The document discusses different types of wastelands including barren lands that cannot be cultivated and cultivable wastelands that have not been cultivated for 5 or more years. It lists the main causes of wastelands as overcultivation, deforestation, overgrazing, improper irrigation, and mining activities. The document then outlines several methods for reclaiming wastelands, including afforestation, reforestation, providing surface cover, mulching, strip farming, terracing, contour ploughing, leaching, and changing agricultural practices.

1. DILSHANA FATHIMA
M.Sc. BIOCHEMISTRY

2.  Wastelands are lands which are unproductive, unfit
for cultivation, grazing & other economic uses due
to rough terrain & eroded soil.
 Water logged & saline lands are also wastelands.
 The loss of fertility followed by erosion may lead
to conversion of marginal forest land into
wasteland.
 In absence of land management policy,
geomorphic processes become active due to which
soil layers are eroded & transported making the
lands infertile, stony & useless.

3.  Barren & uncultivable lands
 Cannot be brought under cultivation except at very
high spost.
 Ex: sandy deserts, stony lands, land on hilly slopes
etc.
 Cultivable wastelands
 These lands are not under cultivation for 5
years/more.
 It consists of land available for cultivation but is
not used for it.
 They can be reclaimed through conservation
methods for cultivation, grazing/agroforestry.

4.  Over cultivation
 Deforestation
 use as fuel wood
 Shifting cultivation
 Commercial timber exploitation
 Clearing forest permanently for non forestry
activities
 Overgrazing
 Improper irrigation practices
 Mining activities

5.  Provides a source of income for rural poor.
 Ensures constant supply of fuel, fodder & timber
for local use.
 Makes soil fertile by preventing soil erosion.
 Helps maintain an ecological balance.
 Increasing forest cover helps in maintaining local
climatic condition.

6.  The process of turning barren, sterile wasteland
into something that is fertile & suitable for
habitation & cultivation.
 There are various methods by which wastelands
can be reclaimed.
 Afforestation
 Growing forest over culturable wasteland.
 Reforestation
 Growing the forest again over the land where
they were existing & was destroyed due to fires,
overgrazing & excessive cutting.

7.  Reforestation checks water logging, floods, soil
erosion & increases productivity of land.
 Providing surface cover
 The easiest way to protect the land surface from
soil erosion is to leave crop residue on the land
after harvesting.
 Mulching
 Mulch is a layer of material applied to the
surface of an area of soil.
 Protective cover of organic matter & plants like
stalks, cotton stalks, tobacco stalk etc are used
which reduce evaporation, help in retaining soil
moisture & reduce soil erosion.

8.  Running water erodes the hill soil & carries the
soil along with it & this can be minimized by
 Strip farming : different kinds of crops are
planted in alternate strip along the contour.
 Terracing : leveled terraces are made to hold
soil & water. The terrace edges are planted with
such plant species which anchor the soil.
 Contour ploughing : ploughing of land is done
across the hill & not in up & down style.
 Leaching
 In salt affected land, the salinity can be
minimized by leaching them with more water.

9.  Changing agricultural practices
 Mixed cropping, mixed rotation etc.
 Ecological succession
 Natural development of an ecosystem which help
in reclaiming the mineral deficient soil of
wasteland.