EVS 502 Land, Water and Biodiversity Resources Department of Forestry and Environmental Science School of Earth and Environmental Science Uttarakhand Open University EVS 502 Land, Water and Biodiversity Resources Department of Forestry and Environmental Science School of Earth and Environmental Science Uttarakhand Open University Board of Studies Prof. Jeetram, Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Kumaun University, Nainital (U.K.) Late Prof. P.C. Joshi, Department of Zoology and Environmental Science, Gurukul Kangri, University, Haridwar (U.K.) Dr. Sachi Sah, Department of Environmental Science Indira Gandhi Open University, New Delhi Prof. P.D. Pant, Director, School of Earth and Environmental Science, Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani (U.K.) Dr. H.C. Joshi, Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, SoEES, Haldwani, Nainital (U.K.) Unit Writer Unit Nos. Dr. Sudhanshu Kausik, Department of Environmental Science, Dev 1, 2, 4 Sanskriti University, Haridwar Dr. Sushil Bhadula, Department of Environmental Science, Dev Sanskriti 5, 6, 9, 10, 11 University, Haridwar Dr. Anil Bisht, Department of Zoology, Uttaranchal College of Biomedical 3,7,8 Sciences & Hospital, Dehradun Editorial Team Professor Uma Melkania, Former Dean (CBSH), G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology Pantnagar, Uttarakhand Dr. S.S. Samant, Director, Himalayan Forest Research Institute (HFRI), Conifer campus, Panthaghati, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh Cover page Design and Format Editing Dr. H.C. Joshi, Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, SoEES, Haldwani, Nainital (U.K.) TITLE Land, Water and Biodiversity Resources ISBN XXXX XXXX XXXX Copyright Uttarakhand Open University Publication Uttarakhand Open University First Edition July, 2021 Table of Contents Unit 1: The Land Resources: Characteristics Pattern and Importance 1.0 Learning Objectives 1 1.1 Introduction 2 1.2 Definition of Land Resources 4 1.3 Land Utilization and Classification 5 1.4 Types of Land resources 7 1.5 History of land resources on earth 18 1.6 Land Resources in India 18 1.7 Importance of land resources 19 1.8 Threat to land resources 23 Summary 24 Unit 2: The Mineral Resources 2.0 Learning Objectives 28 2.1 Introduction 29 2.2 Definition of Mineral Resources 29 2.3 Origin of Mineral Resources 31 2.4 Types of Mineral resources 33 2.5 How mineral resources are mined 34 2.6 Mineral resources in India 36 2.7 Importance & Uses of Mineral resources 42 Summary 46 Unit 3: The Wetland Case Study: The Sundarbans and The Bharatpur Sanctuary 3.0 Learning Objectives 50 3.1 Introduction 50 3.2 Types and characteristics of wetlands 53 3.3 Importance and Functions of Wetlands 57 3.4 Wetlands in India 60 3.5 Ramsar Convention 62 Summary 69 Unit 4: The Land Cover changes 4.0 Learning Objectives 73 4.1 Introduction 73 4.2 Definition of Land cover change 75 4.3 Land Cover change in India 77 4.4 Reasons of land cover change 79 4.5 Effects of Land cover change 86 Summary 89 Unit 5 Causes and Consequences of Land Degradation 5.0 Learning Objectives 92 5.1 Introduction 92 5.2 Definitions of Land Degradation 94 5.3 Causes of Land Degradation 95 5.4 Natural Causes of Land Degradation 95 5.5 Manmade or Anthropogenic Causes of Land Degradation 97 i 5.6 Consequences of Land Degradation 110 Summary 114 Unit 6 Wasteland Genesis: Types, Extent, Conservation and Management 6.0 Learning Objectives 117 6.1 Introduction 117 6.2 Definitions of Waste Land 118 6.3 Types of Waste Lands 119 6.4 Waste Land in India 121 6.5 Wasteland Genesis 124 6.6 Conservation of Land 127 6.7 Management of Wasteland 129 Summary 133 Unit 7 Land Related Hazards and Mitigation: Landslides, Landslips, Earthquake, Droughts 7.0 Learning Objectives 137 7.1 Introduction 138 7.2 Land Related Hazards 139 7.2.1 Landslide / Landslips 139 7.2.2 Earthquakes 144 7.2.3 Drought 151 Summary 156 Unit 8 Land Husbandry: Soil Amelioration; Rehabilitation; Restoration of Wasteland 8.0 Learning Objectives 160 8.1 Introduction 160 8.2 Land Husbandry 161 8.3 Methods of Land Husbandry 162 8.4 Soil Amelioration 163 8.5 Rehabilitation of Soil and Wasteland 166 8.6 Restoration of Wasteland 169 Summary 174 Unit 9 Water and Water Resources: An Introduction, Status, Characteristics and Utilization 9.0 Learning Objectives 178 9.1 Introduction 178 9.2 Water at Glance 179 9.3 Water and Water Resources 180 9.4 Status of Water Resources at Global Level 182 9.5 Status of Water Resources at National Level 188 9.6 Utilization of Water Resources 202 Summary 206 Unit 10 Water Resource Development: Dams-The Necessary Evil 10.0 Learning Objectives 208 10.1 Introduction 208 10.2 Water Resource Development 209 10.3 Dams at Global Level 212 10.4 Dams at National Level 213 ii 10.5 Positive Impacts of Dam 215 10.6 Negative Impacts of Dams 218 10.7 Dams- the Necessary Evil 221 Summary 223 Unit 11 Water Resource Conservation Watershed Management, Rain Water Harvesting, Micro-Irrigation 11.0 Learning Objectives 227 11.1 Introduction 227 11.2 Water Resource Conservation 228 11.3 Watershed Management 231 11.4 Rain Water Harvesting 234 11.5 Micro-Irrigation 241 11.6 Case Study-The Pani Panchayat 246 Summary 248 iii LAND, WATER AND BIODIVERSITY RESOURCES EVS 502 Unit 1: The Land Resources: Characteristics Pattern and Importance Unit Structure 1.0 Learning Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Definition of Land Resources 1.3 Land Utilization and Classification 1.4 Types of Land resources 1.4.1 Forest resources 1.4.1.3 Types of Forests 1.4.2 Mineral Resources 1.4.3 Cropland/Agricultural resources 1.4.4 Water resources 1.4.5 Soil resources 1.5 History of land resources on earth 1.6 Land Resources in India 1.7 Importance of land resources 1.7.1 Agriculture 1.7.2 Minerals 1.7.3 Biomass 1.7.4 Water 1.7.5 Culture 1.7.6 Biodiversity 1.7.7 Other importance 1.8 Threat to land resources 1.8.1 Conditions of worlds land surface Summary 1.0 Learning Objectives After studying this unit you will shall have answer of the following: x What is Land? x What is the utilization and classification of land? x What are land resources? x What are the types of Land resources? x What is the significance of land resources? x What is the demand and supply of land resources? x How can we conserve the land resources? 1 LAND, WATER AND BIODIVERSITY RESOURCES EVS 502 1.1 Introduction In this unit, we shall study of different types of land and its resource. As we are all dependent on natural resources, land is one of the most important resources from these natural resources. In this unit we discussed about the land resources, its characteristic pattern and importance. All resources have been sharply declined due to various man made activities. We have also discussed about the solution of these problems too in this chapter. Land is most important asset which supports natural vegetation, wildlife, human activities, transport and communication systems. 7KHODQGPD\EHGHILQHGDV³WKHVROLGSDUWRIHDUWKVXUIDFH´NQRZQDVODQG7KHHDUWKPD\ be classified majorly into aquatic (Water) and non-aquatic (Terrestrial). Land is a naturally occurring limited resource & it provides the base for survival of living world. It holds everything that constitutes terrestrial ecosystems. The Increasing demand of land resources in modern times due to the rise in human population and modern life style has resulted in degradation of land quality and quantity, decline in crop production, and competition for land. Land is an area of terrestrial surface of the earth, all the attributes of the biosphere immediately above or below this surface including those of the near-surface. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimate the worlds land area as of 1994 to be 144.8 million sq km (or about 29% of the surface of the globe) (Fig 1), of which forest and woodland account for 30%.Thousands of years ago, before large scale human disturbances of the world began, forest and woodlands probably covered nearly 6.0 billion hectares. Since then, about 16% of that area has been converted to croplands, pasture, settlements or unproductive wastelands. 2 LAND, WATER AND BIODIVERSITY RESOURCES EVS 502 Fig. 1: The percentage of water and land area on the globe Fig. 2: World land utilization pattern Resources are the component of the environment (i.e. atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere), which can be drawn upon for supporting life. In other words resources are goods and services supplied by our environment. These include energy, mineral, land, food, forest, water, atmosphere, plants and animals. The vast and diverse size of India is its most important resource. About 43 percent of the land area, which is plain, provides opportunity for cultivation. The mountainous areas, accounting for about 30 percent of the surface area of the country are storehouses of natural resources; they are also important for their scenic beauty and ecological aspects. The plateau area has rich reserve in mineral resources besides forest and arable lands. The 3 LAND, WATER AND BIODIVERSITY RESOURCES EVS 502 mountains and plateau also have fertile river valley offering favorable location for human concentration. The heavy burden of the population and increasing demand of the same have been created a lot of burden on land resources as in 1951 per capita availability of land was 0.89 per hectare, but it has been sharply declined with time, the per capita availability of land was only 0.37 ha. In the availability of land area, there is about 60% declination. So this is clearly shown that the growing population is inversely proportion to the availability of land.