Question

In India the percentage of wasteland due to water erosion is_______.
A. 56%
B. 28%
C.10%
D. 6%

Answer 1

Hint:Wasteland is referred to an area which is no longer barren. It can no longer be used for cultivation.The soil in this region has a low productive quality.

Complete answer: The areas that have been affected by erosion, high alkalinity or high salinity levels are called wasteland areas. These areas are unstable ecologically and the topsoil gets displaced.India has around 130 million degraded land at present.56% of this land has degraded due to erosion by water. 28% of this land is under the category of forest degraded lands. Land degradation from the seawater inundation, especially from river deltas and low lying islands is a possible cause of land hazard in India as indicated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007. Hence in low lying areas agriculture becomes difficult due to rising sea levels which increases the salinity level in the soil. The two factors that determine the vulnerability of the soil are sensitivity and resilience. Sensitivity refers to the degree of changes through which the land goes due to natural or human intervention. Resilience refers to the ability of the land to absorb such changes.
So, the correct answer is option A.

Note: The management of these wastelands are important so that they can be reused. Improving wasteland can be done by the following steps:
1. Large scale afforestation which would help restore the soil balance.
2.River water control.
3.Crop rotation helps to increase the fertility of the soil.
5.The leaching with more water can be done to reduce the salinity of the affected land.
New strategies and programmes must be undertaken and farmers must be encouraged to adopt different means to improve wasteland and by growing crops through contour farming.