Land degradation leads to various environmental and economic problems. Wastelands can be reclaimed through different methods depending on their condition. Easily reclaimable wastelands can be used for agriculture by improving soil quality. Marginal wastelands can use agroforestry which plants trees and crops together. Extremely degraded wastelands may only support forestation or natural ecosystem restoration. Jatropha plantations show potential for wasteland reclamation but farmers face challenges like lack of technical knowledge, long growth periods, and climate issues. The oil and press cake of jatropha have many useful applications.

1. PRESENTEDBY:
SHIVANICHAUHAN04
SHREYAAGGRAWAL07
RAHULSINGHLA44

7. Effects of Land
Degradation Surface runoff and floods.
 Soil erosion &
desertification.
 Loss of Nutrients & land
productivity.
 Soil
acidification/alkalinisation.
 Soil salinity.
 Loss of biodiversity.
 Long term socioeconomic

8. Wasteland reclamation
RECLAMATION OF WASTELAND MEANS RE-
CLAIMING IT OR TO USE IT FOR PRODUCTIVE
PURPOSE. WASTELAND RECLAMATION IS THE
PROCESS OF TURNING BARREN, STERILE
WASTELAND INTO SOMETHING THAT IS FERTILE
AND SUITABLE FOR HABITATION AND
CULTIVATION. INDIA HAS SHOWN AN
ALARMING RATE OF DECLINE IN THE MAN-LAND
RATIO FROM 1.25 HECTARE PER CAPITA IN 1921
TO 0.48 HECTARE PER CAPITA IN 1986 TO 0.31

9. Wastelands can be classified into three forms:
Easily reclaimable wastelands can be used for agricultural
purposes. Wastelands can be reclaimed for agriculture by
reducing the salt content which can be done by leaching etc.
Gypsum, urea, potash and compost are added before planting
crops in such areas.
These wastelands can be utilized for agro forestry. Agro
forestry involves putting land to multiple uses. Its main
purpose is to have trees and crops inter- and/or under planted
to form an integrated system of biological production within a
certain area. Thus, agro forestry implies integration of trees
with agricultural crops or livestock management
simultaneously.

10. Wasteland that are reclaimed with extreme difficulty can be used for forestry
or to recreate natural ecosystem. Attempts to grow trees in highly non
alkaline saline soils have been largely unsuccessful. Field experiments have
shown that species like Eucalyptus, Prosopis and Acacia nilotica could not be
grown in highly alkaline soil. Studies have shown that if tree seedlings are
planted with a mixture of original soil, gypsum, and manure, better growth
can be achieved. It is however important to use indigenous species of trees so
that the program recreates the local ecosystem with all its species.
Over one million acres of Pakistani wasteland is
becoming thriving farmland, with the help of the
Agro forestry

13. 8.CHANGING GROUND
TOPOGRAPHY ON
DOWNHILL’S :
Running water erodes the hill soil and carries
the soil along with it. This can be minimized
by following alternation in ground topography:
(a) Strip farming : Different kinds of crops are
plantedin alternatestripalong the contour.
(b) Terracing :In this arrangement, the earth
is shapedin the formof leveled terraces to hold
soil and water. The terrace edges are planted
withsuch plant species whichanchor the soil.
(c) Contour ploughing: In this arrangement,
the ploughing of landis done across the
Picture showing Contour
Ploughing.

14. • A massive campaign for increasing
the land under productive use for
fuel and fodder species needs to
be launched.
• Voluntary efforts by farmers’
cooperatives, NGO`s and
organizations should be fully
recognized and assisted.
• Mining of land for house building
material such as bricks can be
reduced by developing alternative
building materials.
Mud Bricks as an
alternative
Mud bricks have an
advantage of low
manufacturing cost,

16. A case study of Jatropa plantation

17. Constraints in Jatropha Cultivation
Perceived by Farmers of Rajasthan
i.] Lack of technical guidance and information
ii.] Inadequate training facilities for acquiring skills
about its cultivation technology
iii.] Lack of suitable plantation schedule
iv.] Long gestation period of Jatropha
v.] Adverse climatic and edaphic factors for the
survival of plants
Vi.] Lack of knowledge about scientific cultivation of
Jatropha
vii.] Lack of awareness of economic value of Jatropha
seeds
When jatropha seeds are crushed, the resulting jatropha oil can be processed to produce a high-
quality biofuel or biodiesel that can be used in a standard diesel car or further processed into jet
fuel, while the residue (press cake) can also be used as biomass feedstock to power electricity
plants, used as fertilizer (it contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), or as animal fodder