TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS
Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) Name three states having black soil and the crop which is mainly grown in it.
Ans(i) Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are states having black soil.
Cotton is mainly grown in black soil.
(ii) What type of soil is found in the river deltas of the eastern coast? Give three main features of this type of soil.
(ii) Alluvial Soil is found in the river deltas of the eastern coast.
Three features of alluvial soil:
● Alluvial soils are very fertile.
● They are ideal for growing sugarcane, wheat and paddy.
● The regions of alluvial soils are intensively cultivated and densely populated.
(iii) What steps can be taken to control soil erosion in the hilly areas?
(iii) In hilly areas, soil erosion can be controlled by ploughing across contour-lines, making use of terrace farming techniques and using strips of grasses to check soil erosion by wind and water.
(iv) What are the biotic and abiotic resources? Give some examples.
(iv) Biotic Resources: The resources which are obtained from the biosphere and have life are called Biotic Resources. For example, animals and plants including human beings.
Abiotic Resources: The resources which are composed of non-living things are called Abiotic Resources. For example, water, minerals, metals, wind, solar energy etc.
Answer the following questions in about 120 words.
(i) Explain land use pattern in India and why has the land under forest not increased much since 1960-61?
Ans:Land resources in India are primarily divided into agricultural land, forest land, land meant for pasture and grazing, and waste land. Waste land includes rocky, arid and desert areas, and land used for other non-agricultural purposes such as housing, roads and industry. According to the recent data, about 54% of the total land area is cultivable or fallow, 22.78% is covered by forests, and 3.38% is used for grazing. The rest is waste land, with traces of miscellaneous cultivation.
The land under forest has not increased since 1960–61 because in the post-independence era demand for more land to expand agriculture, mainly after Green Revolution, developmental works and infrastructural facilities, led to clearance of forests areas. Industrialisation and urbanisation also decreased the forest area. Thus, land under forest has increased by only about 4% since 1960-61.
(ii) How have technical and economic development led to more consumption of resources?
Ans: Technical and economic development have led to more consumption of resources on account of various factors such as:
● Technological development provides sophisticated equipments. As a result, production increases ultimately leading to consumption of more resources.
● Technological development also leads to economic development. When the economic condition of a country rises, the needs of people also rise. It again results into more consumption of resources.
● Economic development provides favourable environment for the development of latest technologies. It helps to make or convert various materials found around us into resources. Finally, it results into the consumption of new available resources too.
Extra Questions
Q1. what is sustainable economic development.
Ans .Sustainable economic development means
‘development should take place without damaging the environment, and development in the present should not compromise with theneeds of the future generations.’
Q2. Define resources. How are resources classified?
Everything available in our environment, which can be used to satisfy our needs, provided it is technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally acceptable, can be termed as resource.
The resources can be classified into various categories:
1. On the basis of origin - biotic and abiotic
2. On the basis of exhaustibility - renewable and non-renewable
3. On the basis of ownership - individual, community, national and international
4. On the basis of status of development - potential, developed stock and reserves.
Q3. Provide a suitable classification for resources on the basis of ownership. Mention main features of such resources.
Ans Classification of resources on the basis of ownership:
• Individual Resources: Resources which are owned privately by individuals such as plots, houses, plantation, pasture lands, ponds etc.
• Community Owned Resources: Resources which are accessible to all the members of the community such as grazing grounds, burial grounds, village ponds etc.
• National Resources: All the resources within the political boundaries and oceanic area upto 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from the coast termed as territorial water and resources therein belong to the nation.
• International Resources: The oceanic resources beyond 200 nautical miles of the Exclusive Economic Zone belong to open ocean and no individual country can utilise these without the concurrence of international institutions.
Q4.write Short note on Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit 1992.
First International Earth Summit: It was first International Earth Summit, which was held in June 1992 in Rio de Janerio in Brazil. More than 100 heads of states participated in it.
Object: The Summit was convened for addressing the problems of environmental protection and socio-economic development at the global level.
Achievements:
The participants signed the Declaration on Global Climatic Changes and Biological Diversity.
It endorsed the Global forest Principles.
It adopted Agenda 21 for achieving Sustainable Development in the 21 st century.
Agenda 21: Its aim is to achieve global sustainable development. It is an agenda to combat environmental damage, poverty, disease through global cooperation on common interests, mutual needs and shared responsibilities. One major objective of the Agenda 21 is that every local government should draw its own local Agenda 21.
Q5.Major problem faced due to the indiscriminate use of resources by Man- Discuss.
Ans
Human beings used the resources indiscriminately and this has led to the following problems.
1) Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of few individuals.
2) Accumulation of resources in few hands, which, in turn, divided the society into two, segments i.e. haves and have-nots or rich and poor.
3. Indiscriminate exploitation of resources has led to global ecological crises.
Q6.Write about resource planning. What were Gandhiji’s views on resource conservation?
Solution:
Resource planning is a complex process, which involves:
(i) 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.
(ii) Evolving a planning structure endowed with appropriate technology, skill and institutional set up for implementing resource development plans.
(iii) Matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans.
Gandhiji voiced his concern about resource conservation in the following words: “There is enough for everybody’s need and not for any body’s greed.” He placed the greedy and selfish individuals and exploitative nature of modern technology as the root cause for resource depletion at the global level. He was against mass production and wanted to replace it with the production by the masses.
Q7. Why is resource planning essential? Explain three reasons.
Ans . Resource Planning is essential mainly because of the following reasons:
1. Resources are not equally distributed throughout the world. Within a country also some regions may be rich in resources and self-sufficient in terms of availability of resources while some other regions may have an acute shortage of some vital resources.
2. Some regions in the country that are rich in natural resources may be included among the economically backward regions. On the contrary, there are some regions that have a poor resource base but are economically developed.
3. Technology, quality of human resources, and the historical experiences of the people influence resource development. In a country like India which has enormous diversity in the availability of resources, resource planning is indispensable.
Q8. India has enormous diversity in the availability of resources.’ Explain.
Or
“India is rich in certain types of resources but deficient in some other resources.” Support your answer with examples. [CBSE Sept. 2012, 2014]
Answer: (i) The states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are rich in mineral resources but lack industrialisation.
(ii) Arunachal Pradesh has an abundance of water resources, but lacks in infrastructural development. The state of Rajasthan is very well endowed with solar and wind energy but lacks in water resources. The cold desert area of Ladakh is relatively isolated from the rest of the country due to lack of means of transportation and communication.
(iii) Most of North-Eastern states are rich in natural vegetation but lacks in fertile soil.
Q9.Describe any 5 types of soil available in India.
Ans Five important soils of India are:
(a) Alluvial Soils
- It is the most important and widespread soil of India. The entire northern plain is made of this soil.
Alluvial soil
- Alluvials have been deposited by three important Himalayan rivers— Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Indus.
- These soils consist of various proportions of sand, silt, and clay.
- These are of two types: Khadar and Bangar.
- They contain potash, phosphoric acid, and limestone.
(b) Black Soil:
- These soils are black in colour and are also known as Regur or cotton soils.
- This type of soil is found in the Deccan plateau region and is made up of lava flows.
- They are well known for their capacity to hold moisture.
- They are rich in calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash, and lime.
(c) Laterite Soil:
- Laterite soil develops in areas of high temperature and heavy rainfall. This is the result of intense leaching. The Humus content of the soil is very low.
- These are found in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and the hilly areas of Orissa and Assam.
D.Red and Yellow Soils:
• Found in the areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern parts of the Deccan plateau.
• Also found in parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern parts of the middle Ganga plain and along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghats.
▪︎ Develop a reddish colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks.
E) Arid soil
•Its range from red to brown in colour.
•It is generally sandy in texture and saline in nature.
▪︎In some areas, the salt content is higher and common salt is obtained by evaporation of water.
•Due to the dry climate, high temperature, evaporation is faster and the soil lacks humus and moisture.
Q10. What steps can be taken to control soil erosion in hilly areas?
Ans
1This is contour ploughing.Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate the flow of water down the slopes.
2. Terrace cultivation restricts erosion Steps can be cut out on the slopes mapping terraces. .
3.Strip cropping . It is a very effective method of soil conservation or controlling soil erosion. Large fields are divided into strips and strips of grass are left to grow between the crops.
Important points
●Resource planning: Resource planning is proper and judicious planning of resources.
●Fallow land . Agriculture land that is left uncultivated for one or more season to allow the soil to recover its fertility .
●Net sown area . physical extent of land on which crops are sown harvested is known as net sown area.
Gross cropped area.Area sown more than once in an
agricultural year plus net sown area
●Land under different relief features :plain 43% mountain 30% plateau 27%
●Land use data, however, is available only for 93 per cent of the total geographical area because the land use reporting for most of the north-east 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.
●As per National forest policy India must have 33% Forest area
●Net sown are of India is about 54%
●Gullies :The running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes deep channels as gullies
●bad land.The land becomes unfit for cultivation and is known as bad land.
●Sheet erosion : Sometimes water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope. In such cases the top soil is washed away. This is known as sheet
erosion.
●Large fields can be divided into strips. Strips of grass are left to grow between the crops. This breaks up the force of the wind. This method is known as strip cropping.
●Rows of such trees are called shelter belts. These shelter belts have contributed significantly to the stabilisation of sand dunes and in stabilising the desert in western India
●Club of Romea dvocated resource conservation for the first
• in 1974, Gandhian philosophy was once again presented by Schumacher in his book Small is Beautiful time in a more systematic way in 1968.
•the Brundtland Commission Report, 1987 talked about resource conservation This report introduced the concept of ‘Sustainable Development’ and advocated it as a means for resource conservation, which was subsequently published in a book
entitled Our Common Future.
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