Question

Which of the following is the main cause of land degradation in Punjab?
a.Deforestation
b.Intensive cultivation
c.Overgrazing
d.Over irrigation

Answer 1

Hint: Land degradation is a process in which the significance of the biophysical environment is influenced by a monopoly of human-induced processes performing upon the land. India is facing an acute crisis of land degradation. About 29% of the land is considered degraded.

Complete Step by Step Answer:
Land degradation is a disruption to the land perceived to be unsuitable. The main causes of Land degradation are;
-Deforestation: The process of cutting down forests will adversely affect the soil as they help in binding the soil particles together.
-Fertilizers and pesticides are important for boosting food production but their excessive use creates an imbalance in the number of certain nutrients in the soil.
-The rise in livestock population has resulted in overexploitation of pastures due to which vegetation is unable to withstand and thrive in an area and inadequacy of vegetation cover leads to soil erosion.
-Desertification is an extensive procedure of land degradation in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas arising from various factors, such as climatic fluctuations and human activities.
-Exaggerated irrigation and inappropriate drainage installation in the fields cause a rise in the groundwater level which blends with surface water used for irrigation and creates a situation called water-logging. This leads to land degradation.
In India, the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, and Karnataka have their lands undergoing degradation which amounts to 8.4 per cent.
States like Punjab and Haryana are agriculture rich states. Over irrigation is the primary cause of land degradation in such areas. Due to waterlogging, there is a rise in salinity and alkalinity of the soil.

Hence, on the basis of the above facts options a, b, c stand irrelevant. Hence, option 'd' is correct.

Note: The government of India has launched schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Soil Health Card Scheme, and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana to fight the issue of land degradation. At the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) 2015 in Paris, India has pledged to bring million hectares of degraded land into restoration by 2020, and next 8 million hectares by 2030.