Land Degradation in India - Nature, Extent and Severity

1. Land Degradation in India - Nature, Extent and Severity
ICAR- National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning
Nagpur
S. K. Singh

2.  Temporary or permanent decline in ecosystem function and
productive capacity;
 Destruction or deterioration of health by affecting the
associated biodiversity, natural ecological processes and
ecosystem resilience;
 Reduction or loss of biological/economic productivity and
complexity of croplands, pasture, woodland, forest, etc. ;
 Across the world, over 20% of cultivated areas, 30% of
forests and 10% of grasslands are suffering from
degradation, affecting about 1.5 billion people.
Land degradation refers to-
 Degradation is more pronounce in India than China
 Agro-techniques are refined and efficient in China to curb degradation

3. Land degradation in India ( 2009)
Broad Categories of
Degraded lands
Area (Mha)
Water Erosion 82.57
Wind Erosion 12.40
Salt Affected Soils 6.74
Acid Soils 17.94
Others 1.07
Total 120.72
Water erosion
Wind erosion
Salt encrustation

4. 64 million hectare area of crop land is affected by Degradation
(Extent, severity and type of degradation depending on land use and management )

5. Land Degradation influences crop production
Productive potential of IGP for Rice-wheat system – not uniform

6. • Salinization
• Sodification
• Erosion
• Waterlogging
• Compactness
1975
2006
2006 Water logging
Widening gully
1988
1988 2006
Increasing degradation intensity
Partial Adoption of Package of Practices
(PAPP)
Degradation processes

7. PAPP- intensifying desertification Warming cold desert

8. •West Bengal- 441 thousand hectare
•Orissa- 147 thousand hectare
Exposed Acid sulphate
layer – Fish mortality in
the coast of West Bengal
PAPP-Polluting coasts

9. Class Bihar Jharkhand Orissa West
Bengal
Very slight 67.8 17.8 49.6 45.20
Slight 19.2 17.3 18.6 34.61
Moderate 9.7 27.0 17.0 17.30
Severe 2.7 21.0 9.5 3.67
Very severe 0.6 12.2 4.2 0.39
Extremely
severe
- 4.6 1.1
Total (1-4) 13.0 64.8 31.8 21.36
PAPP- Intensifying Degradation in Eastern Region

10. PAPP- Coconut based farming system- uneconomical

11. 1998 2005
PAPP-Nutrient mining and multi-nutrient deficiency

12.  Crop failure
 Suicide
 Debt and
 Distressful agriculture
PAPP

13. PAPP- Arsenic and Fluoride contamination

14. Runnel 1776 Current drainage pattern
PAPP- Long-term impact of Land degradation (Shifting rivers)

15. PAPP- Shifting sundarban delta

16. PAPP- Increasing aridity- further disturbing the agrarians

17. Progress of drought in the year 2002 in Rajasthan and India
Increasing Incidence of Drought, floods and cyclones- aggravate the
situation further
176.7
144.6
108.5
189.9
134.4
101.3
50.5 53.3
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
140.0
160.0
180.0
200.0
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ayatu
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achpadra
(%)Additionalrainsovernormal
Thus degradation is paramount; and is expected
to increase in future in the situation of PAPP

18. Today’s Need
To develop site specific
information through Land
Resource Inventory on 1:10000
scale, which leads to the
situation specific
recommendation
ICAR- NBSS & LUP together
with NRSC, BISAG, SAUs and
Department of Agriculture .
Accomplishment

19. o Degree, length and curvature of slope
together with contour and drainage
(IRS LISSS IV, Cartosat DEM, Geo Eye)
Planning for SWC measures, irrigation, water
harvesting potentials and precision agriculture

20. Balanced Fertilizer and Nutrient Use
Increasing fertilizer and nutrient-use
efficiency on mega scale in different Agro-
eco Regions
o Development of protocols for non-destructive
method of soil analysis ( rapid, accurate and
non-destructive, non-expansive Sensor based
technology for preparing soil health cards)
Android based mobile for collecting
Geo-reference samples

21. Irrigated Prime Agricultural Land – 32.1 mha
Rainfed Prime Agricultural Land – 26.7 mha
Total Prime Land – 58.8 mha
Prime Land – Best Soils for
High Response

22. Developing situation specific recommendations
A. Boosting rainfed agriculture
a. 1. LRI leads to a scientific soil conservation plan

23. a. 2. LRI leads to the estimation of water harvesting potentials
Scenario I
(800mm)
Scenario II
(500 mm)
Scenario III
(1000 mm)
Volume of
water that can
be stored by
the existing
water bodies
about 2500
ha-m
about 2500
ha-m
about 2500
ha-m
Volume of
water that can
be harvested by
the proposed
WHS
about 6000
ha-m
about 2400
ha-m
about 8200
ha-m
Scenario II (Rainfall 500 mm)Scenario I (Rainfall 800 mm)
Scenario III (Rainfall 1000 mm)

24. Micro-watershed Area
(ha)
Soil
erosion
(t ha-1)
Runoff
(%
rainfall)
Water
harvesting
potential*
(m3)
Storage
structure
(20 m x20m
x3m)
Command area (ha)
for different level of
irrigation
10cm 15cm 20cm
Dharjaganga 559.2 2.30-3.82 32.4-45.4 592752 494 296 198 148
Kinhi 649.7 3.22- 4.12 36.5-52.4 750404 625 375 250 188
Marguti 637.8 1.84-2.42 24.5-32.6 401814 335 201 134 100
Shirol West-2 432.3 1.62-2.86 22.6-38.6 320334 267 160 107 80
Shirunj 611.3 2.64-4.28 34.6- 56.8 672430 560 336 224 168
Yelishirur-1 588.5 2.26-3.46 28.6-45.6 554956 462 277 185 139
Yelishirur-2 624.0 1.24-1.88 18.6-2.12 299520 250 150 100 75
Yelishirur-3 723.6 2.30-3.82 32.4-45.4 808985 674 404 270 202
4826.4 4401195 3667 2199 1468 1100
b. Potential water harvesting and command areas estimation in
different micro-watershed of Karnataka

25. Suggesting on massive scale, soil conservation (contour
trenching and bench terracing) and water conservation (small,
medium and large rain water harvesting structures)
programmes for hilly, mountainous and rolling topography by
developing synergy through Govt. sponsored watershed and
irrigation development programmes like Jalyukt Shivar,
PMSKY, Neeranchal, Sujala. (tolerance limit 2.5-10 t/ha/y)
B. Land Management in Hills
Knowledge based technology application for
arresting/ Reversing Land Degradation

26. Developing Agro-ecological regions /
sub-regions / zone/ subzones /units
based Land Use Plan accounting for
soil, water, nutrient, and degradation
specific limitations for sustainable crop
production.
a. Industry link Land Use Planning (Case studies from Telangana Plateau)
C. Land Use Plan for Plateaus

27. Cotton crop before
interventions
Life saving irrigation together with
soil conservation measures and
varieties of Banana, Cotton and
finger millet on soil series of
H.D.Kote
b. Situation specific land use plan- Mysore Plateau
Banana, Cotton, and finger
millet crops after interventions

28. c. Situation specific land use plan-
Maharashtra Plateau

29. a. Cropping sequence options using Community Nursery in Maharashtra
D. Land Use Plan for Drought Hit area of Maharashtra
Kharif Rabi
Community Land
Paddy
Gram
Paddy
Paddy
Onion
Linseed
Success story :
Smt. Kalpana
Rupchand Dongre in
Goregoan cluster by
adopting Paddy-
Gram and Paddy
linseed cropping
sequence.
Fish farming
Vegetables and
watermelon etc.
Agricultural Land

30. LRI fine tuned land shaping technology that leads to the bountiful
agriculture in the coastal region of West Bengal
E. Land Use plan for Coastal region

31. Farm
size
Income Total man
days
created
Before
management
After
Management
0.20 ha Rs. 2300 Rs.34400.00 285
0.266 ha Rs. 3100 Rs. 47800.00 405
0.39 ha Rs. 4500 Rs. 68900,00 600
Reduced soil degradation, increased employment for
the landless and improved social status of the
farmers
Up-scaling of site-specific soil-land use plan in the
benchmark sites of National Land use Planning
Land Use plan for Coastal region

32. Paddy in kharif season Mustard in Rabi season
Cabbage in Rabi season Potato in Rabi season
Life saving irrigation, paddy-
mustard, Paddy-vegetable cropping
sequences on the soils of
Bhomoraguri series
Bhomoraguri Mising
Gaon village, Jorhat,
Assam
Site specific land use plan - Flood plains of the Brahmaputra river, Assam
(Creating job for landless)
F. Land Use Plan for Flood plains

33. Develop the potential area for carbon sequestration
Maintaining/ increasing organic carbon status
o Develop Eastern Himalayas (Sikkim) as a carbon sink
o State of carbon neutrality is to be attended in North-
Eastern states and in deserts by restoration of Jhum
lands and by taking afforestation and agro-forestry
programs
o Suggesting a package of agro-forestry programme for
restricting fallowing in eastern and north eastern
region
SOC sequestration potentials 0.33
t/ha/y with NPK+FYM and 0.16
t/ha/y with NPK
Greener desert
Shifting cultivation

34. Developing Geoportal and Mobile
Apps for National (Kisan call centre,
digital India platforms, portal on soil
health cards) and International
connectivity.
Strong Extension Mechanism

35. Farmers perception
 Crop diversification – very useful
 Farm pond technology- essentially needed
 Soil conservation plans-necessary
 Soil health card- good
Unable to execute- socio-economic constraints