This document provides an overview of various natural resources including ponds, lakes, seas, rivers, forests, wetlands, mangroves, and sacred groves. It discusses the characteristics and composition of each resource. The document also mentions the depletion of natural resources and the importance of conservation.

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Online ASSIGNMENT
Topic: natural resources
SUBMITTED TO:
MRS.SUSHMA PRABHA
(LECTURE IN NATURAL,
SCIENCE)
SUBMITTED BY:
VARSHA.P.V
SUBMITTED ON:
20-07-2015

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INDEX
SL No. Content PageNo.
1. INTRODUCATION 3
2. CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
POND 4
3. LAKE
5
4. SEA 6
5. RIVER 7
6. FOREST 8
7. WET LAND 9
8. MANGROVES 10
9. SACRED GROVES 11
10. DEPLETION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 12
11.
CONSERVATION OF NATURAL
RESOURCES
13
12. CONCLUSION 14
13. REFERERNCE 15
INTRODUCTION

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Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively
undisturbed by humanity, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by
amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems. A natural
resource is anything that people can use which comes from nature. People do not make
natural resources, but gather them from the earth. Examples of natural resources
are air, water, wood, oil, wind energy, hydro-electric energy, iron, and coal. Refined oil is
not a natural resource because people make it.
Natural resources are derived from the environment. Some of them are essential for our
survival while most are used for satisfying our wants. Natural resources may be further
classified in different ways.
Natural resources are materials and components (something that can be used) that can be
found within the environment. Every man-made product is composed of natural resources
(at its fundamental level). A natural resource may exist as a separate entity such as fresh
water, and air, as well as a living organism such as a fish, or it may exist in an alternate
form which must be processed to obtain the resource such as metal ores, oil, and most
forms of energy.
There is much debate worldwide over natural resource allocations, this is partly due to
increasing scarcity (depletion of resources) but also because the exportation of natural
resources is the basis for many economies (particularly for developed nations such as
Australia).
Some natural resources such as sunlight and air can be found everywhere, and are known
as ubiquitous resources. However, most resources only occur in small sporadic areas, and
are referred to as localized resources. There are very few resources that are considered
inexhaustible (will not run out in foreseeable future) – these are solar radiation,
geothermal energy, and air (though access to clean air may not be). The vast majority of
resources are exhaustible, which means they have a finite quantity, and can be depleted if
managed improperly.
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT

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A natural resource is anything that people can use which comes from nature such as
pond, lake. Sea, river, forest, wet land, mangroves, sacred grooves etc..
POND
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually
smaller than a lake. They may arise naturally in floodplains as part of a river system, or
they may be somewhat isolated depressions (examples include vernal pools and prairie
potholes). Usually they contain shallow water with marsh and aquatic plants and animals.
A few animals also make ponds, including both alligators and beavers. The type of life in
a pond is generally determined by a combination of factors including water level regime
(particularly depth and duration of flooding) and nutrient levels, but other factors may
also be important, including presence or absence of shading by trees, presence or absence
of streams, effects of grazing animals, and salinity.
Humans also make ponds. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as
ponds. Some ponds are created specifically for habitat restoration, including water
treatment. Others, like water gardens, water features and koi ponds are designed for
aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural features. Fish ponds are designed
for commercial fish breeding, and solar ponds designed to store thermal energy.
Standing bodies of water such as puddles, ponds, and lakes are often categorized
separately from flowing water courses, such as a brook, creek, stream or river. Nutrient
levels and water quality in natural or man-made ponds can be controlled through natural
process such as algal growth, or man-made filtration such as an algae scrubber.

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LAKE
A lake is a body of relatively still liquid (prototypically water) of considerable
size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land apart from a river or other outlet that
serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, and
therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are also larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can
be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are usually flowing. However most lakes are
fed and drained by rivers and streams.
Natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with
ongoing glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of
mature rivers. In some parts of the world there are many lakes because of chaotic
drainage patterns left over from the last Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic
time scales, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin contain ing
them.
Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for industrial or agricultural use, for hydro-
electric power generation or domestic water supply, or for aesthetic or recreational
purposes.

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SEA
The sea, the world ocean, or simply the ocean, is the connected body of salty
water that covers over 70 percent of the Earth's surface. It moderates the Earth's climate
and has important roles in the water cycle, carbon cycle, and nitrogen cycle. Although the
sea has been travelled and explored since ancient times, the scientific study of the sea –
oceanography-dates broadly from the voyages of Captain James Cook who explored
the Pacific Ocean between 1768 and 1779. In geography, "sea" is used in the names of
smaller, partly landlocked sections of the ocean, for example the Irish Sea, while "ocean"
is used in the names of the five largest sections, such as the Pacific Ocean.
The most abundant ions in sea water are chloride and sodium. The water also
contains magnesium, sulfate, calcium,potassium, and many other components, some in
minute concentrations. Salinity varies widely, being lower near the surface and the
mouths of large rivers and higher in the depths of the ocean; however
the relative proportions of dissolved salts vary little across the oceans. Carbon dioxide
from the air is currently being absorbed by the sea in increasing amounts, lowering
seawater pH in a process known as ocean acidification, which is likely to damage marine
ecosystems in the near future.
Winds blowing over the surface of the sea produce waves, which break when they reach
shallow water. Winds also create surface currents through friction, setting up slow but
stable circulations of water throughout the oceans. The directions of the circulation are
governed by factors including the shapes of the continents and the rotation of the earth
(the Coriolis effect). Deep-sea currents, known as the global conveyor belt, carry cold
water from near the poles to every ocean. Tides, the generally twice-daily rise and fall of
sea levels, are caused by the rotation of the Earth and the gravitational effects of the
orbiting Moon and, to a lesser extent, the Sun. Tides may have a very high range in bays
or estuaries. Destructive tsunamiscan be caused by submarine earthquakes arising
from tectonic plate movements under the oceans, volcano eruptions, huge landslides, or
the impact of large meteorites.

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RIVER
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean,
a lake, a sea, or another river. In a rare cases a river could flow into the ground and dry
up completely at the end of its course, without reaching another body of water. Small
rivers may be called by several other names, including stream, creek, brook, rivulet,
and rill. There are no official definitions for generic terms, such as river, as applied to
geographic features, although in some countries or communities a stream may be defined
by its size. Many names for small rivers are specific to geographic location; examples are
"run" in some parts of the United States, "burn" in Scotland and northeast England, and
"beck" in northern England. Sometimes a river is defined as being larger than a creek, but
not always: the language is vague.
Rivers are part of the hydrological cycle. Water generally collects in a river
from precipitation through a drainage basin from surface runoff and other sources such
as groundwater recharge, springs, and the release of stored water in natural ice and
snowpacks (e.g. from glaciers). Potamology is the scientific study of rivers
while limnology is the study of inland waters in general.
Extraterrestrial rivers have recently been found on Titan. Channels may indicate past
rivers on other planets, specifically outflow channels on Mars and are theorised to exist
on planets and moons in habitable zones of stars.

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FOREST
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density
of trees. As with cities, depending on various cultural definitions, what is considered a
forest may vary significantly in size and have different classifications according to how
and of what the forest is composed. A forest is usually an area filled with trees but any
tall densely packed area of vegetation may be considered a forest, even underwater
vegetation such as kelp forests, or non-vegetation such as fungi, and bacteria. Tree forests
cover approximately 9.4 percent of the Earth's surface (or 30 percent of total land area),
though they once covered much more (about 50 percent of total land area). They function
as habitats for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators, and soil conservers, constituting
one of the most important aspects of the biosphere.
A typical tree forest is composed of the over story (canopy or upper tree layer) and
the understory. The understory is further subdivided into the shrub layer, herb layer, and
also the moss layer and soil microbes. In some complex forests, there is also a well-
defined lower tree layer. Forests are central to all human life because they provide a
diverse range of resources: they store carbon, aid in regulating the planetary climate,
purify water and mitigate natural hazards such as floods. Forests also contain roughly 90
percent of the world's terrestrial biodiversity.

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WETLAND
A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or
seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinctecosystem. Primarily, the
factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the
characteristic vegetation that is adapted to its unique soil conditions. Wetlands consist
primarily of hydric soil, which supports aquatic plants.
The water found in wetlands can be saltwater, freshwater, or brackish. Main wetland
types include swamps, marshes, bogs and fens.Sub-types include mangrove, carr,
pocosin, and varzea.
Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood
control, and shoreline stability. Wetlands are also considered the most biologically
diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life
Wetlands occur naturally on every continent except Antarctica.They can also be
constructed artificially as a water management tool, which may play a role in the
developing field of water-sensitive urban design.
The largest wetlands in the world include the Amazon River basin and the West Siberian
Plain.Another large wetland is the Pantanal, which straddles Brazil, Bolivia,
and Paraguay in South America.
The UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment determined that environmental
degradation is more prominent within wetland systems than any other ecosystem

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on Earth. International conservation efforts are being used in conjunction with the
development of rapid assessment tools to inform people about wetland issues.
MANGROVES
Mangroves are various types of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow
in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between
latitudes 25° N and 25° S. The remaining mangrove forest areas of the world in 2000 was
53,190 square miles (137,760 km²) spanning 118 countries and territories. The word is
used in at least three senses: (1) most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant
assemblage or mangal, for which the terms mangrove forest biome, mangrove
swamp and mangrove forest are also used, (2) to refer to all trees and large shrubs in the
mangrove swamp, and (3) narrowly to refer to the mangrove family of plants,
the Rhizophoraceae, or even more specifically just to mangrove trees of the
genus Rhizophora. The term "mangrove" comes to English from Spanish (perhaps by
way of Portuguese), and is likely to originate from Guarani. It was earlier "mangrow"
(from Portuguese mangue or Spanish mangle), but this word was corrupted via folk
etymology influence of the word "grove".
The mangrove biome, or mangal, is a distinct saline woodland or shrubland habitat
characterized by depositional coastal environments, where fine sediment s (often with
high organic content) collect in areas protected from high-energy wave action.
Mangroves dominate three-quarters of tropical coastlines.The saline conditions tolerated

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by various mangrove species range from brackish water, through pure seawater (30 to
40 ppt(parts per thousand)), to water concentrated by evaporation to over twice the
salinity of ocean seawater (up to 90 ppt).
SACREDGROVES
A sacred grove or sacred woods are any grove of trees of special religious
importance to a particular culture. Sacred groves were most prominent in the Ancient
Near East and prehistoric Europe,but feature in various cultures throughout the world.
They were important features of the mythological landscape and cult practice of
Celtic, Baltic, Germanic, ancient Greek, Near Eastern,Roman, and Slavic polytheism,
and were also used in India, Japan, and West Africa. Examples of sacred groves include
the Greco-Romantemenos, the Norse hörgr, and the Celtic nemeton, which was largely
but not exclusively associated with Druidic practice. During the Northern Crusades, there
was a common practice of building churches on the sites of sacred groves.Ancient holy
trees still exist in the English countryside and are mentioned often in folklore and
fairytales.

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DEPLETION OF NATURAL
RESOURCES
The planet's natural ecosystems and regenerating bio-capacity are being severely
degraded and, as a result, this compromises the ability of the planet to sustain life.
Forests, fisheries, oceans, rangeland, fresh water systems (lakes, wetlands, rivers) and
other natural ecosystems are all threatened while many are on the verge of collapse.
Water, land and air are getting increasingly polluted, water tables are falling, soil erosion
is leading to desertification, global warming is well underway, and species are dying out
1000 times faster than their natural rate of extinction.
Deforestation is the clearing of natural forests by logging or burning of trees and
plants in a forested area. As a result of deforestation, presently about one half of the
forests that once covered the Earth have been destroyed. It occurs for many different
reasons, and it has several negative implications on the atmosphere and the quality of the
land in and surrounding the forest.

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CONSERVATION OF
NATURALRESOURCES
Conservation of natural resources, the wise use of the earth's resources by
humanity. The term conservation came into use in the late 19th century. and referred to
the management, mainly for economic reasons, of such valuable natural resources as
timber, fish, game, topsoil, pastureland, and minerals, and also to the preservation of
forests (see forestry), wildlife (see wildlife refuge), parkland, wilderness, and watershed
areas. In recent years the science of ecology has clarified the workings of the biosphere;
i.e., the complex interrelationships among humans, other animals, plants, and the physical
environment. At the same time burgeoning population and industry and the
ensuing pollution have demonstrated how easily delicately balanced ecological relation
ships can be disrupted .
Conservation of natural resources is now usually embraced in the broader
conception of conserving the earth itself by protecting its capacity for self-renewal.
Particularly complex are the problems of nonrenewable resources such as oil and coal
(see energy, sources of) and other minerals in great demand. Current thinking also
favours the protection of entire ecological regions by the creation of "biosphere reserves."

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Examples of such conservation areas include the Great Barrier Reef off Australia and
Adirondack State Park in the United States. The importance of reconciling human use
and conservation beyond the boundaries of parks has become another important issue
CONCLUSION
A natural resource is anything that people can use which comes from nature
such as pond, lake. Sea, river, forest, wet land, mangroves, sacred grooves etc.
CONSERVATION OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES- water, wood, coal, electricity
Natural resources are materials supplied by nature, such as forests, minerals, soil, water,
and wildlife. They cannot be created or manufactured by us like other man made products
like plastic. The main cause for worry is that our natural resources are getting depleted
(getting over) fast because of our increasing population and overuse. The way we are
wasting water, a day will soon come when there will not be a drop of water to drink.
Imagine what will happen then! We cannot survive. Similarly we are chopping trees and
using too much wood to make furniture for our homes.
What will happen if we lose all our forests this way, by clearing them to make
homes for us or use wood? Without forests we will not get food to eat, fresh air to
breathe. We will be suffocated to death, as you all know that green plants give us more
oxygen. Coal is used as fuel for our various activities. What will happen if we use too
much coal? We will run short of it. So we must instead use renewable source of energy
like solar energy for operating our devices. The energy from the sun is not likely to get

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over. Nowadays special solar devices like solar heaters and solar cookers are available.
Even traffic signals on the roads are powered by solar energy.
REFERENCE
1. https://www.google.co.in/search?q=WET+LAND&tbm=isch&ei=vwanU9DoFZOwuAT
ewoKQDw#q=pollution&revid=384420262&tbm=isch&facrc=0%3Bwater%20pollution
&imgdii=_&imgrc=_
2. https://www.google.co.in/webhp?source=search_app&gws_rd=cr&ei=HHQwUvLNA4
WKrQe2nYHQCw#q=forest
3. https://www.google.co.in/webhp?source=search_app&gws_rd=cr&ei=HHQwUvLNA4
WKrQe2nYHQCw#q=sacred+groves

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4. https://www.google.co.in/webhp?source=search_app&gws_rd=cr&ei=HHQwUvLNA4
WKrQe2nYHQCw#q=MANGROVE