Soil erosion is a natural process where topsoil is removed by physical forces like wind and water, but it has been exacerbated by human activities like agriculture and deforestation. In India, about 119.2 million hectares of land are affected by soil erosion, resulting in the loss of 5334 million tonnes of soil per year. Some states that commonly experience erosion are Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, and parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. In Punjab, over-irrigation has led to issues like waterlogging, increased alkalinity and salinity in soils, degrading about 39% of

1. EROSION
PROBLEMS IN INDIA
AND PUNJAB

2. Hello!
I AM ANKIT SHARDA
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3. “
Soil erosion is the natural process in
which the topsoil of a field is carried
away by physical sources such as wind
and water..
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4. What is Soil Erosion?
◉ In this process, the soil particles are loosened or
washed away in the valleys, oceans, rivers, streams or
far away lands. This has been worsening due to
human activities such as agriculture and
deforestation
◉ It results in a continuous loss of topsoil, ecological
degradation, soil collapse, etc
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5. Types of soil erosion
• 1) Sheet erosion by water
• 2) Wind erosion
• 3) Rill erosion
• 4) Gully erosion
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6. Land degradation
◉ Land degradation is caused by multiple forces,
including extreme weather conditions, particularly
drought.
◉ It is also caused by human activities that pollute or
degrade the quality of soils and land utility.
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7. A picture is worth a thousand words
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8. Soil erosion problem in India
◉ The National Bureau of Soil Survey & Land Use
Planning estimates that soil erosion extends to about
about 119.2 million hectare area .
◉ The average annual rate of soil erosion in the country
is 16.35 tonnes per hectare i.e. 5334 million tonnes per
year
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9. Erosion commonly occur in India
◉ The problem of soil erosion is common on the
steeper slopes with heavy rainfall in states such as
Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and
the Western Ghats.
◉ It also occurs in parts of Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
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11. Annual loss in India
◉ The annual loss in output of main crops in India
because of soil erosion has been estimated to be
7.2 million tonnes which is about 4 to 6.3 percent of
annual agricultural production of the
◉ As high as 74 million tonnes of major nutrients are lost
to soil erosion in India per year.
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12. Soil erosion problem in Punjab
◉ In Punjab the major cause of land degradation is
over-irrigation. Over-irrigation leads to waterlogging
which in turn leads to an increase in alkalinity and
salinity in the soil.
◉ Western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana also face land
degradation due to over-irrigation.
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13. Soil erosion problem in Punjab
The over-exploitation of underground water in Punjab
has become so common that it hardly lifts an eyebrow.
However, damning figures about the health of soil in the
completely agrarian state has made experts clamour for
immediate measures.
About 39% of the state's soil is completely degraded
while 50% of the soil is acutely low in nitrogen and 25%
low in phosphorous content.
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14. Thanks!
ANY QUESTIONS?
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