Resources and Development

Flashcards covering the definitions of various types of resources, land use categories, soil classifications, and conservation methods based on the lecture notes.

Resource

Everything available in our environment which can be used to satisfy our needs, provided it is technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally acceptable.

Biotic Resources

Resources obtained from the biosphere and which have life, such as human beings, flora and fauna, fisheries, and livestock.

Abiotic Resources

Resources which are composed of non-living things, such as rocks and metals.

Renewable Resources

Resources which can be renewed or reproduced by physical, chemical or mechanical processes, such as solar and wind energy.

Non-Renewable Resources

Resources that occur over a very long geological time and take millions of years in their formation; some like metals are recyclable while others like fossil fuels cannot be recycled and get exhausted with use.

Potential Resources

Resources which are found in a region but have not been utilized, such as solar and wind energy potential in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Stock

Materials in the environment which have the potential to satisfy human needs but human beings do not have the appropriate technology to access them.

Reserves

The subset of stock which can be put into use with the help of existing technical ‘know-how’ but their use has not been started.

Sustainable Development

Development that should take place without damaging the environment, and development in the present should not compromise with the needs of the future generations.

Agenda 21

A declaration signed by world leaders in 1992 at the UNCED in Rio de Janeiro, aiming to achieve global sustainable development and combat environmental damage, poverty, and disease.

Resource Planning

A complex process involving identification and inventory of resources, evolving a planning structure with appropriate technology and skills, and matching resource plans with national development plans.

Net Sown Area

The physical extent of land on which crops are sown and harvested.

Gross Cropped Area

The area sown more than once in an agricultural year plus the net sown area.

Fallow Land

Land left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year (current fallow) or 1 to 5 agricultural years (other than current fallow) to regain fertility.

Alluvial Soil

The most widely spread soil in India, deposited by the Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra river systems; it consists of sand, silt, and clay.

Bangar

Old alluvial soil which has a higher concentration of kankar nodules.

Khadar

New alluvial soil which is more fertile and has more fine particles than bangar.

Black Soil (Regur)

Also known as black cotton soil; it is typical of the Deccan trap region, made of lava flows, and known for its capacity to hold moisture.

Laterite Soil

Soil derived from the Latin word 'later' (brick), formed under tropical and subtropical climates with intense leaching; it is often acidic with a $pH < 6.0$.

Arid Soils

Soils ranging from red to brown in colour, generally sandy in texture and saline in nature; the lower horizons are often occupied by Kankar due to increasing calcium content.

Soil Erosion

The denudation of the soil cover and subsequent washing down by natural forces like wind, glacier, and water, or human activities.

Gullies

Deep channels cut into clayey soils by running water, making the land unfit for cultivation.

Sheet Erosion

A process where the top layer of soil is washed away as water flows as a sheet over large areas down a slope.

Contour Ploughing

Ploughing along the contour lines to decelerate the flow of water down the slopes.

Strip Cropping

Growing strips of grass between crops to break up the force of the wind and reduce erosion.

Shelter Belts

Rows of trees planted to create shelter, contributing to the stabilization of sand dunes and deserts.