Which of the following causes land degradation?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Dumping of Industrial waste
Land degradation is a temporary or permanent fall in the productive capacity of land. It is caused by natural processes and by human action.
Option (1) Rotation of crops — Incorrect. Growing different crops in turn keeps the soil fertile. It protects land instead of degrading it.
Option (2) Afforestation — Incorrect. Planting trees binds the soil and checks erosion. It is a way to reduce land degradation.
Option (3) Dumping of Industrial waste — Correct. Waste from factories spoils the land. Mining and industrial wastelands are created by human action.
Option (4) Applying organic manure — Incorrect. Organic manure adds nutrients and improves the soil.
NCERT (2026-27): “Land Degradation … Land degradation is generally understood either as a temporary or a permanent decline in productive capacity of the land.” “There are two processes that induce land degradation. These are natural and created by human beings. … There are some other types of wastelands such as degraded shifting cultivation area, degraded land under plantation crops, degraded forests, degraded pastures, and mining and industrial wastelands, are caused by human action.” |