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Soil Loss in India Our Lucknow Bureau 31 DEC A survey by the CMIE on "Soil Degradation in India", has come out with some startling results. According to the survey, worldwide losses of 5-6 million hectares are lost to severe soil degradation annually. According to the survey, soil erosion in India basically is due to three main reasons, deforestation, overgrazing and degradation due to use of fertilizers. The most threatened areas have been found to be the foothills of the Himalayas where loss of topsoil and nutrient losses have resulted in huge losses in agricultural production. However according to the survey, there are signs that this erosion is being controlled by the use of soil-friendly farming practices like contour farming, terracing , vegetative barriers, & better water management techniques are being more widely accepted across the country. The survey has noted that these practices are increasing very rapidly, almost twofold every year. The use of Geographical Information Systems(GIS) to control and inspect lands in states like Andhra pradesh & Punjab have led to large savings in crops. Another threat seen in the country is it's increasing dependance on Irrigation. Poor water management on irrigated cropland is a leading cause of degraded farmland. Inadequate drainage can lead to waterlogging of the soil or to salinization, in which salt levels build up in the soil to toxic levels. With some 15 percent of all irrigated land suffering some degree of waterlogging and salinization, these two problems alone represent a significant threat to India's productive capacity.  |
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