China suspends farmland-to-forest plan

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Letters

Desertification in India: Slash-and-burn farming destroys Nagaland

Experts blame shifting cultivation for land degradation as about 20,000 hectares of forest is felled every year in the state for it

Deforestation, agriculture triggered soil erosion 4,000 years ago: Study

Increased sediment deposits and changes in land use showed the degradation of soil during the last four millenia

Tractors can change farming in good ways and bad: lessons from four African countries

Insights from 87 villages reveal transformative power of agricultural mechanisation, but there are challenges too — like soil erosion, …

The forgotten environmental crisis: How 20th century settler writers foreshadowed the Anthropocene

Almost a century ago, New Zealand and Australia were at the forefront of an environmental crisis that was also profoundly geological in nature: …

Wetlands in Kashmir shrinking due to urbanisation: Study

An analysis of land cover data from 2016 shows that the catchment of Narkara wetland in near Srinagar is now predominantly an urban setting, with …

When the Sharda flows wild

Villages on its path prepare for the recurrent misery of inundation as an apathetic government looks on

Losing ground

Across the world, the deserts are advancing, threatening the lives and livelihoods of about one billion people

Saving the earth

Techniques developed by villagers in Himachal Pradesh can be integrated into plans to reclaim rocky wasteland in the hills

Engulfed by the ravines

Once a throbbing rural business centre, Birahrua, in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh, is now haunted by devilish gullies

In pics: Sea ingress has left this Odisha coastal town a shell of its former self

The marching sea has taken a toll on Podampeta’s agriculture and fishing communities through rapid sea ingress and consequent cyclones. Now, …

New method developed to measure soil erosion

This method can help monitor the effects of soil erosion and effectiveness of soil conservation strategies

Microplastics in soil threatens earthworms’ growth: Study

Earthworms exposed to plastic chemicals from bottles and carry bags lost on average 3.1% in weight, while those without added microplastics had a …

Excess nitrogen fertilisers hamper germination, root growth in rice: study

Indian scientists have now identified rice varieties that are efficient in nitrogen use

Disappearing Majuli, India’s first river island district

Floods in the Brahmaputra threaten to submerge this river island in Assam which is home to rich biodiversity and culture

For a terra firma

Earth, the cradle of all lifeforms, should not be transformed into a graveyard for want of serious monitoring of soil degradation all over India …

In search of an alternative

Drastic reduction in the cycle of shifting cultivation and soil erosion are forcing the Karbi tribe of Assam to explore sustainable agricultural …

The good earth

SOIL CONSERVATION EXTENSION: FROM CONCEPTS TO ADOPTION· Edited by S Sombatpanit, M A Zobisch et al·Oxford and IBH Publishing …

Soiled future

At a time when agricultural topsoil continues to be eroded, researchers make efforts to put an end to the crisis

The Yellow River has been known as ‘China’s sorrow’. Now we know who was responsible

Deforestation, erosion on the Loess Plateau caused the Chinese to construct levees to tame the river, in turn, worsening the risk of flooding

Himachal Pradesh: Floods hit 16th state this monsoon, to impact crop yield

The hill state got 15 times its normal rainfall on Sunday owing to a depression settled over west MP and east Rajasthan

Dust storms to become more intense if degradation of Aravallis continues

Withering of Aravallis, mainly due to erosion of forests along the northern and central tracts, is making dust storms more intense