Land and Mineral Resources and Conservational Management

Submitted by:

Hemant Parashar, Branch: CSE

Project Guide: Dr. Tanuja NautiyalDepartment of Chemistry

Northern India Engineering College New Delhi

Current Land Use

Land Use TypesLand Use Types WildernessWilderness National ParksNational Parks Wildlife RefugesWildlife Refuges ForestsForests WetlandsWetlands Agricultural landsAgricultural lands Urban landsUrban lands

Land Degradation

The growth in the population and developmental activities have not only brought about degradation of land but have also aggravated the pace of natural forces to cause damage to land. At present there are about 130 million hectares of degraded land in India. Approximately 28% of it belongs to the category of Forest degraded area, 56% of it is water eroded area and the rest is affected by saline and alkaline deposits.

Land Degradation

The terms land degradation and soil degradation are synonymous. Soil is integral part of land, hence, any deterioration in its quality, mass or volume, either singly or in combination, is also a deterioration of land. The term soil degradation is more specific and is directly related to crop production, while land degradation is a more comprehensive term.

Status of our land 23% of usable land degraded

Causes Deforestation Agricultural mismanagement Urbanization Implications Soil erosion Pollution Disturbed natural cycles

Land Resources

Land degradation is a major problem, largely related to agricultural use. The major causes include-

Causes for Land Degradation

Land clearance, such as clearcutting and deforestation.

Agricultural depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming practices.

Livestock including overgrazing and overdrafting. Inappropriate irrigation and overdrafting.

Land degradation is a major problem, largely related to agricultural use. The major causes include-

Causes for Land Degradation

Urban sprawl and commercial development. Quarrying of stone, sand, ore and minerals. Exposure of naked soil after harvesting by heavy

equipment. Dumping of non-biodegradable trash, such

as plastics . Increase in field size due to economies of scale,

reducing shelter for wildlife, as hedgerows and copses disappear.

Mineral ResourcesIndia is rich in mineral resources. It has fairly abundant reserves of iron ore and mica and adequate supplies of manganese ore, titanium, bauxite and coal. There is a deficiency of lead, gold, zinc, copper. The country earns a foreign exchange from the export of minerals like iron ore, titanium, manganese ore, bauxite and granite. In all there are over 3000 mines in India. About 8 lakh people are employed in the mining sector. It accounts for about 11% of the country’s industrial output industrial development of the country depends upon this sector.

Classification Of Mineral resources

Minerals

Metallic Non-Metallic Energy

Coal and Fossil fuels

Mica, Potash,Sulphur salts etc.

Ferrous Non-Ferrous Precious

Iron, cobalt,Nickel etc.

Copper, lead,Tin, bauxite

etc.

Silver, gold, Platinum etc.

Exploitation of Mineral Wealth

Minerals often require quite a lot of processing to get the desired metals from them. The exploitation of natural resources started to emerge in the 19th century as natural resource extraction developed. During the 20th century, energy consumption rapidly increased. Today, about 80% of the world’s energy consumption is sustained by the extraction of fossil fuels, which consists of oil, coal and gas. Another non-renewable resource that is exploited by humans are Subsoil minerals such as precious metals that are mainly used in the production of industrial commodities. Intensive agriculture is an example of a mode of production that hinders many aspects of the natural environment, for example the degradation of forests in a terrestrial ecosystem and water pollution in an aquatic ecosystem. As the world population rises and economic growth occurs, the depletion of natural resources influenced by the unsustainable extraction of raw materials becomes an increasing concern.

Exploitation of Mineral Wealth

• Locating a supply of mineral• Mining• Processing the mineral to get the desired products.

The steps involved are:-

MININGMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, or reef, which forms the mineralized package of economic interest to the miner.Ores recovered by mining include metals, coal and oil shale, gemstones, limestone, and dimension stone, rock salt and potash, gravel, and clay. Mining is required to obtain any material that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or created artificially in a laboratory or factory. Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water.

MININGMining of stone and metal has been done since pre-historic times. Modern mining processes involve prospecting for ore bodies, analysis of the profit potential of a proposed mine, extraction of the desired materials, and final reclamation of the land after the mine is closed.The nature of mining processes creates a potential negative impact on the environment both during the mining operations and for years after the mine is closed. This impact has led to most of the world's nations adopting regulations to moderate the negative effects of mining operations. Safety has long been a concern as well, and modern practices have improved safety in mines significantly.

Effects of mining• Land degradation and deforestation.• Loss of flora and fauna.• Overexploitation of earth.• Water, air, and noise pollution creating

vibrational problems in the region of mining.• Lowering of ground water table.• Released green house gases.• Excess of waste produced.• Migration of Tribal people.• Risking of human life.

Conservation of minerals

• Searching a substitute of widely used minerals.• Recycling.• Metal scrapping for specific metals and minerals.• Minimizing the mineral as well as the metal

waste.• Development of alloys that are new and

contribute to conservation of minerals.

Land Conservation• Afforestation i.e. plantation of more and

more trees.• Sustainable use of land and other

resources.• Checking soil erosion.• Public awareness.• Encouraging natural vegetation

THANK YOUSubmitted by:

Hemant Parashar, Branch: CSE

Project Guide: Dr. Tanuja NautiyalDepartment of Chemistry

Northern India Engineering College New Delhi