Land Pollution
Land Pollution
Land pollution is pollution of the Earth’s natural land surface by industrial, commercial, domestic and agricultural activities.
Causes of Land Pollution
1. Degenerative Actions
Degenerative Actions encompass a lot of human actions, including - deforestation, overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, desertification, mining, inefficient and / or inadequate waste treatment, landfill, litter, etc.
2. Misuse of Land
Misuse of Land mainly refers to felling of trees to clear land for agriculture, as well as processes like desertification and land conversion. Desertification is when anthropogenic effects of human development or other actions convert a piece of (essentially) fertile land into desert-land or dry land. Land once converted to desert-land can never be reclaimed by any amount of corrective measures. This is also a serious issue because t does not only affect the land, but also the overall biodiversity of a place, especially when land is cleared for agriculture. A lot of indigenous flora and fauna is lost in the process.
3. Soil Pollution
Soil Pollution is when the top-most 'soil' layer of land is destroyed or polluted. Soil pollution is again another cause of land pollution that affects not only the land, but also a lot of other things such as forest cover of a region, productivity of land in terms of agriculture, grazing etc. Soil pollution is also caused by wrong agricultural practices, such as overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This causes non-biodegradable chemicals to enter and accumulate in the food-chain - a process often referred to as biomagnification of a pollutant.
4. Land Conversion Land Conversion is the process whereby a piece of land is converted from its indigenous form to a form used for either agriculture or infrastructure. Land conversion is especially a growing problem that we possibly do not have a good - or a good enough - solution for. The best way to avoid land conversion is to
Land pollution is pollution of the Earth’s natural land surface by industrial, commercial, domestic and agricultural activities.
Causes of Land Pollution
1. Degenerative Actions
Degenerative Actions encompass a lot of human actions, including - deforestation, overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, desertification, mining, inefficient and / or inadequate waste treatment, landfill, litter, etc.
2. Misuse of Land
Misuse of Land mainly refers to felling of trees to clear land for agriculture, as well as processes like desertification and land conversion. Desertification is when anthropogenic effects of human development or other actions convert a piece of (essentially) fertile land into desert-land or dry land. Land once converted to desert-land can never be reclaimed by any amount of corrective measures. This is also a serious issue because t does not only affect the land, but also the overall biodiversity of a place, especially when land is cleared for agriculture. A lot of indigenous flora and fauna is lost in the process.
3. Soil Pollution
Soil Pollution is when the top-most 'soil' layer of land is destroyed or polluted. Soil pollution is again another cause of land pollution that affects not only the land, but also a lot of other things such as forest cover of a region, productivity of land in terms of agriculture, grazing etc. Soil pollution is also caused by wrong agricultural practices, such as overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This causes non-biodegradable chemicals to enter and accumulate in the food-chain - a process often referred to as biomagnification of a pollutant.
4. Land Conversion Land Conversion is the process whereby a piece of land is converted from its indigenous form to a form used for either agriculture or infrastructure. Land conversion is especially a growing problem that we possibly do not have a good - or a good enough - solution for. The best way to avoid land conversion is to