Question

Leaves falling from trees should be
(A) Dumped into landfills areas
(B) Dried and burnt
(C) Used in making compost
(D) Dumped near the ponds and lakes

Answer 1

Hint: Plants and trees have the ability to regrow their body parts throughout the span of their life. Since they are immobile, they are sensitive to the changes around them like seasonal changes, reduced sunlight etc.

Complete answer:
Leaves are the main factories of photosynthesis in plants as they contain chlorophylls. But it gets disrupted due to stress or ageing. The leaves of a plant may fall due to the following reasons:
Seasonal changes: Plants are also sensitive to seasonal changes and respond to it by changing their leaf colour or by letting the leaves fall. The change in colour happens as the chlorophyll starts breaking in the leaves and gives rise to other coloured pigments like anthocyanin (red), carotene and xanthophyll. Later, the tree starts developing special tissues at the point where the leaves hold onto the stem that eventually severs the leaf from the plant.
Senescence: It is a process that happens when the plants start ageing. It occurs in order to recycle all the nutrients to the growing as well as storage parts. The changes in plants are similar to the previous case.
Such leaves falling from the trees need to be disposed in the regions where humans reside as they keep accumulating. Some disposal methods are mentioned in the options. Let us see which one is the most efficient way.
Landfills are an efficient way to dispose of hazardous wastes and other municipal and industrial wastes. But it is not suitable to dump organic wastes as they start producing methane, a greenhouse gas, inside the landfill. Along with this, the energy involved in decaying also gets sequestered.
The leaves take a long time to dry as sunlight availability is less. However, burning the leaves is not sustainable as it emits pollutants in the air. It also increases the risk of fire hazards.
Making compost using the leaves is the most efficient way as the leaves can decay and act as a manure to the soil, which can be used by plants and trees.
Dumping the leaves near the lakes and ponds disrupts the aquatic lives in the water by polluting it.

Thus, leaves falling from trees should be (C) Used in making compost.

Note:
Composting is an aerobic method in which organic wastes along with water and soil are let to decompose. The microorganisms in soil and earthworms break down the organic matter. After decomposition, the humus is rich in nutrients required to make the soil fertile. For these reasons, composting is regarded as the most efficient way to dispose of organic wastes.