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KEYWORDS

ISSN: 0974 - 0376

NSave Nature to Survive

: Special issue, Vol. III:

www.theecoscan.inAN INTERNATIONAL QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Prof. P. C. Mishra Felicitation Volume

Paper presented in

National Seminar on Ecology, Environment &Development

25 - 27 January, 2013

organised by

Deptt. of Environmental Sciences,

Sambalpur University, Sambalpur

Guest Editors: S. K. Sahu, S. K. Pattanayak and M. R. Mahananda

C. S. K. Mishra and Monalisa Rath

Waste land

Deforestation

Salination

Desertification

Mine spoil

Reclamation

99 - 105; 2013

WASTELAND RECLAMATION: NOVEL APPROACHES

100

C. S. K. MISHRA* AND MONALISA RATH1

Department of Zoology, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology,

College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, Bhubaneswar - 751 0031Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology,

College of Agriculture, Bhubaneswar - 751 003

E-mail: cskmishra@yahoo.com

INTRODUCTION

Land, a non-renewable resource, is central to all primary production systems.

Over the years, the landmass has suffered from different types of degradations.

Degradation of land is caused by biotic and abiotic pressures. Waste land is eco

logically unstable, whose top soil has been nearly completely lost and which

have developed toxicity in root zones for growth of most plants, both annual

crop and trees (Bhumbla and Khare, 1984). Land degradation or deterioration of

land quality for agricultural production and environmental protection has been a

matter of concern for land users. Land degradation assessment undertaken by the

various Central and State agencies resulted in the generation of databases on the

degraded and wastelands. But these agencies had used varying definitions of

land degradation, data sources, classification systems, methodologies and scales

that resulted in diverse estimates of degraded and wasteland areas (Table 1). A

vast area of land all over the world has been rendered unproductive by human

activities (Choi and Wali, 1995).

The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) followed remote-sensing technology,

identifying land-use and physical condition of the surface features for mapping

non-agricultural areas (presently non-arable) on 1: 50,000 scale using satellite

image of late rabi season with adequate field checks (Table 2).

Major causes of wasteland formation

The various purposes, for which land can be used, include agriculture and

horticulture for food production, energy production, human dwelling and

industrial/commercial purpose. But its overuse makes it unfit for human use. The

National Wasteland Development Board (NWDB) has classified wastelands into

two categories, culturable and unculturable. Culturable wastelands are those

lands which have potential for the development of vegetative cover or reclaimed

in later stage. These lands remain unproductive for various reasons such as water

logging, salinity, non-availability of water or aridity and unfavourable terrain, etc.

Large waste land areas are found in hills, arid, ravine and flood-prone areas of

north western Himalayan states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,

North Eastern states, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Unculturable wastelands are those lands which cannot be developed for

vegetative cover. These lands are barren and cannot be put to significant uses.

However, some of the areas of such lands can be converted/ changed into pasture

land. These lands are deserted areas near snowline areas with high degree to

slope, etc. Non culturable wasteland can be turned into grasslands which can

improve the ecological balance by protecting soil from rapid erosion and soil

moisture decline. It can also enhance supplies of fodder and fuel at the same

time. Thus, it can support pastoral activities, which is one of the areas of major

concern in India.

Wastelands include degraded forests, overgrazed pastures, drought struck

pastures, eroded valleys, hilly slopes, waterlogged marshy lands, barren land etc.

NSave Nature to Survive QUARTERLY

Highly fertile landmass might be converted in

to unproductive wasteland due to a number

of natural and anthropogenic causes such as

over utilization of forests, overgrazing,

salination, desertification, unscientific land

management etc. In India, vast stretches of

land covering many states have been reduced

to sterile land. With ever increasing demand

for agricultural land and afforestation

programmes, there is an urgent need to make

large bulk of this wasteland productive and

fertile. This is only feasible through sustainable

scientific methods of reclamation. Reclamation

is the process by which derelict or highly

degraded lands are returned to productivity

and by which some measure of biotic function

and productivity is restored. This paper

reviews the major causes of wasteland

generation and some of the feasible methods

of their eco restoration.

ABSTRACT

*Corresponding author

101

WASTELAND RECLAMATION

Agency Estimated Criteria for delineation

extent (M ha)

National Commission on Agriculture (NCA, 1976) 148.09 Based on the secondary data

Ministry of Agriculture (1978) 175.00 Based on the NCA’s estimates. No systematic survey was undertaken

(Soil and Water Conservation Division)

Society for Promotion of Wastelands Development 129.58 Based on the secondary estimates

(SPWD) (Bhumbla and Khare, 1984)

NRSA (1985) 53.28 Mapping on 1 : 1 million scale based on the remote-sensing techniques

Ministry of Agriculture (MOA, 1985) 173.64 Land degradation statistics for states

Ministry of Agriculture (MOA, 1994) 107.43 Elimination of duplication of area. Area reclaimed counted

NBSS&LUP (1994) 187.70 Mapping on 1 : 4 million scale based on the Global Assessment of Soil

Degradation (GLASOD) guidelines

NBSS&LUP (2004) (revised) 146.82 1 : 1 million scale soil map

Department of Environment (Vohra, 1980) 95.00

National Wasteland Development Board (1985) 123.00

Source: Gautam, N.C. and Narayan, L.R.A. 1988

Table 1: Land degradation assessment by different organizations

Wasteland class Area (in km2) Percentage

Gullied/ravinous land (Medium) 7005.47 1.48

Gullied/ravinous land (Deep) 1714.80 0.36

Land with dense scrub 93372.62 19.77

Land with open scrub 91645.83 19.41

Waterlogged/marshy land (permanent) 2532.46 0.54

Waterlogged/marshy land (seasonal) 2994.22 0.63

Land affected by salinity/ alkalinity (medium) 5451.63 1.15

Land affected by salinity/ alkalinity (strong) 1737.81 0.37

Shifting cultivation area current jhum 5625.07 1.19

Shifting cultivation area abandoned jhum 4608.44 0.98

Under utilized degraded forest land (scrub domain.) 85787.78 18.17

Under utilized degraded forest land (agriculture) 16381.53 3.47

Degraded pastures/grazing land 7197.14 1.52

Degraded land under plantation crop 314.14 0.07

Sands riverine 2439.86 0.52

Coastal sand 719.31 0.15

Desertic sand 5280.07 1.12

Sands semi stabilized to stabilized (>40 m) 11188.21 2.37

Sands semi stabilized to stabilized (15-40 m) 15627.63 3.31

Mining wasteland 506.58 0.11

Industrial wasteland 63.09 0.01

Barren rocky/stony/sheet rock 69372.54 14.69

Snow covered/glacial area 40694.80 8.62

Total wasteland area in 2008-09 4767021.16

Source: National remote sensing application centre, ISRO, Hyderabad

Table 2: NRSA wasteland classes (2008-09)

Figure 1: Wasteland regions in India

Very large wasteland areas

Large wasteland areas

Medium wasteland areas

The main causes of wasteland formation are

i) Indiscriminate and over utilization of forest produce.

ii) Overgrazing of grasslands.

iii) Salination and Water logging

iv) Desertification.

v) Side-effects of development projects (misuse and

unscientific land management) e.g. industrial and mining

activity.

Wasteland categories

Degraded forest: Deforestation results in permanent

conversion of forests by the method of postures, shifting,

cultivating, agricultural land and regular cutting of trees (Figs.

2 and 3). The situation is particularly alarming in tropical areas

where forest loss and degradation, as well as degradation of

land those earlier supported forests, are proceeding at

unprecedented rates (Parrotta et al., 1997). The forest cover

102

C. S. K. MISHRA AND MONALISA RATH

estimates from 1987 - 2011 are given in Table 3. The Western

Visayas are highly deforested, most notably the island of Cebu,

where the endemic Black Shama and Cebu Flower pecker

survive at Tabunan and in a few other small forest patches.

The Philippines has suffered one of the highest rates of

deforestation than anywhere in the world, which has reduced

many formerly forested areas to wasteland.

The Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun undertakes the

assessment of forest cover based on digital interpretation of

satellite imageries and ground verification on a two-year cycle.

As per FSI reports India has been able to reduce the rate of

deforestation during the last decades and a half. After thelaunch of Forest Conservation Act (1980) which stipulatedthat forest areas cannot be diverted for non–forestry purposeswithout the prior approval of Govt. of India and that forestarea equal to diverted forest area have to be planted. The rateof deforestation came down to about 25,000 ha year -1.However, while there has been improvement in significantlyreducing and controlling the rate of deforestation, forestdegradation appears to be continuing, as evidenced by thefall in the average growing stock of wood and bio mass volumeper ha. Declining production of timber and fuel wood is alsoindicative of continuing forest degradation. The findings ofJFM (Joint Forest Management) impact studies suggest that thecurrent strategy of decentralized forest management is not ableto ensure active cooperation of the participating communities.

The role of revegetation for rehabilitation of sodic soils insemiarid sub tropical forest, India was reported and about 28species were found naturally regenerating in our rehabilitatedforest, which was about 64% of the total species listed in theforest and these may be considered adapted to sodic soils.Some of the important ones may be cited here for further trialson sodic lands, viz Aegle marmelos, Alangium salvifolium,Albizia lebbeck, Azadirachta indica , Buhinia variegataa,Cassia siamea, Cassia fistula , Corddia dichotoma, Dalbergiasissoo, Ficus glomerata, Holopteleinterifolia, Pithecellobiumdulce, Derris indica, Putranjiva roxburghii, Sterculia alata,Terminalia arjuna etc (Tripathy and Singh, 2005).

Overgrazing of grassland: Overgrazing decreases heathercover of top soil, allowing less nutritious plants to becomeestablished. Often looked on as wasteland, grasslands are

under tremendous pressure from grazing and conversion of

land to plantations or for industrial use. According to a report

Figure 2: An aerial view of land being cleared to make way for a palm

oil plantation at the Rokan Hulu Regency in Indonesia’s Riau province

(2007)

Figure 3: Conversion of forested areas to non-forest land for use as

arable land

Figure 5: Waste land formed due to inundation of sea water

Figure 4: An estuarine salt marsh along the Healthcote River,

Christchurch, New Zealand

by the Forestry Commission, nearly 40% of these protected

grassland areas suffer from livestock grazing and fodder

extraction. Overgrazing and trampling induces the increase

of mat- forming Carex and Kobresia pygmaea, near Damxung,

4250m. Desiccation and overgrazing have degraded the

Kobresia schoenoides which now grow as hummocks

between lawns of Carex sagaensis.

Salination and water logging: When the concentration of

soluble salt increases, the condition called, salination (Figs. 4

& 5). Water logging (Figs. 6 and 7) occurs due to rise in water

table or seepage. High temperature, low rain fall and poor

drainage are the main causes of water logging and salination.

103

without grinding in factory, it is cheaper. Gypsum chamber is

a brick-cement-concrete chamber, the size of which depends

primarily on tube well discharge and sodicity (RSC) of the

water. This chamber is connected to water fall chamber to

one side and to water channel on the other side. A net of iron

bars covered with wire net (2mm x 2mm) is fitted at a height of

10 cm from the bottom of the bed on which the gypsum clodsare filled up. With little modification, farmers can easily convert

their water fall chamber into gypsum chamber.

An area of land of Auroville, coastal Tamilnadu, India of 135

acres of alkaline shallow (0.5 to 1m) heavily eroded black

cotton soil was made available for an experiment in

regeneration. On roughly one-third of this land a white crust

of 1 to 3 cm was observable. Another third had a thinner

white crust. Here and there on the remaining area, cracks

appeared on the land every summer. The soil pH was found

to range between 7.2 and 8.5. The E.C. ranged from 1,500 to

2,300 mmhos/cm. An attempt was initially made to plant

various recommended indigenous and exotic species. Pits of

1.5 ft x 1.5 ft were dug to loosen the soil and filled up with the

same earth. No soil amendments were used. Six-month-old

seedlings were then planted. The species included:

Enterelobium dulce, Prosopis julifera, Albizzia lebbeck,

Azadirachta indica, Pongamia glabra, Leucaena leucocephala,

Acacia leucophloea, Cassia siamea. Though weeds from the

locality can be used for regenerating heavily eroded black

cotton soils, the experiment showed that hardier species of

perhaps trees and shrubs were needed to start a process of

regeneration in the most degraded portions of the land.

Desertification: Desertification has been defined by the United

Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as land degradation

in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting mainly

Figure 6: Massive water logging in a field in UP, India Figure 7: In UP, consequent to water logging, there is more wasteland

and less agriculture area

Minerals in the soils and exposed rocks of the earth’s crust

produce soluble salts. Good agriculture lands turn saline every

year in Punjab, India. The first report on salt affected wasteland

formation in connection with irrigation practices come from

Haryana in 1958. It has been reported that several villages of

Rohtak, Panipat and Delhi lying near western area of Yamuna

canal are suffering from destructive saline effloresces. Sea watercan salinize coastal areas, particularly where violent sweep

on shores or even when sea breezes blow salt-spray inland

(so called cyclic salts). For instance, on some areas along the

sea coasts in Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra

Pradesh and West Bengal, salinity of soil is usually caused by

annual inundation with sea water.

The reclamation of saline-alkali soils is receiving increased

attention in India (Sandoval and Gould, 1978; Bhargava and

Sharma, 1986; Yadav, 1987). Many arid and semi-arid regions

have extensive salt-affected soils that undergo further

salinization from agricultural practices that trap and concentrate

dissolved salts.

Use of Gypsum Chamber technology for reclaiming sodic

waters (Naidu and Bhaskar, 2006) constitute a considerable

proportion of the total underground water resources which is

predominant in the arid and semi arid regions of North-Western

India and also Deccan Plateau. Conventionally, sodic hazards

of these waters is mitigated by applying and mixing uniformly

the powdered gypsum in a leveled field and than flooding

with fresh water, well before the sowing of crop. A new method

developed by CSSRI, Karnal and H.A.U., Hissar is relatively

more economical and efficient. The technology is called

Gypsum chamber technology in which water is made to pass

through a chamber of gypsum and water dissolved calcium

sulphate is applied to soils. As gypsum can be used in clods

Figure 9: Quarry formed in an Iron mine

area in Joda, OdishaFigure 10: Waste land formed due to iron ore

mining in Keonjhar, OdishaFigure 8: Surface copper hill, East Tamilnadu

WASTELAND RECLAMATION

104

from adverse human impact. This 1991 definition is a revision

of the definition formulated at the 1977 United Nations

Conference on Desertification. The 1977 definition described

desertification as the diminution or destruction of the biological

potential of the land, which could lead ultimately to the

formation of desert-like conditions (UNCOD, 1977). The

principal criterion for placing land in one of the four

desertification classes (slight, moderate, severe, very severe)

was the impact degradation has had on economic plant yield,

on both croplands and rangelands (Dregne and Chau, 1992).

Slight, moderate, and severe degradation usually are reversible;

very severely degraded land is categorized as land which

cannot be rehabilitated economically. Globally, Australia has

the greatest amount of dry lands, none of it hyperarid. The

U.S.S.R. ranked second, again with no hyperarid territory,

followed by China, the United States, and Saudi Arabia. Over

half of Saudi Arabia is hyperarid.

Dryland agriculture is often the principal kind of farming thatis practised in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world.Water for plant growth and development is supplied entirelyby rainfall. Randhawa and Singh (1986) categorize drylandfarming areas in India as those with a moisture-available periodof less than 120 days, receiving 100-600 mm of precipitationin summer and winter months. In the area near Jodhpur(Rajasthan, India), about 370 mm of precipitation is receivedin 20 days spread over about 11 weeks (CAZRI, 1985). Theprobability of severe drought in this area has been calculatedto be about 40010. The region is currently experiencing aprolonged drought as monsoon rains received during the threesummers, 1985-1987, have been erratic, infrequent, andconsiderably below normal. About 35% of China’s agriculturalland affected by desertification.

Side-effects of development projects e.g. industrial andmining activity: Directly or indirectly, industrialization andthe rising human population have given rise to many humanactivities that contribute to the cause of wasteland formation.Mining (Fig. 8, 9 and 10) typically has serious, negative effectson the ecology, at all levels of organization, from microbial tolandscape (Yingyi and Daoliang, 2009) and play a major rolein forming the waste land. Ecosystem destruction by mining,quarrying for minerals and other processes to meet demandsof industries, is an inevitable part of civilization (Bradshaw,1983). In the process of removing desired mineral material,the original vegetation is inevitably destroyed and soil is lostor buried by wastes (Bradshaw, 1997). Strip mining can causecompaction, changes in soil texture, loss of soil structure andreduced water infiltration (Grunwald et al., 1988; Norland,

1993). Un-reclaimed or poorly reclaimed lands are oftenbarren, because problematic soil material left on the surfaceafter mining would not support plant growth (Sutton and Dick,1987). This creates problems, as waste dumps are subject toerosion and leaching if left un-vegetated. The authors havedone extensive survey on the generation of spoil in the ironand chromite mining belt of Joda Barbil area in the Keonjhardistrict of Odisha. Studies have indicated the poor fertilitystatus of spoil dumps with significantly low microbialpopulation and soil enzyme activities. Results have alsoindicated considerably low soil respiration and plant growthparameters in the spoil with respect to control soil (Rath et al.,2010, 2011).

Reclamation approach: There are many approaches to land

and vegetation rehabilitation. These depend on severity of

damage to the land resource, the goals of rehabilitation and

availability of resources for repairing the damage. The most

intensive rehabilitation is sometimes termed reclamation,

because the damage to sites is so severe that soils have to be

replaced and landscapes may have to be reshaped.

Reclamation is the process by which derelict or highly

degraded lands are returned to productivity, and by which

some measure of biotic function and productivity is restored.

Long term mine spoil reclamation requires the establishment

of stable nutrient cycles from plant growth and microbial

processes (Sopper, 1992). However reclamation process often

becomes arrested because of severe limitations in the site or

the biota. Reclamation or restoration can be thought as a

continuum of outcomes from the least to the most similar to

the pre-disturbance ecosystem.

C. S. K. MISHRA AND MONALISA RATH

Table 3: The forest cover estimates in India

Year of state of forest report Data period Forest tree cover km2 % of Geographical area Dense forest %

1987 1981-83 640, 819 19.49 59.06

1989 1983-85 638,804 19.43 60.27

1991 1987-89 639,364 19.45 60.31

1993 1989-91 639,386 19.45 60.30

1995 1991-93 638,879 19.43 60.27

1997 1993-95 633,397 19.27 57.98

1999 1996-98 637,293 19.39 59.21

2001 1998-99 23.03

2003 2000-01 23.68

2011 2008-09 782,871 23.89

Source: FSI-SFR 1987-2003, Dehradun, India

Figure 12: India’s first project aimed at recovery of barren land and

its restoration through afforestation has been approved under the

Clean Development Mechanism in the state of Haryana

105

Maximum wasteland areas in our country lie in Rajasthan (36

million ha) followed by M.P. and Andhra Pradesh. In Haryana

the wastelands cover about 8.4% of the total land area and

most of it comprises saline, sodic or sandy land areas.

Wasteland reclamation and development in our country falls

under the purview of Wasteland Development Board, which

works to fulfill following objectives:

1. To improve the physical structure and quality of marginal

soils.

2. To improve the availability of good quality water for

irrigating these lands.

3. To prevent soil erosion, flooding and landslides.

4. To conserve the biological resources of land for sustainable

use.

India is the first country in the world to have made provisions

for the protection and conservation of environment in its

constitution (5th June 1972). India’s first project aimed at

recovery of barren land and its restoration through afforestation

has been approved under the Clean Development Mechanism

in the state of Haryana (Fig. 11). As many as 50 or 100 years

can elapse before a satisfactory vegetation cover develops on

waste land. An important goal of ecological rehabilitation is to

accelerate natural succession so as to increase biological

productivity, reduced rates of soil erosion, increase soil fertility

and increase biotic control over biogeochemical fluxes within

the recovering ecosystem.

With rising global population and ever increasing pressure

on agricultural land for industrial and other infrastructural

projects, waste land reclamation has become a priority to

ensure sustainable food production and environmental

conservation. In a nut shell waste land reclamation could

ensure increase in the availability of arable lands, expand the

carrying capacity of land mass, generate recreational facilities

like parks etc. Besides the wasteland can be reclaimed by

draining out of excess water and can be used for various

purposes such as housing, agriculture etc. Efforts are on to

devise effective and sustainable technologies for the

reclamation of waste lands and convert those in to highly

productive ecosystems.

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