Protecting our environment - class-X

The Sunderbans is a natural region in Bengal. It is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. A mangrove is a tree, shrub, palm or ground fern, generally exceeding one half metre in height, that normally grows above mean sea level in the intertidal zone of marine coastal environments and estuarine margins. A mangrove is also the tidal habitat comprising such trees and shrubs.

Eichhornia crassipes, commonly known as water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to the Amazon basin. It is often considered a highly problematic invasive species outside its native range. When not controlled, water hyacinth will cover lakes and
ponds entirely; this dramatically impacts water flow, blocks sunlight from
reaching native aquatic plants, and starves the water of oxygen, often killing
fish and other aquatic animals. Hence option B is correct.

'The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute' (NEERI), Nagpur was established in 1958 as 'Central Public Health Engineering', when environmental concerns were limited to human health. Shrimati Indira Gandhi, gave new name to the Institute as 'National Environmental Engineering Research Institute' in the year 1974.

Bamboo is commonly called as the poor man's timber because it is used in all aspects of life. Bamboo is also an icon of versatility. It forms part of the paper we use every day and of the houses we build. By virtue of its unique properties like quick growth, tensile strength, availability and renewability, it has the epithet of 'poor man's timber'.

From 3 - 14 June 1992, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil hosted the 'United Nations Conference on Environment and Development' (UNCED). The focus of this conference was the state of the global environment and the relationship between economics, science and the environment in a political context. The conference concluded with the 'Earth Summit', at which leaders of 105 nations gathered to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development. 

In order to arouse a general awakening in the common man in favour of protection of wildlife, the 'Indian Board of Wild Life' (IBWL) decided to observe the 'Wildlife Week' and since then from October 2 - 8 every year organize different activities related to wildlife conservattion to commemorate this week. 

Human activities like deforestation, pollution, global warming etc is  a major threat to the natural resources.The scarcity of water is  a common problem nowadays which needs serious attempts.Rainwater harvesting is the method of conservation of rainwater by reusing the stored water for several domestic purposes. The rainwater is collected from various hard surfaces such as rooftops and or other man-made above ground hard surfaces.

A number of world's ecosystems have undergone significant degradation leading to a negative impact on the biodiversity and livelihood. One such ecosystem that has depleted over the years is the mined habitats. Since the mineral rich areas are also rich in forest resources. However continuous mining activities tend to change the ecological equilibrium. Restoration of the ecological equilibrium of the mined areas can be achieved by understanding the ecology, plant succession and soil types of the place and revegetation of the spoils .

'Amrita Devi Bishnoi Wild Life Protection Award' is given for significant contribution in the field of wildlife protection, which is recognised as having having done exemplary work for the protection of wildlife. A cash award of rupees one lakh is presented to individuals / institutions involved in wildlife protection.

In India 6, 77,088 square kilometer of land is under forest cover. The figure was 30 percent at the beginning of 20th century.  

As per report, about 19.5% (64 million hectare) of India's total geographic area is covered under forest cover. 

India launched its 'National Forest Policy' in 1988. This led to a programme named 'Joint Forest Management', which proposed that specific villages in association with the forest department will manage specific forest blocks. In particular, the protection of the forests would be the responsibility of the people. The percentage of forest cover in India, for plain and hills as decided by 'Forest Policy Act' (1988) is 33% and 67% respectively.

Soil conservation is the process of prevention of soil erosion and to prevent the soil from becoming infertile.  In mulching, a protective layer is placed over the soil such as straw, grasses etc., which helps in retaining soil moisture and also regulates soil temperature. Strip cropping is a process in which field is divided into strips and different crops are grown in alternate strips to preserve soil fertility. Crop rotation means growing of different types of crops on the same field in succession which prevents the depletion of nutrients from the soil. Overgrazing or intense grazing will erode the soil.

Soil erosion is removal of top soil by agency of water (water erosion) and wind (wind erosion). One of the methods for soil conservation against soil erosion is terracing. In terracing, slope is divided into a number of flat fields for slowing down the flow of water. Terracing is very effective in hilly areas for control of soil erosion.

Mulching refers to the covering of harvested field with plant litter or polythene of low density, in order to decrease run off, prevent the growth of weeds and retention of water. It protects the roots from seasonal variations.During initial stages of growth, mulching helps to maintain a stable temperature for proliferation of seedling.

Soil erosion is removal of top soil by agency of water (water erosion) and wind (wind erosion). Soil erosion is of two types- natural and anthropogenic. 

Afforestation is the act of planting trees in a barren land or converting a farmland to a forest in order to use the trees for commercial purposes. Many programs are organised by the government as well as non-government associations to plant trees and thus improving biodiversity.

Afforestation is the process of establishing a forest on land, that has not been a forest for a long time by planting trees or their seeds. Soil erosion is when the soil is blown away by the wind or washed away by the rain. Roots of trees or plants hold the soil. Thus, when more trees are planted their roots do not allow the soil to be blown or washed away and prevent soil erosion.

Soil conservation is the prevention of soil from erosion or reduced fertility caused by overuse, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Techniques for improved soil conservation include crop rotation, cover crops, conservation tillage and planted windbreaks, that affect both erosion and fertility. 

Saalumarada Thimmakka is an Indian environmentalist from the state of Karnataka, noted for her work in planting and tending to 384 banyan trees along a four-kilometre stretch of highway. Her work has been honoured with the National Citizen's Award of India.

Reforestation means replanting of forest trees in areas, which were once having dense forests but the forests were later on destroyed by cutting of trees in large numbers. Afforestation is different from reforestation. Afforestation is planting of trees in new areas, which were not previously under forest cover. Typically, waste lands or land other wise not previously having forest cover is selected. Indigenous species are more suited for this purpose because they are well adapted to local climatic and soil conditions. These species are already acclimatized to local conditions.

Agroforestry or agro-sylviculture is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland.

Terracing is the practice of creating nearly level areas in a hillside area. The terraces form a series of steps, each at a higher level than the previous. Terraces are protected from erosion of soil. 

Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons. Crop rotation gives various nutrients to the soil. Growing the same crop in the same place for many years in a row disproportionately depletes the soil of certain nutrients. With rotation, a crop that leaches the soil of one kind of nutrient is followed during the next growing season by a dissimilar crop that returns, that nutrient to the soil or draws a different ratio of nutrients: for example, rice followed by cotton. 

Mulch is a protective layer of a material, that is spread on top of the soil. Mulches can either be organic - such as grass clippings, straw, bark chips, or inorganic - such as stones, brick chips, and plastic. Materials used as mulches are used to retain soil moisture, regulate soil temperature, suppress weed growth, and for aesthetics. They are applied to the soil surface, around trees, paths, flower beds, to prevent soil erosion on slopes, and in production areas for flower and vegetable crops. Mulch layers are normally two inches or more deep when applied.

Biogas typically refers to a mixture of different gases produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas can be produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste or food waste. It is a renewable energy source.
Biogas can be produced by anaerobic digestion with anaerobic bacteria, which digest material inside a closed system, or fermentation of biodegradable materials.

Anaerobic digestion is a natural process in which bacteria convert organic materials into biogas. It occurs in marshes and wetlands and in the digestive tract of ruminants. The bacteria are also active in landfills, where they are the principal process degrading landfilled food wastes and other 
biomass. Biogas can be collected and used as a potential energy resource. The process occurs in an anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment through the activities of acid- and methane-forming (methanogenic) bacteria that break down the organic material and produce methane and carbon dioxide in a gaseous form, known as biogas. 

Fossil fuels are nonrenewable conventional energy resources found inside the earth's crust where they have been formed through heat and compression on forests and other organic matter buried underneath due to earthquakes, landslides, lava etc. Fossil fuels can be solid, e.g., coal; liquid, e.g., petroleum; or gaseous, e.g., natural gas.

Natural Resources or Earth resources are those living and non living components of atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere, which can be drawn for supporting life or have potential of being used by humans for their requirements of food, fodder, shelter, clothing, articles of use and recreation.

Energy sources are of two categories, renewable and non renewable. 

Forests are the renewable natural resources which can be recycled but should not be used beyond a limit. Coal, petroleum and minerals are exhaustible resources and cannot be recycled. 

Inexhaustible resource is a natural resource, which is found in such abundance, that it is unlikely to diminish or get exhausted. E.g., air, solar energy, wind power, rainfall etc.
Exhaustible resource is a natural resource, which is likely to diminish and get exhausted due to continuous use or exploitation. E.g., minerals, fossil fuels, forests etc. Exhaustible resources are of two types renewable and non-renewable.
Renewable exhaustible resource is a natural resource, which gets replenished, recycled or reproduced. E.g., forests, water, agriculture etc.
Non-Renewable exhaustible resource is a natural resource, which is likely to get exhausted with use. E.g., fossil fuels like petroleum.

Renewable energy is defined as energy, that comes from resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat. Trees are very important for us as a renewable energy resource. Trees are a natural resource, that can be renewed - by the planting of trees - replacing the trees, that are harvested for use by people. 

Deforestation is removal or deterioration of forest cover of an area. It results in shirking fuelwood, reduced timber, change in climate, soil erosion, flash floods, siltation, drought, loss of biodiversity, less rainfall, global warming etc.

Loss of vegetation (deforestation) results in an increased risk of flooding. With natural forest cover, the flood duration should decrease. Reducing the rate of deforestation should improve the incidents and severity of floods. Reforestation and afforestation are two strategies to increase the vegetation cover, that can improve infiltration and interception rates, and thus regulate flood peaks. Reforestation refers to planting trees in areas, where they have been cut down, while afforestation means planting trees, where they have never existed. Dams and reservoirs are effective in controlling floods by reducing peak flows. 

Deforestation is the process of cutting or removal of forest to fulfill the need of the population. It has many negative impacts on the environment such as loss of species, soil erosion and reduces rainfall. The tree absorbs water from soil for photosynthesis and produces water vapor that is released into the atmosphere which in turn causes rainfall. If there will be less number of the tree then rainfall will also decrease. Thus, the correct answer is option A.

Forests occupy more than 30 percent of Earth's land surface and account for 50 percent of plant productivity. Therefore 45% of the carbon stored on land is tied up in forests. Further, these being the dominant terrestrial ecosystem, the forest account for 75% of the gross primary productivity of the Earth's biosphere and 80% of the plant biomass. Removing half the forest cover, will not only bring in an increase in the population of human beings and other living organisms but will also bring about increased pollution and a great ecological imbalance.

Floods are common in north India because of excessive deforestation in the catchment areas. Roots of the trees keep the soil together and drain the extra water into the underground water reservoir. Due to deforestation (cutting down of the trees), the soil is no longer able to hold or drain the excess water thus leading to floods. 

Deforestation is the cutting of trees which disturbs the equilibrium of a healthy environment. It increases the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. They produce oxygen and regulates the water cycle by releasing water vapour into the atmosphere. Without trees, forest lands can quickly become barren land. It also causes loss of wildlife, due to the loss of its habitat. Deforestation leads to famine (scarcity of food), flood, and drought as well as loosened soil causes soil erosion. Thus, the correct answer is option D.

Soil erosion is removal of top soil by agency of water (water erosion) and wind (wind erosion). Soil erosion is of two types- natural and anthropogenic. Natural or geological erosion is extremely slow removal of top soil due to rain water or wind. Anthropogenic soil erosion is caused by removal of plant cover through over grazing, litter collection, tree felling, leaving the soil unprotected during agricultural operations.

Soil erosion is the removal of top soil by the agency of water (water erosion) and wind (wind erosion). Soil erosion is of two types, natural and anthropogenic. 

Soil erosion involves the removal of the top layer of soil which adversely affects the fertility of the soil. Heavy rainfall leads to splashing of soil. However, the majority of the soil splashed is not immediately lost from the field. Most of the splashed soil particles don't leave the field, they clog surface pores, which in turn reduces water infiltration, increases water runoff, and increases soil erosion.

Soil erosion is removal of top soil by agency of water (water erosion) and wind (wind erosion). Soil erosion is of two types- natural and anthropogenic. 

The top layer of the soil is the vital component, since all the nutrients required by plants are present in this layer. The loss of topsoil or disturbance of soil structure is known as soil erosion or land erosion. Water erosion is the removal of soil from the lands surface by running water, including runoff from melted snow and ice. Soil erosion by wind is common in dry arid regions where soil is chiefly sandy and the vegetation is very poor or even absent. Fossilization is the alteration of an organism's remains, impressions or activities by physical, biological or chemical changes retaining the original material in some form. Leaching is the process of extracting minerals from a solid by dissolving them in a liquid, either in nature or through an industrial process. Calcification is the accumulation of calcium salts.

Fossil fuels are non renewable conventional energy resources found inside earth's crust, where they have been formed through heat and compression on forests and other organic matter buried underneath due to earthquakes, landslides etc.

The popular 'Chipko Andolan' was started in 1973 in Gopeshwar, U.P. when forest trees were not allowed to be cut by village folk by hugging them first near village Mandal, then Rampur Phata and in 1974 near village Reni (led by Gaura Devi). The movement had two leaders, Chandi Prasad Bhatt of Gopeshwar and Sunder Lal Bahugana of Silyara in Tehri region.  A similar movement was undertaken by Paudurang Hegde in the south. It was known as Appiko movement. It's aim were uliso (conservation), belesu (growth-plantation) and balasu (rational use).

Solar energy is inexhaustible non-conventional resource. Its use is yet to pick up because of requirement of back up system to store and generate electricity during night and during cloudy days. There are three methods of harnessing solar energy- direct heating (e.g., solar cookers), thermoelectric conversion or solar thermal power plants, e.g., steam generation and photovoltaic conversion.

Renewable source of energy include biomass energy and some forms of inexhaustible energy like solar energy, hydropower, wind power, tidal energy, wave energy, geothermal energy etc. 

The popular 'Chipko Andolan' was started in 1973 in Gopeshwar, U.P. when trees were not allowed to be cut by village folk by hugging them first near village Manda, then Rampur Phata and in 1974 near village Reni (led by Gaura Devi). The movement had two leaders, Chandi Prasad Bhatt of Gopeshwar and Sunder Lal Bahugana of Silyara in Tehri region. 

Coal and oil are fossil fuels been derived from dead bodies of plants and animals, which existed in past. Hence, they are carbon compounds and emit carbon dioxide on combustion. Organic compounds are obviously compounds of carbon and will evolve carbon dioxide on combustion. Nuclear energy is non conventional, non renewable resource. Nuclear fission (now fusion also) of selected radioactive materials yields large amount of heat energy. For example one amu of Uranium - 235 yields energy equal to burning of 15 metric tonnes of coal. The energy released in nuclear fission and fusion is not due to combustion process and hence, does not evolves carbon dioxide.

Chipko Movement, started in 1970's, was a non violent movement, aimed at protection and conservation of trees and forests from being destroyed. The name of the Chipko moment originated from the word 'embrace' as the villagers used to hug the trees and protect them from wood cutters from cutting them. 

The fertility of soil can be considered in different ways, depending on land use. In intensively managed agricultural and horticultural systems, and even in forestry, soil fertility can be defined in terms of the value of products produced. In nature soil gains nutrients from rocks, which are natural reservoirs of nutrients. These nutrients are released through geological processes, like leaching and pedogenesis. Soil also gains nutrients through the agencies of water and dead and decaying excreta of organisms. The physical characteristics of soil also govern nutrient availability of soil. The nutrient availability is a measure of soil fertility.

The uppermost layer of soil is usually darker in colour due to the presence of huge amount of organic matter. Organic matter is composed of roots, dead leaves, insects, small organisms and animals which eventually get degraded to form humus and make the soil fertile. Humus is black in colour due to large quantity of carbon.

'World Environment Day' is celebrated every year on 5 June to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. It is run by the 'United Nations Environment Programme' (UNEP). It was established by the 'United Nations General Assembly' in 1972 on the day, that 'United Nations Conference on the Human Environment' began. The first 'World Environment Day' was celebrated in 1973. Since then it is hosted every year by a different city with a different theme.

IUCN is the 'International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources', which is now called 'World Conservation Union' or WCU. It has its headquarters at Morges, Switzerland.

Jim Corbett national park is located in Uttarakhand and protect the endangered Bengal tiger.

Natural Resources exists naturally. It exists with or without human being intervention. It can't be created by humans but can be modified and utilized accordingly for humans comfort. Also, some of the natural resources are limited in nature hence it's demand is very high.

Primary fuel is the one which we get directly from nature.

Energy plantation is growing of firewood trees on the non forest and agricultural lands. Plants selected for energy plantation must be local, fast growing, hardy, requiring minimum nutrients, preferably with associated nitrogen fixing organisms, good cropping, good fuel value and having additional benefits like food, fruit, gum etc. It is an eco - friendly energy resource.

1. Wind energy farms are located at Lamba near Porbandar, at Okha, Mandvi and at Dhank in Gujarat.

Biotic natural resources are the type of resources obtained from organic matter like soil, coal, plants etc. which contain material like carbon. All other sources like air, sunlight and minerals are the non-biotic resources.

Minerals are natural resources. Remaining ones are man-made.

'The National Institute of Oceanography' (NIO) has its headquarters at Panaji in Goa and regional centers at Kochi, Mumbai and Visakhapatnam. It is one of the 38 constituent laboratories of the 'Council of Scientific and Industrial Research' (CSIR), New Delhi. Thus, the correct answer is option B.

Forest usually refers to an area of dense vegetation, where uncultivated plants grow and undomesticated animals live. Deforestation refers to tree felling and destroys the forests. Tree felling and clearing land for agricultural or other purpose is an anti forest activity. 

Dehradun is the capital city of Uttarakhand in the northern part of India, located in the Garhwal region. It has tropical deciduous forests. Climate is warm with alternate wet and dry periods. Rainfall is 90 to 160 cm. Vegetation includes broad leaved trees, which shed their leaves during dry season e.g., Butea, Bombax, Shorea, Dalbergia etc.

In India 6, 77,088 square kilometer of land is under forest cover. The figure was 30 percent at the beginning of 20th century. About 24% of Indian land is covered by forest.The 2013 Forest Survey of India states its forest cover increased to 69.8 million hectares by 2012.

Forests have three important types of function as following :

1. Productive functions (or economic uses) - Forests provide a number of articles of economic use e.g : wood, resins, alkaloids etc.
2. Protective functions (or ecological uses) - Forest provide protection from radiation, heat, noise, besides providing protection against pollution and soil erosion.
3. Regulative functions - Forests helps maintain ecological balance by participating in biogeochemical cycles, checking flood and droughts etc.

India has three biodiversity hot spots Indo Burma, Western Ghats and Himalaya. Western Ghats occur along the western coast of India for a distance of about 1600 kilometers in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala extending over to Sri lanka. At low elevation up to 500 meters above sea level, the area contains tropical evergreen rain forests, while semi evergreen forests occur at a level of 500 meter to 1500 meters. Major centers of biodiversity are Agasthyamalai Hills, Silent Valley and Amambalam reserve. There is a high degree of endemism of rare plants and animals as well as richness of species of flowering plants, amphibians, reptiles, some mammals and butterflies.

Forests have following important types of function-

1. Productive functions- forests provide a number of articles of economic use e.g., wood, resins, alkaloids, medicines etc.
2. Protective functions- forest provide protection from radiation, heat, noise, besides providing protection against pollution and soil erosion, maintaining food chains and webs and thus maintaining ecological balance.
3. Regulative functions- forests helps maintain ecological balance by participating in biogeochemical cycles, checking flood and droughts etc. 

Joint forest management or JFM is a programme launched by Government of India in 1988 and guidelines issued in 1990. It aims at establishing partnership between local communities and state forest departments. It is practised in 10.25 million hectares of degraded forests through 36,075 village forest protection committees. It is useful to local and tribal people as they become partners in conservation of forests.

Wildlife is an exhaustible natural resource. They are present in limited numbers and some are already extinct. 

The 'United Nations Conference on Environment and Development' (UNCED), also known as the 'Rio Summit', was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992.

Sacred groves of India are forest fragments of varying sizes, which are communally protected, and which usually have a significant religious connotation for the protecting community. Hunting and logging are usually strictly prohibited within these patches. Other forms of forest usage like honey collection and deadwood collection are sometimes allowed on a sustainable basis. Traditionally, and in some cases even today, members of the community take turns to protect the grove. 

The Sundarbans is a natural region in West Bengal and Bangladesh. It is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. The Sundarbans covers approximately 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) of which 60 percent is in Bangladesh with the remainder in India. The Sundarbans is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Tropical rainforests of India are found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Western Ghats, which fringe the Arabian Sea, the coastline of peninsular India, and the greater Assam region in the north-east.

The 'National Environmental Engineering Research Institute' (NEERI), Nagpur was established in 1958 as 'Central Public Health Engineering Research Institute' (CPHERI). Mrs Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, renamed the Institute as 'National Environmental Engineering Research Institute' (NEERI) in the year 1974. 'National Environmental Engineering Research Institute' (NEERI), is devoted to research and innovations in environmental science and engineering, besides solving a range of problems posed by industry, government and public.

Conservation is the act of protecting and preserving the natural resources or biodiversity from being depleted by taking proper resource management measures. This helps in minimizing the destruction of our natural resources like cutting of trees or deforestation.

Biogas is produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage or food waste. It is a clean and renewable gas. It burns without any smoke.

Natural resources are materials provided by the earth that humans can use to make more complex (human-made) products.

Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into electric power.

Tidal energy is the indirect form of solar energy. Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combine effects of the gravitational force exerted by the Moon and Sun and the rotation of the Earth. About 1% of the total solar radiation that reaches earth is converted into energy of wind. As the sun heats different parts of the earth at different rates, air circulates from cold to warm areas producing winds.

In situ conservation is on-site conservation or the conservation of genetic resources in natural populations of plant or animal species, such as forest genetic resources in natural populations of tree species. National parks, wildlife sanctuaries and biosphere reserves are examples for in-situ conservation.

Ex situ conservation is the conservation and maintenance of samples of living organisms outside their natural habitat, in the form of whole plants, seed, pollen, vegetative propagules, tissue or cell cultures.
In vitro techniques have been increasingly used for plants in the last 40-50 years. Conservation of genebank accessions is only one of several uses for the techniques. The basic procedure consists of conserving parts of plants in flasks or tubes in artificial media, under controlled environments, normally in sterile conditions. A prerequisite of successful in vitro conservation is that the plants or plant parts can be regenerated into complete plants for growth and use in any of the ways that genetic resources are used.
Cryopreservation or cryoconservation is a process, where cells, whole tissues, or any other substances susceptible to damage caused by chemical reactivity or time are preserved by cooling to sub-zero temperatures.
All these methods could be used to conserve vegetatively propagating crops.

Gene banks are a type of biorepository, which preserve genetic material. For plants, this could be by freezing cuttings from the plant or stocking the seeds (e.g., in a seedbank). 

A phytotron is an enclosed research greenhouse used for studying interactions between plants and the environment. Phytotrons are chambers, that provide controlled environmental conditions for growing plants. Phytotrons have been extensively used for research on how various environmental factors affect plant growth and development.

Petroleum is a fossil fuel that was formed from the remains of ancient marine organisms.
Millions of years ago, algae and plants lived in shallow seas. After dying and sinking to the seafloor, the organic material mixed with other sediments and was buried. Over millions of years under high pressure and high temperature, the remains of these organisms transformed into what we know today as fossil fuels. Coal, natural gas, and petroleum are all fossil fuels that formed under similar conditions.
Today, petroleum is found in vast underground reservoirs where ancient seas were located.

Litter burning is a common method of waste handling but it is not the best method of waste handling, because the nutrients in litter get converted into oxides and are lost from the ecosystem of the place. Over a period of time when wastes are burnt instead of recycling the nutrient status declines and consequently productivity will be less.