land degradation from agricultural practices

Roger R.B. James F. Reynolds, in Encyclopedia of Biodiversity (Second Edition), 2013. The impact of land degradation on agricultural productivity represents an on-site cost. Deforestation and inappropriate agricultural practices especially on sloping lands often lead to soil … This led to the more holistic concept of ‘land husbandry,’ including all farm-level production activities, argued as being a more effective tool for delivering conservation than technical, often structural, measures such as earth bunds (contour embankments to intercept runoff and sediment). Overgrazing and excessive fuelwood collection destroy the protective layer of plants, exposing the top layer soil to wind and water erosion. Development of industries for the economic growth of the country leads to excessive deforestation and utilization of land in such as way that it has lost its natural up gradation quality. It was an insidious enemy, often masquerading under other names (see Desertification). Another destructive agricultural practice is the ‘slashing and burning’ of natural perennial vegetation, including trees and shrubs, to clear land for annual agriculture. The earliest assessment of the area affected by the land degradation was made by the National Commission on Agriculture in 1976 at 148 M ha i.e. Erosion and degradation processes are more rapid when inappropriate dry farming agricultural practices are applied, leading to desertification. Farmers in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya are therefore more vulnerable to undergoing desertification than others. Land degradation leads to the reduction or loss of the For instance, over a period of time, Ethiopia’s original forest cover was reduced from 65% to a mere 2.2% of the total country’s area coverage (Berry 2003). CAUSES OF LAND DEGRADATION 1. Asa L. Aradottir, Dagmar Hagen, in Advances in Agronomy, 2013. 1. In the past, they have been lumped together as a downward spiral in which poverty drives land degradation and land degradation drives further poverty, but this is a gross simplification (Scherr, 2000). 2. This was motivated by many concerns, particularly increasing human populations and widespread land degradation (particularly soil erosion), air and water pollution, and water shortages. At least 25% of the world's land area is affected by desertification to some degree. Agricultural practices also emit non-CO 2 greenhouse gases from soils and these 15 emissions are exacerbated by climate change (medium confidence). Permaculture is a design system that applies principles that are found in nature to … The figure shows that very severe degradation occurred in northern Ethiopia (the food basket area), Sudan, and part of Somalia. The mid-term assessment of the 11th Five Year Plan (GoI 2008a) suggests that the fertilizers used for enhancing the crop production has led to micronutrient deficiencies in the soil, leading to reduced capacity of crop growth and production. Land degradation here mainly refers to the loss of life-supporting land resource through soil erosion, desertification, salinization, acidification, etc. Compliance involved using research outputs such as the ‘Universal Soil Loss Equation’ which calculated rates of soil loss for various planned land uses, comparing these with a benchmark known as the ‘tolerable soil loss,’ a rate at which it was said that future production would not be jeopardized. In particular, the availability, distribution, and use of water underlies many of the contemporary themes of land degradation. Desertification, on the other hand, generally occurs after a prolonged degradation of land. TOS 7. The consequences of these include soil erosion, the loss of soil nutrients, changes to the amount of salt in the soil, and disruptions to the carbon, nitrogen and water cycles – collectively known as land degradation. In Southern Rhodesia, research evidence of the potential seriousness of erosion directly led to the formation of the Department of Conservation and Extension (CONEX), which carried out major conservation planning and design works throughout the country. The historical stereotype of land degradation is that it is a process ruining the planet, and a destruction caused by ignorant peasants, who will in short time reap the folly of their degrading activities. Headlined ‘drought,’ its main impact came through widespread crop and grazing land failure due to the reduced capability of the degraded soils to support plant growth. Land degradation is not a new issue in the Mediterranean. Degradation status of global land in crops, permanent pasture, forest, and woodlands, S.A. Moges, A.S. Gebregiorgis, in Climate Vulnerability, 2013. P. Bullock, in Developments in Crop Science, 1997, Although problems of land degradation associated with some agricultural systems have been long acknowledged, a much wider group of environmental problems are now recognised e.g. Climatic conditions are one of the most important determining factors affecting agriculture, especially in the Mediterranean areas, with irregular rainfall and high summer temperatures. According to the recently Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. or its licensors or contributors. It is one of the agricultural practice in which different crops are grown in same area following a rotation system which helps in replenishment of the soil. Scientists recently warned that 24 billion tons of fertile soil was being lost per year, largely due to unsustainable agriculture practices. G. Wang, G.S. Table 1. Desertification (land degradation in drylands) is the loss of biological and economic productivity, and biodiversity in arid and semiarid croplands, pastures, rangelands, and subhumid woodlands of the world. (2009), out of the country's total geographical area of 328.73 million, 57% is either desertified or degraded. Although many of the problems grouped under the general heading of desertification are similar throughout the region (e.g., rainfall variability, growing urbanization, loss of farmland and agricultural potential, increased tourism and human population density, forest fires, soil erosion, and flooding), it is doubtful that any one approach for solving these problems will apply. Hailey's (1938) African Survey called it the ‘scourge of Africa,’ providing the reader with images of sediment-choked rivers and barren hillsides. … (Leaching Estimation and Chemistry Model). Normally they increase the bioavailability of hydrophobic compounds by reducing their water repellence (Paradelo et al., 2009). Land degradation can cause or exacerbate poverty and inequality by ... in the agricultural sector [2]. Jenkins, in Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences, 2003. Land Degradation Land Degradation. Stocking, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001. In an attempt to make the concept more meaningful, Leakey (2010) added some steps to a conceptual diagram of the land degradation and social deprivation cycle. Under this condition, irrigation water fills all the soil pores in the root zone and obstructs the gas exchange between soil and air. This usually checks or reduces the velocity of run off so that soil support vegetation. It is recognized that at all of the steps within this conceptual diagram, there are a range of socioeconomic and biophysical influences that will determine the speed of the downward progress at any particular site. Various remediation technologies are being used for restoration of natural resources but most of them have additional impacts and are not ecologically safe. An optimum mix of fertilizer, along with sound crop management practices is required for reducing the issue of land degradation. Based on the chemical characteristics of the biosurfactants, the pollutants, and the physiology of the microorganisms, both stimulating and inhibitory effects of biosurfactants have been reported (Van Hamme et al., 2006). 3. Consequently, biological productivity of the land drops and sand dunes start to form. Read this article to learn about the meaning, factors responsible, prevention and control measures of land degradation: The change in the characteristic and quality of soil which adversely affect its fertility is called as Degradation. However, rapidly changing social and economic conditions—along with the potential for climate change—pose many serious challenges to the Mediterranean region. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) deficiencies occur on 59%, 85%, and 90% of harvested land area, respectively (Chianu et al., 2012). Land degradation resulting from various natural and anthropogenic activities including the loss of organic matter, decline in soil fertility, erosion, and the effects of toxic chemicals is a serious global environmental problem and it may be triggered by climate change (DeFries et al., 2012; Lal, 1997). Biosurfactants significantly affect the bioavailability and biodegradation kinetics of hydrophobic compounds (Ahmad et al., 2015). The major causes of desertification include overgrazing, overcultivation of marginal land, unsustainable ‘slash-and-burn’ agricultural practice, logging for fuelwood, and poor irrigation techniques. Integrated methods for the restoration of all kind of degraded land i.e. In practice, productivity growth has steadily improved with support from industry and government sponsored research and … Its drivers are related to both human activity and the climate,and depend on the specific context. All of these things result in lower crop yields, which in turn lead to hunger, malnutrition, and increased health risks, all of which manifest as declining livelihoods and so return the cycle to a desire for security and wealth. It results into reduced growth of vegetation, reduced diversity of plant species, excessive growth of unwanted plant species, soil erosion, and degradation of land due to cattle movement. Land shortage and poverty, taken together, lead to non-sustainable land management practices, meaning the direct causes of degradation. In other words, it can be as a consequence of poor management of our natural capital (soils, water, vegetation, etc.). In terms of the affected land area, Asia suffers the most, with more than 1.3 billion hectares of dry lands degraded. While the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland 1987) highlighted sustainable development, land degradation was only then seen as a shadowy adversary in achieving long-term productive agriculture. Severe salinization and waterlogging may lead to complete crop failure. ... India’s precarious groundwater situation, land degradation and the threat of climate change all together make CA a desirable proposition – at least if we intend to tackle these challenges without comprising our … The Land Husbandry Branch was formed in 1960 to undertake land use planning. Privacy Policy 8. Prohibited Content 3. Biosurfactants play a physiological role in increasing the solubility and bioavailability of hydrophobic compounds and are involved in promoting the swarming motility of microorganism and in cellular physiological processes of signaling and differentiation (Kearns and Losick, 2003). Plant-based biosurfactants have excellent emulsification properties, although they are expensive to produce on an industrial scale. The model includes sub models for water flow, pesticide movement, nitrogen dynamics and salinity (Wagenet and Hutson, 1989). From: International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001, M.A. Understanding the complexity of the numerous and interacting socioeconomic and biophysical causal factors underlying land degradation and the problems of modern agriculture in the tropics and subtropics is difficult. It can be prevented by formation of ridge and furrow during irrigation which lessens run off. Following are some practises for controlling land degradation: 1. So reports the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an independent intergovernmental body set up by UN member states, in a new summary for policy makers. Desertification is not directly related to desert. The series of Sahel droughts in the mid-1980s illustrates the image problem of land degradation. A new integrated assessment paradigm, the DDP, has been proposed as a tool to aid in tackling the complexity of this phenomenon. The DDP, which is based on the simultaneous roles and complex feedbacks among the meteorological, ecological, and human dimensions of this problem, provides a roadmap (not a recipe) for thinking about drylands management issues. This calls for effective strategies and methods for its implementation, which requires the cooperation of specialists from many disciplines. Land degradation has many negative impacts on agriculture and environment. Nevertheless, in the search for sustainable global futures, land degradation has once again come to the fore. (Simulation of Nitrogen Dynamics in Arable Land) (Bradbury et al., 1993). When land is degraded, soil carbon and nitrous oxide is released into the atmosphere, making land degradation one of the most important contributors to climate change. Permaculture. Image Guidelines 5. According to a study conducted by Ajai et al. In this paper, we outline the impacts of restoration on ecosystems and societies and clarify some of the main challenges and approaches to ecological restoration. At about 50 percent of the total land use, agriculture is one of the biggest uses of land on our planet . Land degradation: Role of agricultural practices Most of these practices are not tuned to the natural processes and the natural variety of nature. The issue of land degradation is further contributing to the loss of production. Land degradation is defined as the temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of the land, and the diminution of the productive potential, including its major land uses (e.g., rain-fed arable, irrigation, forests), its farming systems (e.g., smallholder subsistence), and its value as an economic resource. Humans have cut, grazed, and burned these lands for thousands of years, leaving virtually no natural vegetation and resulting in extensive soil erosion. FAO implements a range of SLM-related programmes and approaches, such as farmer field schools; conservation agriculture; catchment- and far… One process or a combination of several processes may be involved in the desertification. This leads to what is called the yield gap in food crops, which is the difference between the yield potential of new modern varieties and the yield actually achieved by a farmer (Tittonell and Giller, 2013). The causes of land degradation in PICs include: deforestation, inappropriate agricultural practices, overgrazing, mining, population pressure, land tenure issues and changing climate. It is due mainly to nonsustainable human activities, such as overcultivation, overgrazing, deforestation, and poor irrigation practices and is often triggered or exacerbated by climate variability, mainly drought. The water-holding capacity of a degraded soil is only a fraction of a virgin soil. However, microbially produced biosurfactants have advantages over plant-based surfactants due to scale-up capacity, rapid production, and multifunctional properties. LAND DEGRADATION IN GUJARAT: AN OVERVIEW 279 Jr. of Industrial Pollution Control 31(2)(2015) pp 279-284 ... Degradation, Water, Deforestation, Population, Agriculture ABSTRACT Land degradation can be considered in terms of the loss of actual or potential productivity or utility as a result of natural or anthropic factors; it is the decline in land quality or reduction in its productivity. Land Degradation. Image Courtesy : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Karst_following_phosphate_mining_on_Nauru.jpg. International researchers – representing a wide range of disciplines such as ecology, atmospheric science, social sciences, policy, and integrated assessment – must work together to successfully address this pressing global problem. The modern agricultural practises, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides has adversely degraded the natural quality and fertility of the cultivation land. agricultural practices. Such factors include access to markets, land tenure, and local governance; external factors, such as natural disasters and conflict and war; and economic drivers, such as international policy and trade agreements. Restoration of eroded agricultural land is achieved through several agronomic and biological techniques. Land degradation is the major consequences of direct interference of human activities in the natural phenomenon. ... To … Moreover, plant-based surfactants have other issues such as solubility and hydrophobicity (Xu et al., 2011). However, the general lack of understanding and awareness about the root causes of land degradation persists, thus the slow progress in reversing the alarming trends of land degradation and land abandonment. Processes may be involved in the environment overgrazing, poor management of soils... Rapidly changing Social and economic conditions—along with the removal of vegetation cover land use ( MEDALUS ), salinization waterlogging. 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