NATURAL RESOURCES

LAND RESOURCESBIODIVERSITY

BY-ANKIT TRIPATHI

WHAT ARE NATURAL RESOURCES ?

• Any material found in the environment which can be transformed in a way that it becomes more valuable and useful .

• A natural resources is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity existent in various ecosystems.

CLASSIFICATION

Inexhaustible resources:- Present in nature in unlimited amounts, hence not likely to be exhausted due to continuous use.

E.g.- Air , solar radiation , water(rainfall).

Exhaustible resources :- Present in limited amounts, and are also classified into:-

• Renewable resources:- Renewable resources can be replenished naturally.

E.g.- Forest, wildlife, groundwater.

• Non-renewable resources – Non-renewable resources either form slowly or do not naturally form in the environment. By the human perspective, resources are non-renewable when their rate of consumption exceeds the rate of replenishment/recovery.

E.g.-Minerals, fossil fuels, etc.

LAND RESOURCES

WHAT ARE LAND RESOURCES?

Land resources includes all the naturally occurring components of land which can be used for different purposes.

This may include:-

• Minerals • Agriculture • Forests

LAND USE PATTERNS IN WORLD

Land Resources Are Used For Following Purposes:

• Forest

• Cultivable Lands • Mountains • Wetlands

• Urban Area

WHAT ARE FOREST ?

The term “forest ”is derived from the Latin word “foris” meaning outside. Originally ,it is uncultivated and uninhabited village boundary consisting of natural plants, i.e., trees and grasses .

In the words of Allen and Shorpe, “Forest is a community of trees and associated organism covering a considerable area, utilizing air, water and minerals to attain maturity and to reproduce and capable of furnishing mankind with indispensable products and services”

USES OF FOREST RESCOURCES Hydrological flow modulator

Habitats for organisms

Soil conservers

Building material

Energy

Medicinal purposes

In paper industries

DEPLETION OF FORESTForest resources are being depleted mostly due to some of the human activities (anthropogenic) though some natural process is also responsible for this deforestation.

Natural causes:• Forest fires• Avalanches• Volcanic eruptions

Anthropogenic causes:• Urbanization• Logging• For fuel wood• Farming

IMPACTS OF DEFORESTATION

Deforestation (cutting of trees) has a serious impact on the environment. The problems associated with this can be put in four categories :

Atmospheric• Global warming

Hydrological• Water cycle• Frequent floods

Soil erosion Biodiversity

• Loss of habitat

MINERAL RESOURCES Mineral Resource is defined as a occurrence of

natural, solid, inorganic or fossilized organic material in or on the Earth’s crust in such form and quantity and of such a grade or quality that it has reasonable prospects for economic extraction.

India produces as many as 87 minerals, which includes 4 fuel, 10 metallic, 47 non-metallic, 3 atomic and 23 minor minerals (including building and other materials).

Estimated life expiry of minerals depends on two things:

1. The size of the reserve 2. The rate at which we are using it up!

Resource Est. Life Exp. in Yrs. Uses Coal 200-300 (electricity)Copper 36 (electric wiring)Iron 62 (steel prod.)Lead 25 (batteries)Natural Gas 125 (fuel; heat)Oil 50 (gasoline)Silver 17 (electric wiring)Tin 31 (cans; industry)Uranium ??? (electricity)

IRON Found abundantly in Orissa,

Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa .

Its low cost and high strength make it indispensable in engineering applications such as the construction of machinery and machine tools, automobiles and structural components for buildings.

The color of blood is due to the hemoglobin, an iron-containing protein. As illustrated by hemoglobin, iron is often bound to cofactors, e.g. in hemes.

COPPER Found abundantly in

Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim.

The major applications of copper are in electrical wires (60%), roofing and plumbing (20%) and industrial machinery (15%).

Copper proteins have diverse roles in biological electron transport and oxygen transportation.

NICKEL

Found abundantly in Orissa, Jharkhand.

Nickel is used in many specific and recognizable industrial and consumer products, including stainless steel, alnico magnets, coinage, rechargeable batteries, electric guitar strings, microphone capsules, and special alloys.

COAL Found abundantly in Bihar-Bengal-

Jharkhand coal belt, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh.

Coal is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide, as well as one of the largest worldwide anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide releases.

Coal is extracted from the ground by coal mining, either underground by shaft mining, or at ground level by open pit mining extraction.

MANGANESE

Found in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Orissa, Karnataka, Rajasthan.

Manganese has no satisfactory substitute in its major applications, which are related to metallurgical alloy use. Manganese phosphating is used as a treatment for rust and corrosion prevention on steel.

Manganese also functions in the oxygen-evolving complex of photosynthetic plants.

OTHER MINERALS

GOLD URANIUM ALUMINIUM

MININGMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or

other geological materials from the earth from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, or reef, which forms the mineralized package of economic interest to the miner.

Resource extraction involves any activity that withdraws resources from nature.

Ores recovered by mining include metals, coal and oil shale, gemstones, limestone, and dimension stone, rock salt, and potash, gravel, and clay.

EFFECTS OF MINING ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Deforestation and loss of biodiversity are major effects of mining.(It destroys forest and wetlands)

Many mine require tailings dams to prevent waste being washed into the rivers. Unethical miners can dispense with the dams, to save costs, resulting in massive pollution downstream. In other cases, the tailings dam can overflow, and even breach, during periods of heavy rain.

Underground coal mining can require the removal of almost an entire layer of material deep under the surface.

Some mining involves the inadvertent dispersal of heavy metals, such as lead, into the atmosphere. This can have serious health effects, including mental retardation in children.

Asbestos mining causes the dispersal of asbestos into the environment. This will cause deaths among local residents and workers, often several decades later.

WHAT CAN WE DO NOW?

Find alternative resources. Develop efficient and reliable renewable

resources. Reduce our use and avoid waste. Reuse what we can. Recycle (collect and reuse materials from

waste) what we can E.g.- Hybrid/electric cars, carpool, walk/ride a bike, turn off unneeded lights/electrical appliances, don’t let water run, place recyclables in marked containers

AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES

India is one of the countries where agriculture has got a very important place.

Three - fourths of the population depend on agriculture. Agricultural sector is the source of raw materials for many industries.

Agricultural sector in India is dynamic throughout the year.

Variety in seasonal crops is the peculiarity of our agricultural sector. Thus agricultural crops are classified into three, based on seasonal changes :

BIODIVERSITY

WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY ?

Biodiversity was coined by Walter G. Rosen in 1985.

Biodiversity is defined as the richness in variety and variability of species of all organism in a given habitat.

This encompasses all forms of life, plants, animals and microorganisms in any region.

Biodiversity- "variation of life at all levels of biological organization" .

TYPES OF BIODIVERSITYBiodiversity in all is categorized in three broad types:

Ecological diversity :– different habitats, niches,

species interactions. Species diversity :

– different kinds of organisms, relationships among species.

Genetic diversity :– different genes & combinations

of genes within populations.

1.7—2.0 million species Estimates to 100 million

BENEFITS OF BIODIVERSITY

Ecosystem services, such as• Protection of water resources• Soils formation and protection• Nutrient storage and recycling• Pollution breakdown and

absorption• Contribution to climate

stability• Maintenance of ecosystems

BENEFITS OF BIODIVERSITY Biological benefits, such as• Food• Medicinal resources • Wood products• Ornamental plants• Future resources• Diversity in genes, species and ecosystems

Social benefits, such as• Research, education and monitoring• Recreation and tourism• Cultural values

THANK YOU!