Land
Pollution
LAND POLLUTION
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Land Pollution
Land pollution is basically about contaminating the land surface of the earth through dumping urban waste matter indiscriminately, dumping of industrial waste, mineral exploitation, and misusing the soil by harmful agricultural practices. Pollution includes visible litter and waste along with the soil itself being polluted. The soil gets polluted by the chemicals in pesticides and herbicides used for agricultural purposes along with waste matter being littered in urban areas such as roads, parks, and streets.
Land pollution is the result of human misuse of soil. Poor agricultural practices, digging up of important resources and dumping of garbage underground can cause land pollution. Urbanization, the growth of rural lands into urban areas and industrialization that results in the formation of an industrial society are regarded as the two main causes of land pollution. The excavation of minerals, the increasing quarrying and mining activities lead to land pollution. The excavation and mining activities lead to the loosening of soil. Increased mechanization leads to the contamination of soil, thus causing severe land pollution. Deforestation is one of the major causes of loosening of soil, that in turn causes soil erosion. The soil that is left naked on harvesting crops from agricultural lands is vulnerable to being eroded by wind and water. Intensive agricultural practices cause the soil cover to lose its nutritional elements, making it of no use for agriculture. Excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers causes soil contamination. Chemicals can prove harmful to the animal and plant life. An excessive use of chemicals leads to a decrease in the fertility of soil. Certain herbicides and insecticides lead to toxicity of soil. Fungicides contain copper and mercury, which are