M.E.

S INDIAN SCHOOL (MESIS)

ABU HAMOUR BRANCH, DOHA – QATAR
NOTES [2024-2025]
Class &Div: X (All Divisions) Subject: Social Science
Lesson: Resources and Development Date: 17/04/2024

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Ref. No: S.S-N-03

Key points:
 Resources: All the useful elements of the environment that satisfy our basic needs are
called resources.
 Natural resources: A natural resource is something that is found in nature and can be used
by people for economic gain. Earth’s natural resources include light, air, water, plants,
animals, soil, stone, minerals, fossil fuels, etc.
 Man-made resources: Man-made resources are resources that are created by humans to
transform and use the gifts of nature, for example buildings; roads; vehicles; machinery,
equipment, etc.
 Non-renewable resources: Resources that once used, can’t be reproduced or replenished,
such as fossil fuels, minerals like copper and iron ore.
 Biotic resources: These are obtained from the biosphere and have a life, such as human

beings, flora and fauna, fisheries, livestock, etc.

 Abiotic resources: Resources that comprise of non-living things, such as rocks, minerals,
etc.
 Renewable resources: Resources which can be reproduced by physical, chemical or
mechanical processes, such as: solar energy and wind energy.
 National resources: All the resources, which are present in the political boundary of a
nation up to 12 nautical miles in the ocean from the coast, such as minerals, water
resources, forests, wildlife, land termed as territorial water and resources therein belong
to the nation.
 International resources: The resources that do not belong to any individual country.
 Potential resources: Resources which are available in a region, but have not been utilized,
such as wind and solar energy in Rajasthan and Gujarat have not been developed fully.
 Developed resources: Resources which are surveyed and their quantity and quality have
been determined for utilization.
 Stock: Materials present in the environment, which have the potential to satisfy human
needs, but human beings do not have the appropriate technology to access these
materials.
 Reserves: They are the subsets of the stock, which can be put into use with the help of
existing technology but their use has not been started yet.
 Sustainable development: It means that development should take place without
damaging the environment and development in the present should not compromise with
needs of future generations.
 Resource planning: It is the widely accepted strategy for the judicious use of resources.

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  Resource conservation: It refers to the sustainable utilisation of natural resources, such as
soil, water, plants, animals, minerals. It topsoil, pasture land and minerals. It also refers to
the preservation of forests, watershed areas, etc.
 Fallow land: A land which is left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural
year for increasing its fertility is known as the fallow land.
 Wasteland: Land which is not suitable for cultivation is known as wasteland.
 Net sown area: Area sown once in a year is known as the net sown area.
 Pasture: Land covered with grass and other plants that makes it suitable for grazing
animals is known as pasture.
 Soil erosion: The washing away of top fertile soil by natural agents like wind, glacier and
water is called soil erosion.
 Gullies: When the running water, cutting through the clayey soil creates deep channels.
These deep channels are known as gullies.
 Sheet erosion: When the top soil is washed away due to heavy flow of water down the
slopes, it is known as sheet erosion.
 Strip cropping: Large fields can be divided into strips. Strips of grasses are left to grow
between the crops. This breaks up the force of the wind. This method is known as strip
cropping.
 Contour ploughing: Ploughing along the contour lines is known as contour ploughing.
Contour ploughing can slow down the flow of water down the slopes and prevent soil from
eroding away.
 Shelter belts: Sometimes, trees are planted in rows to reduce the force of wind to prevent
wind erosion. Such rows of plants are known as shelter belts.
 Land resources are used for the following purposes :
 (1) Forests
 (2) Land not available for cultivation
 (a) Barren and waste land
 (b) Land put to non-agricultural uses, e.g. buildings, roads, factories, etc.
 (3) Other uncultivated land (excluding fallow land)
 (a) Permanent pastures and grazing land
 (b) Land under miscellaneous tree crops groves (not included in net sown area)
 (c) Culturable waste land (left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural years).
 (4) Fallow land
 (a) Current fallow-(left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year)
 (b) Other than current fallow-(left uncultivated for the past 1 to 5 agricultural years).
 (5) Net sown area
The use of land is determined by
 (a) Physical factors—topography, climate, soil types.
 (b) Human factors—population density, technological capability and culture and traditions
etc.
Several steps have been taken to create awareness about the conservation of resources:
 (a) For the first time in 1968, the Club of Rome supported resource conservation at an
international level.
 (b) In 1974, Gandhian philosophy was presented by Schumacher in his book Small is
Beautiful.
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  (c) The influential contribution was made by the Brundtland Commission Report in 1987. It
introduced the concept of ‘Sustainable Development’ which was later published in the
book Our Common Future.
 Land supports natural vegetation, wildlife, human life, economic activities, transport and
communication systems. Thus it is very important to conserve land resources with careful
planning.
Human activities that caused degradation of land in India
 (1) Deforestation
 2) Overgrazing
 (3) Mining and quarrying
Suggestions for conservation of land
 (1) Afforestation
 (2) Proper control on grazing
 (3) Planting of shelter belts of plants
 (4) Stabilisation of sand dunes by planting thorny bushes
 (5) Proper utilization of wasteland
 (6) Control on mining
 (7) Discharge of industrial effluents and wastes after treatment
Soil is the most important renewable natural resource.
 (a) It is a medium of plant growth and supports different types of living organisms on the
earth and is an important living system. It takes millions of years to form soil upto a few cm
in depth.
 Factors that help in the formation of soil are relief, parent rock or bed rock, climate,
vegetation and other forms of life and time.
 Various natural forces such as change in temperature, actions of running water, etc. also
contribute to the soil formation.
Soils of India can be classified on following basis:
 (1) Factors responsible for the formation of the soil
 (2) Colour of the soil
 (3) Thickness of the soil
 (4) Texture of the soil
 (5) Age of the soil
 (6) Chemical and physical properties of the soil
Different types of soil are: Alluvial soil, Black soil, Red and Yellow soils, Laterite soil, Arid soil and
Forest soil.
 The removal of top fertile soil cover due to various reasons like wind, glacier and water is
called soil erosion. The processes of soil formation and erosion go simultaneously and
generally there is a balance between the two. But sometimes, this balance is disturbed due
to human activities. Natural forces like wind, glacier and water lead to soil erosion. Soil
erosion is also caused due to defective methods of farming.
Types of soil
(1) Alluvial soil
 (a) Widely spread in north Indian plains, alluvial soil as a whole is very fertile.
 (b) It is classified as : Khadar (new alluvial) and Bangar (old alluvial).
 (d) This soil is contains adequate proportion of potash, phosphoric acid and lime.

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  (e) This soil is ideal for the growth of sugarcane, paddy, wheat and other cereal and pulse
crops.
(2) Black soil
 (a) Also called regur soil, this soil is black in colour.
 (b) This soil is ideal for growing cotton.
 (c) This soil is found in the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh
and Chhattisgarh and extend in the south-east direction along the Godavari and the
Krishna valleys.
 (d) This soil is rich in soil nutrients, such as calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and
lime, but poor in phosphorus contents.
 (e)The black soils is made up of extremely fine i.e., clayey material. It is well-known for
their capacity to hold moisture.
(3) Red and yellow soil
 (a) This soil develops in areas of low rainfall or crystalline igneous rocks.
 (b) It is found in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and the piedmont zone of the Western Ghats.
 (c) Due to the diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks, its colour becomes
reddish.
(4) Laterite soil
 (a) This soil develops in areas of high temperature and heavy rainfall.
 (b) Humus content in the soil is low.
 (c) It is mainly found in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and hilly areas of
Assam and Odisha.
 (d) It is good for tea, coffee, cashew nut, etc.
(5) Arid soils
 (a) This soil is generally sandy in texture and saline in nature.
 (b) This soil lacks in humus and moisture.
 (c) This soil is found in Western Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.
 (d) The lower horizons of the soil are occupied by Kankar.
(6) Forest soils
 (a) This soil is found in hilly and mountainous regions.
 (b) This soil is loamy and silty in valley sides, while coarse grained in the
 Measures for soil conservation
 Contour ploughing
 Terrace farming
 strip cropping
 Shelter belts of trees
 Plugging of gullies
 Afforestation
 Control of mining activities.
 Eco-friendly fertilisers.

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