CBSE Class 10 GEOGRAPHY Notes (1.

RESOURCES AND
DEVELOPMENT)

Resources - Everything in our environment which can be used to

satisfy our needs and is technologically accessible, economically

feasible and culturally acceptable is called Resources'.

•Human beings themselves are essentialcomponents of resources.

•They transform materialavailablein the environment into resources
and use them.
Interdependent relationship betuween nature,
technology andinstitutions
Physical Environment
(Nature)

Human beings interact

with nature through
technology andereate
instiutions to
accelerate their
economic development.
HUMAN
BEINGS

Technology Institutions

Classification of Resources:

RESOURCES

Natural Human

Renewable Non-Renewable Structures guan

and institutions

Continuous or Biological
flow e.g, wind. Recyclable e.g. Non Recyclable
water metals c.g. Fossil fucls

Natural Wildlife

Vegetation (Forests)

On the basis oforigin:Biotic and Abiotic

Biotic resources Those resources which are obtained from the

biosphere and have life are called biotic resources. Ex- Human
beings, livestocks, flora and fauna etc.

• They have life or are living resources

Abiotic resources - Those resources which are composed of non-living

things are called abioticresources. Ex- Rocks,metals etc.

•AbioticResources include all non-living things

On the Basis of Exhaustibility:Renewable and Non-Renewable
Renewable resources Resources that have the capability to be
regenerated by any physical, chemical or mechanical processes are
known as Renewable or ReplenishableResources.

Ex- Solar and wind energy, water, forests and wildlife, etc.

.The renewable resource may further be divided into continuousor

flow and biological.
Non-Renewable Resources - Resources that are exhaustible and
cannotbe regenerated are called non renewable resources.

Ex - Minerals, fossil fuels, etc.

The resources which once get exhaustedcannot be remade.

•
•They take a long geological period of time, i.e., millions of years in
their formation.
On the basis of ownership:ndividual (Personal), Community, National
and International

Individual resources Resources that have private individual

ownership are called individualresources.Ex - House, Plot etc.

Community resources -Resources that are shared by all the members

within in a community are called community resources. Ex- Public

parks, Playground etc.

National resources - Resources that belong to the nation are called

nationalresources.

· National resources include railways,forest, lands, within political

boundaries and oceanic areasupto 12 nautical miles from the coast.
International resources Resources that are regulated by
international bodies are called internationalresources.

Ex- Oceanic area beyond 200 nautical miles of the exclusive economic
Zone.

Do you know that?

India has got the right to mine manganese nodules from the bed of the

Indian Ocean from that area which lies beyond the exclusive economic
zone. Identify some other resources which are international in nature.

On the Basis of the Status of Development:Potential, Developed, Stock

and Reserves

Potential resources -The resources that are available in a particular

region and can be utilized in the future are called potential resources.
For example the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat have great potential

for harnessing wind and solar energy, but these have not been
developed yet.

Developed resources -Resources whose potential has been properly

analyzed based on their technological accessibility and economic

 Do you know that?

India has got the right to nmine manganese nodules from the bed of the
IndianOcean from that area which lies beyond the exclusive economic
zone. Identify some other resources which are international in nature.

Onthe Basis of the Status of Development:Potential, Developed, Stock

and Reserves

Potential resources - The resources that are available in a particular

region and can be utilized in the future are called potential resources.
For example the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat have great potential
for harnessing wind and solar energy, but these have not been
developed yet.

Developed resources -Resources whose potential has been properly

analyzed based on their technological accessibility and economic

feasibility and quantity for utilization has been determined are called
Developed resources.Ex- Coal, Petroleum etc.

Stock resources - These are the resources that are present in

abundance in our surroundingsbut have been not utilized yet to due to

the lack of adequatetechnologyare called stock resources.

Ex -Two inflammable gasescompound of water hydrogen and oxygen.

Reserves resources -Those resources are considered a subset of stock

are called reserve resources.Ex- Uranium, Water etc.

•The technology required to utilize these resources is available,

.But their utilization has not begun yet.

• They have been reserved for futurenecessities.

Development of Resources:

Resources have been used by human beings indiscriminately and this

has led to the following major problems.

Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of a few individuals.

•
•Accumulation of resources in a few hands,which, in turn, divided the
society into two segments i.e. rich and poor.
It has led to global ecological crises such as global warming, ozone
•
layer depletion, environmentalpollution and land degradation.
An equitable distributionof resources has become essential for a

sustained quality of life and global peace. If the present trend of

resource depletion by a few individuals and countries continues, the

future of our planet is in danger. Therefore, resource planning is

essential for sustainable existence of all forms of life. Sustainable

existence is a component of sustainable development

Sustainable Economic Development - Development should take place

without damaging the environment and development in the present

should not compromise with the needs of future generations is called

SustainableEconomic Development.
 Sustainable Economic Development - Development should take place
without damaging the environment and development in the present

should not compromise with the needs of future generations is called

SustainableEconomic Development.

.
Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992

ln une
Brazil,
1992, more than 100 heads fstates
for the frst International Earth Summit.
The Summitwas convenedfor addressing
met in Rio de laneiro

urgent problems of
in
•
environmentalprotection and socioeconomicdevelopmentat the giobal
level.

.The assembled leaders signed the Declaration on Global Climatic

Change and Biological Diversity.

•The Rio Convention endorsed the giobal Forest Principles and adopted
Agenda 21 for achieving Sustainable Development in the 21st century.
Agenda 21

It is the declaration signed by worid leaders in 1992 at the United

•
Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED),which
took place at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

•It aims atachieving global sustainable development.

It is an agenda to combat environmentaldamage, poverty, disease

•
through global co-operation on common interests, mutual needs and
shared responsibilities.
•One major objective of the Agenda 21 is that every local government

shoulddraw its own local Agenda 21.

Resource planning- The widely accepted strategy for cautious use of

resources in known as resource planning.

•Planning is the widely accepted strategy for judicious use of

resources.

It has importance in a countrylike India, which has enormous

•
diversity in the availability of resources.
There are regions which are rich in certain types of resources but are
•
deficient in some other resources.

There are some regions which can be considered sell sufficient in

terms of the availability of resources and there are some regions which
have acuteshortage of some vital resources.
•This calls for balanced resource planning at the national, state,

regional and local levels

Resource planning in India:

Resourceplanningis a complex process which involves:

(i) Identification and inventory of resources across the regions of the

country. This involves surveying, mapping and qualitative and

quantitative estimation and measurement of the resources

(ii) Evolving a planning structure endowed with appropriate

technology, skill and institutional set up for implementing resource
development plans.
 Vo) LTE
5:00 LTE2 l

• The availability of resources is a necessary condition for the

developmentof any region, but mere availability of resources in the

absenceof corresponding changes in technology and institutions may

hinderdevelopment.
•There are many regions in our country that are rich in resources but
these are included in economically backward regions.
• On the contrary there are some regions which have a poor resource
base but they are economically developed.
•Therefore, resources can contribute to development only when they

are accompanied by appropriate technological developmentand

institutional changes.

•In India, development,in general, and resource development in

particular does not only involve the availability of resources, but also

the technology, quality of human resources and the historical

experiences of the people.

Conservation of Resources- The management of resources by human
beings in a judicious and plannedway without disturbing environment
is called conservationof resources.

•Resourcesarevital for any developmental activity.

But irrational consumptionand over-utilisation of resources may lead
•
to economic and environmentalproblems.
socio
• To overcome these problems,resource conservation at various levels

is important.

Gandhiji was very apt in voicing his concernabout resource

•
conservation in these words: "There is enough for everybody's need and
not for anybody's greed".

He placed the greedyand selfishindividuals and exploitative nature

•
of modem technology as the root cause for resource depletion at the
global level.

He was against mass production and wanted to replace it with the

production by the masses.
At the international level, the Club Romeadvocated resource
of
•
conservation for the first time in a more systematic way in 1968.
Subsequently, in 1974, Gandhianphilosophy was once again presented
•
by Schumacher in his book Smallis Beautiful.
•The seminal contribution with respect to resource conservation at the

global level was made by the Brundtland CommissionReport, 1987.

• Thisreport introduced the concept of Sustainable Development'

and
advocated it as a means for resource conservation, which was
subsequently published in a book, entitled Or Common Future.
•Anothersignificant contribution was made at the Earth Summit at Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.

Land Resources:

•Land is a natural resource of utmost importance.

•It supports natural vegetation, wild life, human life, economic
activities, transport and communication systems
• However, land is an asset of a finite magnitude therefore, it is

important to use the available land for various purposes with careful
planning.
 Waste Land, 6%

Forest,239%

Net sowwn
area, 44%

Mountains:

•About 30% of land area in India is in the form of mountain.

•Mountain supportsthe perennial flow of rivers,which carry fertile

soils, facilitate irrigation and provide drinking water.

•Mountains are good avenues for tourism and adventure sports and
can help in revenue generation.
Plains:

•About 43% of land area in India is in the form of plains.

•Plains provide facilities for agriculture, building of industries and

houses, etc.
Plateau:

•About 27% of land in India is in the form of plateau which provides

many types of minerals, fossil fuels and forest.
Land Utilization:

Current
Culturable Fallow
fallow, 7%
waste land, 4.00%
land, 5.00%

Misc, 19%

Pasture, 3.00%
Net sown
Non-agri are a, 449%
use, 7.00%

Waste Land, 6%

Forest, 239%

Patternsof use of Land Resources:

1. Forests
2. Land not available for cultivation: There aretwo types of land
which are not used foragriculture purpose. These are:
3.Barren and waste land
4. Lands used for buildings, roads, factories, etc. i.e for non

agriculture purpose.
Othop ne wated and tozouding falloAY land)
 5. Other uncultivatedland (excludingfallowland)
6. Permanent pastures and grazing land,

7. Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not includedin

net sown area),

8. Culturable waste land (left uncultivated for more than 5

agricultural years).
9. Fallow lands
10. Currentfallow-(left without cultivation for one or less than one
agricultural year),

11. Other than current fallow-(left uncultivated for the past 1 to 5

agricultural years).
12. Net sown area:Area which is sown at least once in a year is called
net soWn area.
13. Gross cropped area:Area sown more than once in an agricultural
year plus net sown area is known as gross cropped area.

Bases of Land Use Pattern: Pattern of land use depends on both

physical and human factors:

Physical factors -

Physical factors include climate, topography, types of soil etc.

Human factors -

Human factors include population, technology, skill, population,

density, capability etc.

Land Use Pattern in India:

Total geographical area of India is 3.28 million sq km.

•
•Land use data, however, is available only for93 per cent of the total

geographical area

•The land under permanent pasture has also decreased.

•How are we able to feed our huge cattle population on this pasture
land and what are the consequences of it?
. The percentageof NSA in India comes to about 54 per cent of the total
reporting area.

The pattern of net sown area varies greatly from one state to another.
•
•It is over 80 per cent of the total area in Punjab and Haryana and less
than 10 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and
Andaman NicobarIsland.
Forest area in the countryis farlower than the desired 33 per cent of
•
geographical area, as it was outlined in the National Forest Policy
(1952).

was considered essential formaintenance of the ecological balance.

It
•
.
The livelihood of millions of people who live on the fringes of these
forests depends upon it.

A part of the land is termed as waste land and land put to other non
•
agricultural uses.
Waste land includes rocky, arid and desert areasand land put to other
•
non-agricultural uses includes settlements, roads, railways, industry etc.

.Continuoususe of land over a long period of time withouttaking

appropriate measures to conserveand manage it has resulted in land

degradation.

•This, in turn, has serious repercussions on society and the

environment.

Land Degradation -Any change in the condition of the land which

reducesits productive is called land degradation.

Wind
Erosion, 109%

Saline/Alkaline
Land,69%

Forest
Water erosion
Degraded
area, 289%
56%

Land degradation and conservation:

Measures:

•Ninety-five per cent of our basic needs for food, shelter and clothing
are obtained from land.
•Human activities have not only brought about degradation of land but
have also aggravatedthe pace of natural forces to cause damage to land.

At present, there areabout 130 million hectares of degraded land in

•
India.

•Approximately,28 per cent of it belongs to the category of forest

degraded area, 56 per cent of it is water eroded area and the rest is
affected by saline and alkaline deposits.

Causes of land degradation:

Some human activities such as deforestation, over grazing, mining

•
and quarrying too have contributed significantly in land degradation.
•Mining sites are abandoned after excavation work is complete.
In states like Jharkhand,Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha
•
deforestation due to mining have caused severe land degradation.

•In states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra

overgrazing is one of the main reasonsfor land degradation.

In the states of Punjab,Haryana, western Utar Pradesh over

•
irrigation is responsible forland degradation due to water logging
leading to increase in salinity and alkalinity in the soil.

The mineralprocessing like grinding of limestone forcement industry

•
and calcite and soapstonefor ceramicindustry generatehuge quantity
of dust in the atmosphere.
• It retards the process of infiltration of water into the soil after it

settles down on the land.

•In recent years, industrial effluents as waste have become a major

source of land and water pollution in many parts of the country.

Ways to solve the problems of land degradation:

•Afforestation and proper management of grazing can help to some

extent.

•Planting of shelter belts of plants, control on overgrazing, stabilisation

of sand dunes by growing thornybushes are some of the methods to

check land degradation.

•Proper management of waste lands, control of mining activities,

proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after
treatmentcan reduceland and water degradation and
in industrial
suburban areas.
Measures to Conserve the Land Resources:

Degradationof land can be preventedby taking following measures:

Afforestation
•
Proper management of grazing.
•
•Stabilisation of sand dunes by plantation of thorny bushes.
Proper management of waste lands.
•
•By proper irrigation.
By proper harvesting.
•
•Control over mining activities.
•Proper management of land after completionof mining work.
•Discharge of industrial waste and effluents only after proper
treatment.

Plantation of trees along the road sides.

•
Soil as a resource:

Importance:

Soil is the most importantrenewable natural resource.

•
• Itis the medium of plant growth and supportsdifferent types of living
organisms on the earth.

.The soil is a living system.

•It takes millions of years to form soil up to a few cm in depth.

Soil Profile The arrangement of different layers of soil at a place is

called soil profile.

What is a soil profile?

A soil profile consists ofseveral
horizos soil A Soil Profile

Horizons
O horizon
humuson the ground surface.
horizon A
Top soil.
Rich in organicmatter.Typically
dark color
Also called zone of leaching. B
B horizon
Subsoil.
Also called zone of accumulation.
May contain soluble minerals such
as caleite in arid climates (caliche).
horizon
C
Weathered bedrock (rotten rock).
Bedrock lies below the soil profile.

Formation of soil:

Relief, parentrock or bed rock, climate, vegetation and other forms of

•
 Relief, parentrock or bed rock, climate, vegetation and other forms of

•
life and time areimportant factors in the formationof soil.

•Variousforces of nature such as change in temperature, actions of

running water,wind and glaciers, activities of decomposers etc
contribute to the formation of soil.

•Chemical and organic changeswhich take place in the soil are equally
important.
Soil also consists of organic (humus) and inorganic materials.

Time provides maturityto soil.

•
Parent Rock
Climate
Determines colour,
texture, chemical Temperature,
Rainfall influence
properties
mineral, content, Soil rateof weathering
and humus
permeability

Relief
Altitude and
Flora, Fauna and Time
Micro-organism
slope, determine Determ ines thickness
Affect the rate of humus
accumulation of soil profle
formation
of soil

Factors Affecting Soil Fornmation

Classification of soils:

India has varied relief features, landforms, climatic realms and

vegetation types. These have contributed in the development of various
types of soils.

(i)Alluvial soils:

The most widelyspread,importantand fertile soil

•
Formation

•Have been deposited by the importantHimalayan river systemsthe

Indus,the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
Distribution

Covers the entire northern plains,extend in Rajasthan and Gujarat

•
through a narrow corridor, also found in the eastern coastal plains
particularly in the deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna
and the Kaveririvers.
•Due to high fertility of this soil these areas are highly cultivated

alluvial soils contain adequate proportion of potash, phosphoricacid

and lime which are ideal for the growth of sugarcane, paddy,wheat and
other cereal and pulse crops.
. Soils in the drier areasare more alkaline and can be productive after

proper treatment and irrigation

•As we move inlands towards the river valleys, soil particles appear
somewhatbigger in size.

In the upper reaches of the river valley i.e. near the place of the break
•
of slope, the soils are coarse.

•Such soils are more common in piedmont plains such as Duars

(Assam),Chos (Punjab) and Terai (Uttar Pradesh).

Types
•According to their age, alluvial soils can be classified as old alluvial
(Bangar) and new alluvial (Khadar)
(ii) Black soil:

• Black in colour, also known as regur soils Ideal for growing cotton,
also known as black cotton soil
Formation

• Climatic condition along with the parent rock material is the

important factors for the formation of black soil.

Distribution

•Typical of the Deccan trap (Basalt)region spread over northwest

Deccan plateau and is made up of lava flows.
• They cover the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and extend in the south east direction along
the Godavari and the Krishna valleys.

• Soil of Deccan is black in colour due to its origin.

Characteristics

•Black soils are made up of extremely fine ie. Clayey material.

•Well-known for their capacity to hold moisture.
•They develop deep cracks during hot weather, which helps in the
proper aeration of the soil.
• These soils are stickywhen wet and difficult to work on unless tilled
immediately afterthe first shower or during thepre monsoon period.
•Rich in soil nutrients,such as calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash
and lime.
• Generally poor in phosphoric contents.
(iii) Red and yellow soils:

Formation

• Develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall.

• When iron contents reacts with crystalline igneous rock.

Distribution

•In the eastern and southern parts of the Deccan plateau.

•In parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh,southern parts of the middle Ganga
plain and along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghats.
Characteristics

• These soils develop a reddish colour due to diffusion of iron in

crystallineand metamorphic rocks.

• It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form.
(iv)Laterite soil (wordorigin by Latin word "later'means brick):
Formation

Develops in areas with high temperature and heavy rainfall.

•
Is the result of intenseleaching due to heavy rain.
•
Distribution

Karnataka, Kerala,Tamil Nadu Madhya Pradesh and the hilly areas of

•
Odisha and Assam.
Characteristics

Humus content of the soil is low.

•
Are suitable for cultivation with adequate doses of manures and
•
fertilizers.

After adopting appropriate soil conservationtechniques particularly

•
in the hilly areas of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, this soil is very
useful forgrowing tea and coffee.

Red laterite soils in Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are more
•
suitable forcrops like cashew nut.

(v)Arid soils:

And soils range from red to brown in colour.

•
Especially found in Thar Desert.
•They are generallysandy texture and saline in nature.
The lower horizons of the soil are occupied by Kankar because of the
•
increasingcalcium content downwards.
The Kankar layer formations in the bottom horizons restrict the
•
Infiltration of water.
After proper irrigation these soils become cultivable as has been in
•
the case of western Rajasthan.

(vi)Forest soils:

Found in the hilly and mountainous areas where sufficient rain

•
forests are available.

The soils texture varies according to the mountain environment

•
where they are formed.
They are loamy and silty in valley sides and coarsegrained in the
•
upper slopes.

•In the snow covered areas of Himalayas, these soils experience

denudation and are acidic with low humus content.

•The soils found in the lower parts of the valleys particularly on the
river terraces and alluvial fans are fertile.
Soilerosion and soil conservation:

Soil erosion - The natural process in which the topsoil of a field is

carried away by physicalsources such as wind and water is called soil

erosion.

Soil erosion is caused due to human activities like deforestation, over

•
grazing,constructionand mining etc, while naturalforces like wind,
glacier and water lead to soil erosion
 Soil conservation-The prevention or reduction of soil erosion and soil

depletion by protective measures against water and wind damage is

called Soil conservation.

Types:

The running water cuts through the clayey soils and makes deep
•
channels as gullies.
•Due to the formation of gullies the land becomes unfit for cultivation
and is known as bad land or ravines.
In the Chambal basin (Madhya Pradesh) such lands are called ravines.
•
•Sometimes water flows asa sheet over large areas down a slope in
such cases the top soil is washed away.This is known as sheet erosion.
. Wind blows loose soil off flat or slopingland known as wind erosion.

Soil erosion is also caused due to defective methods of farming.

Ploughing in a wrong way i.e. up and down the slopefor channels for
•
the quick flow of water leading to soil erosion.

Ways to control soil erosion:

Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate the flow of water
•
down the slopes. This is called contour ploughing.
•Steps can be cut out on the slopes making terraces.
.Terrace cultivation restricts erosion.

Western and central Himalayas have well developed terrace farming.

•
Large fields can be divided into strips. Strips of grass are left to grow
•
between the crops. This break up the force of the wind. This method is

known as strip cropping.

•Planting lines of trees to create shelter breaks up the force of the
wind. Rows of such trees are called shelter belts.
These shelter belts have contributedsignificantly to the stabilisation
•
of sand dunes and in stablising the desert in western India.

State of India's Environment

•The village of Sukhomajri and the district of ]habuahave shown that it

is possible to reverseland degradation.

•Tree density in Sukhomajri increased from 13 per hectare in 1976 to

1,272 per hectare in 1992;

Regenerationof the environment leads to economic well-being, as a
SoABUSt
•
result ofgreae0Ui and aninal
care, and consequently, increasedincomes.

Average annual household income in Sukhomajri ranged from Rs

•
10,000-15,000between 1979 and 1984;
•People's management is essential for ecological restoration.
•With peoplebeing made the decision-makersby the Madhya Pradesh
government, 2.9 million hectares or about 1 per cent of India's land area,

are being greened across the state through watershed management.