such cases the top soil is washed away. This is known as sheet erosion. 

Wind blows loose soil off flat or sloping land known as wind erosion. 

Soil erosion is also caused due to defective methods of farming. Ploughing in a wrong way i.e. up and down the slope form channels for the quick flow of water leading to soil erosion. Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate the flow of water down the slopes. This is called contour ploughing. Steps can be cut out on the slopes making terraces. Terrace cultivation restricts erosion. Western and central Himalayas have well developed terrace farming.

 Large fields can be divided into strips. Strips of grass are left to grow between the crops. This breaks up the force of the wind. This method is known as strip cropping. 

Planting lines of trees to create shelter also works in a similar way. Rows of such trees are called shelter belts. These shelter belts have contributed significantly to the stabilisation of sand dunes and in stabilising the desert in western India.

Sustainable economic development means ‘development should take place without damaging the environment, and development in the present should not compromise with the needs of the future generations.’

In June 1992, more than 100 heads of states met in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, for the first International Earth Summit. The Summit was convened for addressing urgent problems of environmental protection and socioeconomic development at the global level. The assembled leaders signed the Declaration on Global Climatic Change and Biological Diversity . The Rio Convention endorsed the global Forest Principles and adopted  Agenda 21for achieving Sustainable Development in the 21 st century .

Chapter - 2

We humans along with all living organisms form a complex web of ecological system in which we are only a part and very much dependent on this system for our own existence. 

Biodiversity or Biological Diversity is immensely rich in wildlife and cultivated species, diverse in form and function but closely integrated in a system through multiple network of interdependencies.

India is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of its vast array of biological diversity, and has nearly 8 per cent of the total number of species in the world.

 Based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), we can classify as follows – 

Normal Species:Species  whose population levels are considered to be normal for their survival, such as cattle, sal, pine, rodents, etc.

Endangered  Species:  These are species which are in danger of extinction. The survival of such species is difficult if the negative factors that have led to a decline in their population continue to operate. The examples of such species are black buck, crocodile, Indian wild ass, Indian rhino, lion tailed macaque, sangai (brow anter deer in Manipur), etc. 

Vulnerable  Species:   These are species whose population has declined to levels from where it is likely to move into the endangered category in the near future if the negative factors continue to operate. The examples of such species are blue sheep, Asiatic elephant, Gangetic dolphin, etc.

 Rare Species:  Species with small population may move into the endangered or vulnerable category if the negative factors affecting them continue to operate. The examples of such species are the Himalayan br own bear, wild Asiatic buffalo, desert fox and hornbill, etc. 

Endemic Species:  These are species which are only found in some particular areas usually isolated by natural or geographical barriers. Examples of such species are the Andaman teal, Nicobar pigeon, Andaman wild pig, mithun in Arunachal Pradesh.

Extinct Species:  These are species which are not found after searches of known or likely areas where they may occur. A species may be extinct from a local area, region, country, continent or the entire earth. Examples of such species are the Asiatic cheetah, pink head duck. 

Habitat destruction, hunting, poaching, over -exploitation, environmental pollution, poisoning and forest fires are factors, which have led to the decline in India’s biodiversity.

The central government also announced several projects for protecting specific animals, which were gravely threatened, including the tiger , the one horned rhinoceros, the Kashmir stag or hangul, three types of crocodiles – fresh water crocodile, saltwater crocodile and the  Gharial , the Asiatic lion, and others. 

Most recently, the Indian elephant, black buck (chinkara), the great Indian bustard (godawan) and the snow leopard, etc. have been given full or partial legal protection against hunting and trade throughout India. 

In the notification under Wildlife Act of 1980 and 1986, several hundred butterflies, moths, beetles, and one dragonfly have been added to the list of protected species. 

In 1991, for the first time plants were also added to the list, starting with six species

 In India, much of its forest and wildlife resources are either owned or managed by the government through the Forest Department or other government departments. These are classified under the following categories. 

(i) Reserved Forests: More than half of the total forest land has been declared reserved forests. Reserved forests are regarded as the most valuable as far as the conservation of forest and wildlife resources are concerned. 

(ii) Protected Forests: Almost one-third of the total forest area is protected forest, as declared by the Forest Department. This forest land are protected from any further depletion.

 (iii) Unclassed Forests: These are other forests and wastelands belonging to both government and private individuals and communities.

Reserved and protected forests are also referred to as permanent forest estates maintained for the purpose of producing timber and other forest produce, and for protective reasons. 

Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under permanent forests, constituting 75 per cent of its total forest area. 

The famous  Chipko movement in the Himalayas has not only successfully resisted deforestation in several areas but has also shown that community afforestation with indigenous species can be enormously successful. 

In India joint forest management (JFM) programme furnishes a good example for involving local communities in the management and restoration of degraded forests. The programme has been in formal existence since 1988 when the state of Odisha passed the first resolution for joint forest management. JFM depends on the formation of local (village) institutions that undertake protection activities mostly on degraded forest land managed by the forest department. In return, the members of these communities are entitled to intermediary benefits like non-timber forest produces and share in the timber harvested by ‘successful protection’. 

The world’s fastest land mammal, the cheetah (Acinonyx jubantus), is a unique and specialised member of the cat family and can move at the speed of 112 km./hr . the Asian cheetah is nearly extinct due to a decline of available habitat and prey . The species was declared extinct in India long back in 1952. 

The Himalayan Yew (T axus wallachiana) is a medicinal plant found in various parts of Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. A chemical compound called ‘taxol’ is extracted from the bark, needles, twigs and roots of this tree, and it has been successfully used to treat some cancers – the drug is now the biggest selling anti-cancer drug in the world.

“Project Tiger ”, one of the wellpublicised wildlife campaigns in the world, was launched in 1973.

Nature worship is an age old tribal belief based on the premise that all creations of nature have to be protected. Such beliefs have preserved several virgin forests in pristine form called Sacred Groves (the forests of God and Goddesses).