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Resources and Development Class 10 Notes

What are Resources?

Resources: Everything available in our environment which can be used to satisfy
our needs can be termed as a ‘Resource’, provided, it is -
 technologically accessible,
 economically feasible and
 culturally acceptable

Interdependent relationship between nature, technology, and institutions

 The process of transformation of things available in our environment involves
an interactive relationship between nature, technology, and institutions.
 Human beings interact with nature through technology and create institutions
to accelerate their economic development.

Classification of Resources
Development of Resources
The problems created as a result of indiscriminate utilization of natural resources
are:
 Depletion of resources at a faster rate for satisfying the greed of a few
individuals.
 Accumulation of resources in few hands, as a result, dividing the
society into two segments i.e., haves and have-nots or rich and poor.
 Indiscriminate exploitation of resources has enhanced global ecological
crises such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental
pollution, and land degradation.

Sustainable Development: It means development should take place without

damaging the environment, and development in the present should not compromise
with the needs of the future generations.’

Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992:

 In June 1992, more than 100 heads of state met in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil,
for the first International Earth Summit.
 The Summit was convened for addressing urgent problems of environmental
protection and socio-economic development at the global level.
 Leaders of more than 100 countries agreed to adopt Agenda 21. It is a
declaration signed by world leaders to prevent environmental damages,
poverty, diseases

Agenda 21: Agenda 21 is the declaration signed by world leaders in 1992 at the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which took
place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It aims at achieving global sustainable development.
The two principles are:
  To combat environmental damage, poverty, and disease through global
cooperation on common interests, mutual needs, and shared
responsibilities.
 Every local government should draw its own local Agenda 21.

Resource Planning

Need for resource planning

 Resource planning is a widely accepted strategy for the judicious use

of resources.
 Resources in India are not evenly distributed. Some parts of the
country are rich in one resource but deficient in other important
resources. For example – Rajasthan is rich in solar and wind energy
but lacks water resources. Jharkhand is rich in minerals and coal
deposits but lacks industrialization.
 Most of the resources present in our environment are limited.
Therefore, if these resources are not preserved or not used rationally
we will be in great trouble.
 To reduce regional disparity.
 To save for future generations and to avoid wastage or overutilization
of resources.

Three stages of resource planning

Identification and inventory of resources across the regions of the

country. This involves surveying, mapping, and qualitative and
quantitative estimation and measurement of the resources.
 Evolving a planning structure endowed with appropriate technology,
skill, and institutional setup for implementing resource development
plans.
 Matching the resource development plans with overall national
development plans.
Land Resources

India has land under a variety of relief features, namely; mountains, plateaus, plains,
and islands.

 About 43% of the land area is plain, which provides facilities for
agriculture and industry.
  Mountains account for 30% of the total surface area of the country and
ensure the perennial flow of some rivers, providing facilities for tourism
and ecological aspects.
 About 27% of the area of the country is the plateau region. It
possesses rich reserves of minerals, fossil fuels, and forests.
Land Utilization

Land resources are used for the following purposes:

Forests
 Land not available for cultivation
 Barren and wasteland
 Land put to non-agricultural uses, e.g. buildings, roads,
factories, etc.
 Other uncultivated lands (excluding fallow land)
 Permanent pastures and grazing land
 Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not included in
the net sown area)
 Culturable wasteland (left uncultivated for more than 5
agricultural years)
 Fallow lands
 Current fallow (left without cultivation for one or less than one
agricultural year)
 Other than the current fallow (left uncultivated for the past 1
to 5 agricultural years)
 Net Sown Area
 the physical extent of land on which crops are sown
harvested is known as the net sown area.
 Gross cropped area
 Area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus the
net sown area is known as gross cropped area.
Land Use Pattern in India

Land use data is available only for 93% of the total geographical area because

 the land use reporting for most of the northeast states except Assam
has not been done fully.
 Moreover, some areas of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan
and China have also not been surveyed.
33% of the geographical area should be under forest as mentioned in the National
Forest Policy of 1952 because:

 it is essential for maintaining ecological balance.

 It provides a livelihood to millions of people who live on the fringes of
these forests and depend upon it.
Land Degradation and Conservation Measures

 Mining: In states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and

Odisha deforestation due to mining has caused severe land
degradation.
 Overgrazing: In states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and
Maharashtra overgrazing is one of the main reasons for land
degradation.
 Over-irrigation: In the states of Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar
Pradesh, over-irrigation is responsible for land degradation due to
water logging leading to an increase in salinity and alkalinity in the soil.
Ways to Prevent Land Degradation:

 Afforestation and proper management of grazing.

 Planting of shelter belts of plants, control over grazing, and stabilization
of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes are some of the methods to
check land degradation in arid areas.
 Proper management of waste lands, control of mining activities, and
proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after
treatment can reduce land and water degradation in industrial and
suburban areas.
Soils

Factors on which soil formation depends:

 Relief, parent rock or bedrock, climate, vegetation, and other forms of

life and time are important factors in the formation of soil.
 Various forces of nature such as changes in temperature, actions of
running water, wind, and glaciers, activities of decomposers, etc.
contribute to the formation of soil.
 Chemical and organic changes which take place in the soil are equally
important.
Classification of Soils
India: Major Soil Types

Alluvial Soils
Alluvial soil is found in the entire northern plain. It is the most widely spread soil in
India.

The main features of alluvial soil are:

  It is formed by the sediments deposited by river water.
 It consists of various proportions of sand, silt, and clay.
 It is very fertile. It contains an adequate proportion of potash,
phosphoric acid, and lime.
 It is ideal for the growth of sugarcane, paddy, wheat, and other cereals.
 Due to its high fertility, regions of alluvial soils are intensively cultivated
and densely populated.
On the basis of age, alluvial soils can be classified into: Khadar and Bangar.

Khadar Bangar

It is a new alluvial soil. It is an old alluvial soil.

Lower concentration of kankar nodules. Higher concentration of kankar nodules.

It has more fine particles. It has less fine particles.

It is more fertile. It is less fertile.

Black Soil

The following are the characteristics of regur soil (also known as black soil):

It is made up of extremely fine clayey material. They are well-known for
their capacity to hold moisture.
 It is rich in soil nutrients such as calcium carbonate, magnesium,
potash, and lime.
 These soils are generally poor in phosphoric contents.
 They develop deep cracks during hot weather, which helps in the
proper aeration of the soil.
 It is ideal for growing cotton, so it is also known as ‘black cotton soil’.
Red and Yellow Soil

 Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in

the eastern and southern parts of the Deccan plateau.
 Yellow and red soils are also found in parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh,
southern parts of the middle Ganga plain, and along the piedmont zone
of the Western Ghats.
 These soils develop a reddish color due to the diffusion of iron in
crystalline and metamorphic rocks.
  It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form.
Laterite Soil

 The laterite soil develops under tropical and subtropical climates with
alternate wet and dry seasons.
 This soil is the result of intense leaching due to heavy rain.
 Lateritic soils are mostly deep to very deep, acidic (pH<6.0), and
generally deficient in plant nutrients
 Occurs mostly in southern states, the Western Ghats region of
Maharashtra, Odisha, some parts of West Bengal, and the North-east
regions.
Arid Soils

 Arid soils range from red to brown in color.

 They are generally sandy in texture and saline in nature.
 In some areas, the salt content is very high, and common salt is
obtained by evaporating the water.
 Due to the dry climate, and high temperature, evaporation is faster and
the soil lacks humus and moisture.
Forest Soils

 They are loamy and silty on valley sides and coarse-grained on the
upper slopes.
 In the snow-covered areas of the Himalayas, these soils experience
denudation and are acidic with low humus content.
 The soils found in the lower parts of the valleys, particularly on the river
terraces and alluvial fans are fertile.
Soil Erosion and Soil Conservation

Soil erosion is the displacement of the upper layer of soil, caused by various agents
such as water, wind, and human activities. This can lead to loss of fertile land,
reduced crop yields, and increased risk of landslides and flooding.

Types of soil erosion:

 Gullies: The running water cuts through the clayey soil and makes
deep channels/gullies. The unfit land caused by gullies is called bad
land or ravines (bad land called ravine in the Chambal basin).
 Sheet erosion: Water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope.
The topsoil is washed away. This process is known as sheet erosion.
Causes of soil erosion:
  Human activities like deforestation, over-grazing, construction, mining,
etc. are responsible for soil erosion.
 Natural forces like wind, glaciers, and water also lead to soil erosion.
Running water cuts through the clayey soil and makes deep channels
known as gullies, which makes the land unfit for cultivation. The wind
blows loose soil off flat or sloping land known as wind erosion.
 Soil erosion is also caused due to defective methods of farming.
Ploughing in the wrong way i.e., up and down the slope forms channels
for the quick flow of water leading to soil erosion.

Measures to prevent soil erosion:

 Contour ploughing: Ploughing along the contour lines can decrease the
speed of water flow down the slopes and soil erosion can be
prevented.
 Terrace cultivation: Step or terrace cultivation on slopes restricts
erosion. Western and Central Himalayas have well-developed terrace
farming.
 Strip cropping: Large fields can be divided into strips and strips of
grass are left to grow between the crops. This breaks up the force of
the wind and prevents soil erosion.
 Shelter belts: Rows of trees called shelter belts have led to the
stabilization of sand dunes in the desert in western India.