Introduction
Prof. Dr. Tapos Kumar Acharjee
Department of Irrigation and Water Management
Bangladesh Agricultural University
Content
Need, purpose and benefits of drainage
Factors affecting soil fertility
Purposes and methods of land reclamation
Soil Fertility
• Capacity of soil to give the necessary substances
in correct amounts to plants avoiding toxic
concentration of any substance.
• So fertile soils have a leveled amount of nutrients
which are enough to fulfill the requirements of
plants.
• A fertile soil will contain all the nutrients required
in greater amount i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus,
potassium etc. and will also contain the nutrients
required in smaller amount i.e., magnesium,
molybdenum, iron, zinc etc.
Characteristics of Fertile Soil
• contains all basic nutrients that are necessary for
plant survival.
• has a pH in the range of 6.0 to 6.8
• has a large amount of topsoil
• has a diversity of microbes which helps in plant
growth
• has organic matter which maintains the soil
structure
• has capacity to retain soil moisture
• has a depth that permits plants to grow their roots
deep for nutrition
• high cation exchange capacity
Factors Affecting Soil Fertility
1 Physical factors
• Climate
• Soil texture
• Soil structure
• Water retention capacity
• Electrical conductivity
• Bulk density
Factors Affecting Soil Fertility
2 Chemical factors
• Soil pH
• Cation exchange capacity
• Plant nutrients (micronutrients, macronutrients)
3 Biological factors
• Organic matter
• Microorganisms
• Soil mineralogy
• Biogeochemical cycles
Soil degradation
Type Reasons and consequences
Physical Loss and depletion of fertile topsoil due to physical
impacts (floods, surface runoff, landslides, winds
and storms, intensive tillage, heavy machinery
use). Long-term physical degradation harms soil
fertility, composition, and structure.
Chemical Unfavorable changes in soil chemistry (caused,
particularly, by synthetic fertilizers and pesticides)
diminish plant nutrition: beneficial microbes and
humus content decline; and the pH of the ground
shifts.
Soil degradation
Type Reasons and consequences
Biological Decreased microbial activity due to destructive
biochemical reactions, especially in
bare/unprotected earth, reduces yields and
makes land less amenable to crop cultivation.
Ecological Decreased land productivity due to
environmental factors, mainly climate change
(altered precipitation patterns, increasing
temperatures, extreme weather events).
Deforestation and the loss of ground cover
contribute to the ecological degradation of soil
by exposing it to erosion and causing disruptions
in ecosystems.
Land Reclamation
• Land reclamation is the process of improving
lands, that were previously underwater or
unusable, to make them suitable for a more
intensive use.
• It can also refer to improving land so that it can
be used for agricultural, economic or social
purposes.
• Land reclamation has been happening for
centuries in low-lying countries like the
Netherlands, where around 17% of the country’s
current land has been reclaimed from the sea or
lakes.
Purpose of land reclamation
The main purpose of land reclamation is to
develop usable land by retrieving unusable land
like salt-affected areas or create new land by
converting areas like wetlands, coastal regions
to expand the available space for human
activities like agriculture, urban development, or
industrial use, often addressing issues like
population growth and limited land availability.
Purpose of land reclamation
Some specific purpose of land reclamation are:
• Expand agricultural areas for food security.
• Reduce land scarcity in densely populated
regions.
• Facilitate economic growth by enabling the
development of new industries and commercial
areas.
• Mitigate coastal erosion.
• Tourism and Real Estate.
• Resilience and adaptation to climate change.
Examples:
Agriculture: Netherlands
Urban development: Mumbai, India
Economic growth: Singapore
Tourism: Palm Jumeirah, UAE
Type of land reclamation
1. Reclamation of arid land
Type of land reclamation
2. Reclamation of salt-affected soils
Type of land reclamation
3. Reclamation of swampy lands
Type of land reclamation
4. Reclamation of coastal areas
Type of land reclamation
5. Reclamation of mine spoils
Type of land reclamation
6. Reclamation of eroded, infertile, and “new” lands
How is land reclamation done?
• Diking: Building dikes to enclose shallow waters
or tidal marshes, then draining the enclosed area
to create dry land
• Diverting streams: Carrying sediment into areas
to build up the land
• Excavating soil and stone: Removing soil and
stone from the mainland and dumping it along
the shore or on islands
• Pumping water: Pumping water out of newly
reclaimed land that is below sea level.
How is land reclamation done?
• Planting vegetation: Planting vegetation to
stabilize unstable slopes, loose soil, and land
that is subject to water erosion
• Chemical treatment: Using chemical
treatments to treat land that is impregnated
with salt or industrial effluent
• Irrigation: Using irrigation to treat arid land
Methods of land reclamation
Physical methods:
These involve altering the landscape through structures like
dikes, levees, and terraces to control water flow and
prevent soil erosion.
Examples: sand spreading, dredging, polder construction.
Biological methods:
Utilizing plants to stabilize soil and improve its quality by
planting cover crops or introducing nitrogen-fixing plants.
Example: vegetation, reforestration.
Chemical methods:
Adjusting soil pH and nutrient levels through applications
like liming or fertilizers.
Example: Liming.
