How Are Natural Resources Used in Agriculture? – Natural Resources
Before we go any further, how are natural resources used in agriculture? Let us know What Are Natural Resources? And What Are Some Natural Resources? Natural resources are substances that are formed naturally and are known to be useful to people.
What Are the Natural Resources?
Content Summery
So, the question is what is a natural resource? Earth is a treasure trove that provides us with many substances that we make use of. Such substances which are formed naturally, and are known to be useful to people are known as natural resources.
Natural Resources a substance that is formed naturally and is known to be useful to people.
They do not include substances that are the result of human intervention.
For instance, trees grown in plantations are not regarded as natural resources although trees in a forest are natural resources.
What is considered a natural resource is largely determined by a society’s way of life or culture.
For instance, the aborigines are hunters and gatherers who use simple tools to gather plants and hunt animals for food. They regard the forest as a natural resource because it provides them with necessities such as shelter, fuel, food, and medicine.
The forest is also regarded as a valuable natural resource among people who earn a living by commercial logging. They extract timber for sale.
However, some people may not see the forest as a natural resource.
For instance, when people grow crops for a living. the forest may be seen as a hindrance. So, these people are likely to clear the forest to create land for growing crops.
Raed Also:
- What is Geography? What is the Study of Geography?
- Why Is Geography Important to study And Affects Your Daily Life
What is regarded as natural resource changes over time With new inventions and changing lifestyles, other substances in nature will be valued as natural resources.
For example, during the Stone Age, flintstones were valuable for making steel-cutting tools. Later, iron became an important resource for Making steel-cutting tools.
What Are Some Natural Resources
Some natural resources are copper, lead, tin, gold, silver, diamonds, coal, water, soil, forests, natural gas, zink, and nickel.
Classification of Natural Resources
Natural resources are usually classified into two broad t types:
- Renewable natural resources
- Non-renewable natural resources
| Renewable | Non-renewable | |
| Diffuse | Vegetation, soil, crops Animals Water | Peat Some substances found in Earth’s curst like gravel and sand |
| Point | Some crops/animals that require very specific conditiond | Many ores, like gold |
Renewable Resource Definition
Renewable natural resources are substances that can be replaced in nature after they are used or exploited by people.
Examples of Renewable Resources
Water is a renewable resource that is replaced through the hydrological cycle. Other examples are fish and forests.
Non-renewable Resource Definition
Non-renewable natural resources are those which are formed so slowly in nature that they are regarded to be present in fixed amounts on the Earth. Once they are used, these non renewable resources cannot be replaced.
Examples of Non Renewable Resources
Examples of such resources include fossil fuels such as coal, crude, oil, and natural gas and a large variety of metallic and non-metallic minerals such as iron and marble respectively.
As non – renewable natural resources cannot be replaced, the worry is that, if the rate of use is not controlled, such resources might be completely depleted and not be available for future generations to use.
How Are Natural Resources Used in Agriculture?
How Are Natural Resources Used in Agriculture? Agriculture involves the use of technology to boost agricultural and livestock productivity and efficiency.
For instance, GM organisms, more productive farming equipment, disease, drought, and insect-resistant plants.
It is crucial to utilize natural resources in agriculture. An essential objective of agricultural research is the efficient and sustainable utilization of these resources.
Climate, local geography, and climate all have a direct impact on agriculture.
If we look at the world we see that The primary cause of environmental issues like climate change, deforestation, eutrophication of water bodies, salinization of soils, and depletion of water supplies worldwide is agriculture. (Foley et al., 2005, Nakicenovik et al., 2000, Tilman et al., 2001, Vitousek et al., 1997).
The three main natural resources need in agriculture:
- Land,
- Water, and
- Fertilizers
There have been lots of studies done on agriculture and the use of natural resources.
Many people now feel that the more important question is not the number of resources left for use, but how the resources are used.
Even a renewable resource can be depleted if it is exploited faster than it is being replaced.
For instance, some species of fish are in danger of becoming extinct because they are being caught faster than they can replace themselves.
Hence in many countries such as Iceland and the United Kingdom, where fishing is a major industry, a license is needed for catching fish, and laws are passed to limit the amount of fish caught.
Thus people should be educated about the need for conservation. One way of conserving natural resources is by practicing the 3Rs, that is, reduce, reuse and recycle natural resources.
