CHAPTER-1 RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

Points to Remember:-
1. Exclusive Economic Zone: - It is a sea zone extending up to 200 nautical miles into the sea from the baseline of the coast prescribed by United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea.
2. Cold Desert:- It refers to that place which is covered by snow and is located at higher altitudes and higher latitudes e.g. Ladakh in India and Antarctica.
3. Brundtland Commission:- The commission formally known as World Commission on Environment and Development was constituted by United Nations under the chairmanship of Norway's Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland to look into the matter of sustainable development.
4. Fallow Land: - Land left uncultivated for one or more seasons for regaining fertility.
5. Net sown Area:- Area under crop cultivation in a year under consideration.
6. Gross Cropped Area:- It includes that area which is sown more than once in a year plus net
sown area.
7. Deccan Trap: - It is an area of igneous rocks covering a large area of Deccan plateau in
West central India.
8. Crystalline rocks: - Igneous rocks with crystallised minerals.
9. Leaching:- Draining away of the plant nutrients from top soil to subsoil due to excessive
rainfall.
10. Rill:- It is a small finger shaped groove developed on hillslopes due to water erosion
11. Gully:-It is a relatively deep vertical channel generally found over hilly areas formed by
downward movement of water along the slope.
12. Ravine: - Its mall narrow steep sided valley that is larger than a gully and smaller than a
canyon
13. Contour Ploughing:- This is the farming practice of ploughing across the slope along the
contour lines.
14. Agenda 21:- It is the declaration signed by world leaders at United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development,
15. Club of Rome: - It was a journal in which the works of Roman geographers were published
form time to time.
16. Duars: - It is a piedmont plain formed by Tista river in Darjeeling area of West Bengal.
17. Chos:-It is the name of seasonal streams in Punjab which are responsible for the formation
of piedmont plains.
 QNO1:-Name three states having black soil and the crop which is mainly grown in it.
Ans: The three states with black soil are Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. The
crops which are mainly grown there are cotton, sugarcane and tobacco.
QNO1:- type of soil is found in the river deltas of the Eastern coast? Give three main features of this type of soil.
Ans:- Alluvial soil is found in the river deltas of eastern coast. Three features of this soil are:-

• This soil is very fertile It contains potash, phosphoric acid and lime
•  It turns to be alkaline soil in drier regions of the country

 QNO2:- steps can be taken to control soil erosion in hilly areas?
Ans:- Following steps should be taken to control soil erosion in hilly areas:-

• Afforestation by planting more and more trees
•  Terrace farming and contour ploughing done across the slope along contour lines
• Over grazing by large number of animals on same grassland continuously
•  Plugging of gullies by rock dams etc.

QNO3:- are biotic Abiotic resources? Give some examples.
Ans:-Biotic Resources:- All resources which are obtained from the Biosphere and have life are
known as biotic resources eg forests, animals, birds
Abiotic Resources:- All resources which are non-living are called abiotic resources eg mineral
ores and petroleum etc.
QNO4:-Explain land use pattern in India. Why has the land under forests not increased much since 1960-61?
Ans:- Land resources in India are primarily divided into:

•  Agricultural land
•  Forest land
•  Pasture and grazing land
•  Land put to non-agricultural uses(housing, roads and industry)
•  Waste lands(arid, rocky and desert area)

According to recent data available with us Net sown area of India is about 54% out of the total reporting area of the country, 22.78% is covered with forests and 3.38% is used for grazing  Improper use of forest land has degraded the available land area and made conservation
of forests difficult. Human activities such as deforestation, mining and quarrying have
contributed to the slow growth of forests. These are the various reasons why land under
forests has increased by only about 4% since 1960-61
QNO5:-How have technical and economic development led to more consumption of resources?
Ans:- The following technical and economic development have led to the more consumption of natural resources :-
Industrialisation: - Technological development has led to industrialisation which has
resulted in more consumption of resources for manufacturing purposes.
Commercial Agriculture: - Technological development has changed the sustainable
agriculture into commercial agriculture which resulted in over utilisation of soil.
Mining:- Technological development has improved the process of mining. By utilising the
modern machines we can now extract huge quantities of minerals from the earth's
surface which will lead to the depletion of these mineral resources in near future.
Bulk production:- The development of technology has contributed to the mass production
of goods and better services to the people which are putting more pressure on the
existing natural resources.
Urbanisation:- Increase in the population of cities and towns has led to the rise in the
demand of essential things, commodities and services Manufacturing of these things
and commodities has led to the depletion of resources.
 QNO6:- are the steps involved in resource planning?
Ans:- There are three ways which can ensure sustainable development or three stages of
resource planning essential for sustainable development which include:-
•=>.Identification and Inventory of resources across the regions of the country, which
involves surveying, mapping and measuring the quality and quantity of the resource.
••.=>Planning for the development of the resources by using appropriate skill, technology
and institutional set up present within the country,
••• =>.Resource development plans should match with the overall development plans of the
country. These plans should focus on conservational measures of resources like
reduce, recycle and reuse for achieving sustainable development.
QNO7:-  Suggest some measures to solve the problem of land degradation?
Ans:- Following measures can be helpful to solve the problem of land degradation:-

• Afforestation
• Check on overgrazing
• Check expansion of deserts by planting thorny bushes in these areas
• Proper disposal of industrial effluents
• Planting of shelter belts
• Check on mining activities

QNO8:-Which is the main cause of land degradation in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. How can it be checked?
Ans:- These all three states are semi-arid. These states have huge population of livestock
which are left open to graze on the grasslands. Large scale overgrazing is responsible for
land degradation in these states. Following easures can be taken to check land degradation
in these states:-

• Afforestation
• Check on overgrazing by demarcating certain areas for grazing purposes only

QNO9:-  Describe the nature and distribution of Black soil in India?
Ans:- The main characteristic features of black soil are:-

• Black soil is made up of fine clayey particles with high moisture holding capacity
• It is rich in calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime but poor in phosphoric content
• It develops deep cracks during hot weather
• It is found in Maharashtra, Gujarat, MP, Chhattisgarh, Godavari and Krishna deltas.

QNO10:-Describe some characteristic features of arid soils in India?
Ans:- Main characteristics of arid soils are as under:-

• Its colour varies from red to brown
• It has rough texture and high salinity due to high temperature and deficient in moisture content
• The calcium content increases downward and forms kankary layer

QNO11:-Discuss soil formation?
Ans:- The formation of soil involves several factors which are as under:-

• Parent Material:- Rocks decompose and disintegrates through weathering which influence the colour, texture, permeability and mineral quantities of the soil
• Climate:- Temperature and rainfall influence the rate of weathering
• Relief:- Slope influence the thickness of the soil. Hill slopes have thin layers of soil while as plain areas have thick layers of soil
• Time: - It provides maturity to the soil
• Flora and Fauna:- They add humus to the soil and make it fertile

QNO12:-Explain the role of human beings in resource development?
Ans:- Human beings are an important resource and are important factor in resource development. Human beings utilise technology to make natural resources more useful and economically beneficial e.g extracting metals from minerals and making different things from metals humans have added value to the natural resources. So, the role of humans in resource development is very important.
Qno 13. Discuss the characteristic features of alluvial soil?
Ans:- Alluvial soil is made up of silt, sand and clay. It is deposited by three main Himalayan
rivers Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus. Particle size is bigger and coarser in the upper reaches of
the river and becomes finer as the river flows down.
     It is most prevalent in the river valleys of the northern plains as well as eastern coastal plains in the deltas of rivers of the peninsular plateau like Mahanadi, Krishna and Kaveri.
According to their age, alluvial soils can be classified as Bhangar (old alluvial) and Khadar (new alluvial)  soils. Khadar has higher concentration of kankar and contains more fine particles than Bhangar. The soil is rich in nutrients like potash, phosphoric acid and lime which is suitable for the cultivation of rice, wheat, sugarcane and pulses.
Qno14. Distinguish between renewable and non-renewable resources?
Ans:-Renewable Resources: - These resources are renewed by nature in a short span of time.
Most of these resources are inexhaustible like solar energy, water etc. They are also termed as
continuous or flow resources.
Non Renewable Resources: - These resources may not be replenished by nature or take longer period of time to be formed. These resources are exhausted after their use. They can be divided into recyclable or non-recyclable resources.
QNO15:-Discuss the purpose of Rio Summit and Agenda 21?
Ans:- The first UN conference on Environment and Development was held in Rio de 
Janerio(Brazil) in year 1992 with an aim to promote sustainable development. This conference endorsed:-

• Measures to fight global warming
• Measures to fight desertification
• Measures to protect forests
• Measures to Bio-diversity  
• Agenda 21 Agenda 21 was the declaration signed at Rio Summit and was aimed at eliminating poverty, hunger, diseases and illiteracy through global cooperation.

QNO16:-  Discuss soil profile?
Ans:- Soil profile means the arrangements of different layers of soil in a vertical section of
land. According to most of the soil geographers there are only three broad layers/horizons in
the soil profile which include top soil, sub soil and bed rock but Oxford dictionary of geography
says there are five major horizons in the whole soil profile each horizon was represented by a
letter like A horizon, E horizon, B horizon, Chorizon and D/R horizon. Later on many other
horizons were also added to it like O horizon.
The detail of each and every horizon from top to the bottom is as under:-

• O horizon:- It is also called surface litter layer and it contains partially decomposed organic matter
• A horizon:- It is called the Top soil layer and contains decomposed organic material and minerals
• E horizon:- It is also called the layer of leaching. Materials present in A horizon are continuously moving downward under the influence of gravity accompanied by high rainfall through this layer.
• B horizon - It is also called the sub soil layer. All materials which are moving downwards through E horizon get accumulated in this layer.
•  C horizon:- It is the layer of partially broken rocks
• D/R horizon:- It is the un-weathered parent rock zone.

QNO17:- What is land degradation and what are its causes?
Ans:- Land degradation means depletion of quality and quantity of land. It includes loss of
minerals, nutrients, organic matter, water retention capacity, aeration etc. It is estimated that up to 40% of world's land is under the threat of degradation. Presently there are about 130
million hectares of degraded land in India. The main causes of land degradation are:-
Agriculture activities: -  Over irrigation and excessive use of chemical fertilizers increases the alkalinity and salinity in the soil and turn it into degraded lands
Mining Activities: - Mining sites are abandoned after the extraction of the which turns these lands into waste lands and make them unfit for cultivation
Mineral processing and Quarrying: - Grinding of lime stone for cement industry and quarrying of stones make the land unfit for cultivation