Natural Resources

INTRODUCTION -

Our environment provides us with a variety of goods and services necessary for our day to day lives.

 These natural resources include, air, water, soil, minerals, along with the climate and

solar energy, which form the non-living or ‘abiotic’ part of nature. The ‘biotic’ or living parts

of nature consists of plants and animals, including microbes. 

Plants and animals can only survive as communities of different organisms, all

closely linked to each in their own habitat, and requiring specific abiotic conditions. Thus, forests, grasslands, deserts, mountains, rivers, lakes

and the marine environment all form habitats

for specialised communities of plants and ani￾mals to live in. Interactions between the abiotic

aspects of nature and specific living organisms

together form ecosystems of various type.

Atmosphere -

The atmosphere forms a protective shell over the earth. The lowest layer, the troposphere, the only part warm enough for us to survive in, is only 12 kilometers thick. The stratosphere is

50 kilometers thick and contains a layer of sulphates which is important for the formation of rain.

 It also contains a layer of ozone, which  absorbs ultra light  known to cause cancer and without which, no life could exist on earth. 

The atmosphere is not uniformly warmed by the sun. This leads to air flows and variations in climate temperature and rainfall in different

parts of the earth. It is a complex dynamic system

Atmosphere

Hydrosphere

The hydrosphere covers threequarters of theearth’s surface. A major part of the hydrosphere is the marine ecosystem in the ocean, while only a small part occurs in fres water. 

Fresh water in rivers, lakes and glaciers, is perpetually being renewed by a process of evaporation and rainfall. Some of this fresh water lies in underground aquifers. Human activities such as deforestation

create serious changes in the hydrosphere.

The Once land is denuded of vegetation, the rain erodes

the soil which is washed into the sea.

Hydrosphere

Lithosphere -

The lithosphere began as a hot ball of matter which formed the earth about 4.6 billion years ago About 3.2 billion years ago, the earth considerably and a very special event place - life began on our planet.

Thec crust of the earth is 6 or 7 kilometers thick and lies under the continents.

Of the 92 elements in only eight are common constituents of crustal rocks. Of these constituents, 47%
is oxygen, 28% is silicon, 8% is aluminium, 5%  is iron, while sodium, magnesium, potassium
and calcium constitute 4% each.

These elements form about 200 common min￾eral compounds. Rocks, when broken down,
from soil on which man is dependent for his agriculture.

                      Lithosphere

Biosphere -

This is the relatively thin layer on the earth in which life can exist. Within it the air, water, rocks and soil and the living creatures, form structural
and functional ecological units, which together can be considered as one giant global living system, that of our Earth itself. Within this frame work, those characterised by broadly similar.

geography and climate, as well as communities of plant and animal life can be divided for convenience into different biogeographical realms.


These occur on different continents. Within these, smaller biogeographical units can be identified on the basis of structural differences and
functional aspects into distinctive recognizable
ecosystems, which give a distinctive character to a landscape or waterscape.

Their easily vis￾ible and identifiable characteristics can be de￾scribed at different scales such as those of a
country, a state, a district or even an individual hill range, river or lake.

                     Biosphere

Natural resource management -

Naturalr resource Management Division of ICAR  is conducting basic and strategic researches to develop  technologies for conservation, 

And sustainable utilization of the natural resources ensuring food, nutritional and environmental security in the country.

15 research institutes, 10 All India Coordinated Research Projects, 3 network projects and  2 Consortia Research Platforms namely on Water and Conservation Agriculture with a wide network of the Cooperating Centres and State Agricultural Universities. 

The NRM research programmes  have been prioritized  within the perspective of different themes, viz;  Soil Inventory and Characterization, integrated Soil-Water-Nutrient Management, Watershed Management, Resource Conservation Technologies,

Crop diversification,weed management, integrated farming System including Agroforestry, dryland farming, arid, coastal and hill agriculture, abiotic stress management, climate resilient agriculture, conservation agriculture, waste water utilization, solid waste management and  applications of nanotechnology to enhance nutrient and water use efficiency.

The Division is conducting research in farmers' participatory mode addressing issues at ground level and developing location specific, cost effective, ecofriendly, socially acceptable scientific farming practices keeping in view the farmers' resource availability, traditional indigenous technology knowhow and grassroot farm innovations.

The outcome of NRM research has been promoted through various developmental Plan schemes  of the Government and contributing towards increase in agricultural productivity in the country.

Vision
Sustainable management of natural resources for achieving food, nutritional, environmental and livelihood security in the country.

Mission
Developing location specific, cost effective, eco-friendly conservation and management technologies for higher input use efficiency, agricultural productivity & profitability without deteriorating natural resource base.

Mandate
To plan, coordinate and monitor R & D programmes for sustainable agricultural production and resource conservation and to serve as knowledge repository in the field of natural resource management.

Priority Areas
The major concerns of NRM Division are low farm productivity & profitability, land degradation, low water productivity, soil health deterioration & low nutrient use efficiency, abiotic stresses including climatic aberrations and loss of tree cover & deterioration in ecosystem services. To address these issues, the Division has set following priority areas of research:

• Land Resource Inventory, Characterization & Agricultural Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP, Nagpur)
• Integrated Water Management & Waste Water Utilization (IIWM, Bhubaneswar; CSSRI, Karnal)
• Nutrient and Bio-waste Management (IISS, Bhopal)
• Management of Problematic Soils – Saline, Alkaline, Acid and Waterlogged Soils ( CSSRI, Karnal; IISS, Bhopal)
• Soil and Water Conservation- Participatory Watershed Management (IISWC, Dehradun)
• Crop Diversification (IIFSR Modipuram; CRIDA, Hyderabad)
• Organic Farming (NOFRI, Tadong, Sikkim; IIFSR Modipuram)
• Mainstreaming Rainfed /Dryland Farming and Agricultural Disaster Management (CRIDA, Hyderabad)
• Climate Resilient Agriculture and abiotic stress management (CRIDA, Hyderabad; NIASM, Baramati, CSSRI, Karnal)
• Agroforestry Management (CAFRI, Jhansi)
• Weed Management (DWR, Jabalpur)
• Development of Integrated Farming Systems (IIFSR Modipram; ICAR- RCNEH, Barapani; CCARI Goa; ICAR RCER Patna; CRIDA Hyderabad and NRCIF, Piprakothi, Motihari, Bihar)
• Arid Land Management and Solar Farming(CAZRI, Jodhpur)
• 
  
• Conservation Agriculture and Resource Conservation Technologies (ICAR RCER Patna; CRIDA Hyderabad; IIFSR Modipram, CSSRI, Karnal)
• Hill Agriculture (ICAR RCNEH, Barapani, IISWC, Dehradun)
• Coastal Agriculture (CSSRI, Karnal; CCARI, Goa)
• Nano Technology (IISS, Bhopal)

Natural resources is most important in all living organism but not wastes any type natural resources because resources is limited.

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