Land Resources

Introduction

Resources that we get from nature and that exist without any interference from humankind are called natural resources. Sunlight, water, air, and landform altogether form the essential ecosystem in which all organisms live.  Over time humans have progressed, and to do that they have exploited all the natural resources, but the land resource has been the one that has been exploited most. 

We have a limited amount of resources but human needs are unlimited. For human beings land has many needs: it functions as an asset, produces food, stores water, has minerals for plant growth, and more. The land resource is not a renewable resource, as the demand for land increases with the increase of population, the amount of land will remain the same. Many measures and techniques have been adapted to preserve the land that we have and we need to understand how to manage the land.   

Land Use Pattern

Land use pattern is the layout or arrangement of the uses and purposes of the land. Climate, soil, the density of population, technical and socio-economic features determine the land use pattern.  Forests, wasteland, cultivation, and civilization are the most important types of land use.  Land use in civilization is the most exploited, roads, transport routes, housing, industries, and human settlement. 

Fallow land is the land that has not been in use for more than 3 to 5 years and the neglected or unused urban areas like an empty lot or a playground is called Wasteland. Wasteland is the type of land which has lost its capacity for vegetation and nor is in use for civilization. Whereas crops can be cultivated on Fallow land, it still has not loose fertility but no cultivation has been done on it for years. Physical, economic, and political cause the problem of land resources.  

Land Degradation 

The process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of humankind and natural hazards is called land degradation. Land degradation is a serious issue that affects the environment and has an indirect impact on food production. The continued degradation of land leads to a decline in the productivity of the land capacity of vegetation. 

Causes Of Land Degradation

Deforestation: Forest is very important for maintaining the fertility of the soil. Roots of trees hold on to soil thus preventing washing away of soil by rain, flood, or wind. 

Overgrazing: Farmers take their cattle and livestock for grazing, but they mostly don’t do rotation. Due to this the grass and another type of vegetation do not get a chance to grow thus causing land degradation. 

Water-logging: In the agriculture field when proper irrigation is not done or maintenance the drainage system lacks, then excessive waterlogging can happen. If this happens then the surface water and the groundwater gets mixed which will bring salt from the groundwater level, thus ruining the fertility of the land.  

Desertification: In arid, dry sub-humid, and semi-arid regions due to natural and human activities desertification happens. Desertification is when land becomes desert-like.  

Soil erosion: When the wind and water cause the displacement or washes away the top layer of soil it is called soil erosion. The loss of the top layer of soil causes degradation of the quality of land, then it will not be able to provide minerals to plants. It will reduce the crop yielding potential of land, the groundwater level will go down, and can cause sinkholes. 

Conservation of land resources

Steps and measures that should be taken to conserve land resources are afforestation, proper grazing and maintaining irrigation, regulating pesticides and fertilizers for agriculture, properly using wasteland and fallow land. 

Conclusion

We have a limited amount of resources but human needs are unlimited. For human beings land has many needs: it functions as an asset, produces food, stores water, has minerals for plant growth, and more. The land resource is not a renewable resource, as the demand for land increases with the increase of population, the amount of land will remain the same. Land use pattern is the layout or arrangement of the uses and purposes of the land. Climate, soil, the density of population, technical and socio-economic features determine the land use pattern.  Forests, wasteland, cultivation, and civilization are the most important types of land use.  Land use in civilization is the most exploited, roads, transport routes, housing, industries, and human settlement.