Soil Physical and Chemical Properties in Relation to Conservation of Natural Resources

Abstract

The natural resources of any country are the national treasure and there is need for proper planning to make best use of them. The most important and basic natural resource is soil. It is evident that the production of food, fodder, fuel and feed to meet the requirement of human beings and animals is primarily dependent upon agriculture and allied areas which are dependent on soil resources. Soil resources of the world are finite, easily degraded by misuse and mismanagement, nonrenewable over the human time frame, and shrinking because of degradation and conversion to nonagricultural uses (Lal, 1998). Soil degradation is a severe global issue, and predominant degradative processes are accelerated soil erosion, depletion of soil organic matter and plant nutrients, decline of soil structure, and salinization. Most of these degradative processes are more severe in the tropics than in the temperate climate, in marginal rather than prime agricultural lands, and in resource-based and subsistence agriculture rather than science-based or commercial farming. There is need of judicious and scientific management of soil resources. Degraded soils and ecosystems must be ameliorated, and the depleted organic carbon pool restored so that soil can respond to the use of yield –enhancing input (e.g., fertilizers, improved varieties) and can meet the current and future food demand