Land pollution, in other words, means degradation or destruction of earths surface

and soil, directly or indirectly as a result of human activities. Anthropogenic

activities are conducted citing development, and the same affects the land
drastically, we witness land pollution; by drastic we are referring to any activity that
lessens the quality and/or productivity of the land as an ideal place for agriculture,
forestation, construction etc. The degradation of land that could be used
constructively in other words is land pollution.

Land Pollution has led to a series of issues that we have come to realize in recent
times, after decades of neglect. The increasing numbers of barren land plots and
the decreasing numbers of forest cover is at an alarming ratio. Moreover the
extension of cities and towns due to increasing population is leading to further
exploitation of the land. Land fills and reclamations are being planned and executed
to meet the increased demand of lands. This leads to further deterioration of land,
and pollution caused by the land fill contents. Also due to the lack of green cover,
the land gets affected in several ways like soil erosion occurs washing away the
fertile portions of the land. Or even a landslide can be seen as an example.

Definition of Land Pollution

Land pollution may be understood as the deterioration of the earths land surfaces, often
directly or indirectly as a result of mans activities.

You might wonder why the focus on mans activities. Arent there also natural factors for
land pollution, such as hurricanes, earthquakes and floods that tear down buildings, trees
and leave the land polluted with debris and dead bodies?

Cause of Land Pollution Man or Nature

Well, natural events like volcanic eruptions and tsunamis can bring about land pollution.
When the large amounts of sulfuric acid poured out into the atmosphere during volcanic
eruptions are precipitated in acid rain, soil acidification might take place where the acid rain
falls on the soil. When tsunamis hit the coastal land, the flush of saline water onto soil can
lead to soil salination. Nonetheless, these natural events are by far, few and uncommon.
Some other natural events like soil erosion occur more frequently in nature, but when it
comes to the scale of land pollution, mans impact often greatly outdo that of nature.
And if you think a bit more, you might realize that very often, the land pollution that takes
place as a result of natural disasters, is actually exacerbated by the very presence of manmade infrastructure, objects, and chemicals etc.
When natural disasters hit, many of these man-made infrastructure (eg. buildings, roads,
sewage systems) break down and litter the streets with debris and even sewage overflow.
Man-made objects such as television sets, plastic pails or even rubber toys may pour out of
homes and float around in flooded roads. Chemicals from industries may leak out onto the
surrounding land or water bodies when the buildings containing these hazardous materials
are devastated in the disasters.
It is usually not the natural events per se, but these man-made pollutants, that are the
cause of land pollution. And these pollutants will take Man, and Nature, substantial effort
and time to clean up.
But take another land that has not suffered any of mans interference. Should natural
disasters hit, the land might be littered with tree debris and bodies of animals for a while.
But the earth does not have to deal with the loads of synthetic debris like plastic or
synthetic chemicals that can persist in the environment for long periods.

So after a while, the dead organic materials would simply be returned to earth as nutrients
by the works of decomposers (eg. mushrooms, fungi) and scavengers. Very soon, the earth
would be cleaned and nourished, and be ready to flourish again.
That is why you can say that the cause of land pollution is often linked directly, or indirectly,
to mans activities.

The Main Factors For Land Pollution

Industrialization and the exploding human population are two of the main factors for the
widespread land pollution the earth is facing today. And these two factors are highly linked.
Industrialization gave rise to higher productivity rates, and allowed for more things
(including food) to be produced in the same, or a shorter time. The increase in supply of
goods that people need facilitate the growth in the human population, since people have
more food to eat, more things to use. But with the increase in population came increased
demand for more food and things, and the creation of more waste to be disposed of. As you
will read about later, waste disposal by landfills is one of the major causes of land pollution.
To cope with the situation, industries had to look into ways to produce more. More resources
from the earth need to be extracted more metals need to be mined, more oil need to be
rigged, more trees need to be cut down to drive the industries and meet the needs of the
people. Research and development in production probably led to the creation of synthetic
products, like man-made pesticides and synthetic fertilizers (to help food grow faster),
plastic, man-made detergents, etc. These synthetic products, many of which are however
highly toxic and polluting to the environment, allow the industries to meet the rising
demand of the increasing population. In the process of production, the industries produce
large amounts of harmful materials that need to be disposed of.
But that is not the end of the story. To earn more, industries also began creating new
needs amongst the population, by the introduction of new products coupled with highly
effective marketing that these products meet a genuine need. These new needs in turn
drive demand for more goods. A vicious cycle (that is highly unsustainable) has been
created.
Directly or indirectly, industrialization and the rising human population have given rise to
many human activities that contribute to the cause of land pollution. Some of the human
activities that are a substantial cause of land pollution are discussed in greater detail below.

Main cause of land pollution

Waste dumping at landfills and other sites

The dumping of waste at landfills is often cited as a major cause of land pollution. Landfills
are well-known for their pollution. Ask someone if he or she would be willing to stay beside
a landfill, if given a choice, and the answer is likely to be no.

How exactly a landfill is polluted however, really depends on the composition of waste that
goes into it. This composition can vary from landfill to landfill (some landfills have specific
regulations on the waste that goes into it), and from time to time (depending on the parties
who contribute to the garbage during a particular period).
In turn, what this points to is that the need for landfills (i.e. as a means to dispose of the
large volumes of waste that man creates) and the conditions in the landfills (i.e. how
polluted they are), are very much driven by man mans activities (e.g. industrial processes
or energy production activities that generate waste), the guidelines man puts in place (e.g.
what must be treated prior to disposal at the landfills) and mans habits (e.g. living by a
buy-and-throw lifestyle). This is an important point that few people think about or realize
when they look at the pollution taking place in the landfills.
One of the common cause of land pollution in the landfills is the contamination of landfill soil
with toxic and even hazardous substances. These substances may be part of the waste itself
(e.g. engine oil), are leeched from the waste (e.g. heavy metals from discarded batteries)
or are produced by the waste (e.g. dioxins from plasterboards) after some time in the
landfill. These toxic substances greatly reduce the quality of the soil in the landfill. Needless
to say, the ability of this soil to support life is significantly affected.
Given the large range of materials that could be disposed of at the landfills, the
possible contaminants of soil are numerous. The contaminants could include household
waste (that in itself includes a large range of materials from organic to inorganic and toxic),
sewage waste (in some cases, the waste may even be inadequately treated or untreated)
from treatment plants, chemicals and waste materials from industries or factories,
radioactive waste (treated or untreated) from nuclear plants, and oily sludge waste from oil
refineries, etc. All these materials are a cause of land pollution in the landfills.
And even though landfills are often designed (using technologies like a bottom liner and a
leachate collection system) to contain the contaminants within the landfills, leaks often
occur and the contaminants can reach surface and underground water bodies a form
of water pollution. The contaminated water then becomes dangerous to life forms that
consume it or come into contact it.
The landfills also pollute the environment in other ways. Landfills are notorious for their
production of methane gas, which is a flammable green house gas. This gas is mainly
produced by decomposing organic wastes found in the landfills. Landfills are also homes to
numerous disease vectors like cockroaches and rats.
Land and other types of pollution do not only affect the landfills. Other pieces of land that
have been misused by man for illegal dumping of waste suffer the same fate. The only
difference might be the nature of the pollution depending on the type of waste disposed of.

Construction Activities
With an exploding human population and urbanization, we can expect to see more and more
construction activities taking place to create infrastructures like homes, offices, roads,
buildings and factories.

However, construction activities are another significant cause of land pollution.

Firstly, new construction projects often require deforestation (which problems to land
pollution are discussed below) either to free up land for the new building or road, or to
extract raw materials for the building project.
In addition, construction projects are also responsible for the creation of large amounts of
construction waste, which in turn contribute to the cause of land pollution in the landfills.
One of the main problems with construction waste is the large waste articles like concrete
and metal debris. They occupy much land, and when disposed of at landfills, inevitably
increase the burden on the landfills that usually already quite filled up. As more and more of
such construction waste is generated with never-ending construction projects, more land
(often vegetation-filled land) would have to be converted to landfills and be subjected to the
type of pollution inherent in landfills (described above).
Some construction wastes like oils and paints are hazardous waste, and when not properly
disposed of, could also leach harmful chemicals into the ground a cause of land pollution.
Plasterboards, for example, when disposed of in landfills, release toxic gases such as as
hydrogen sulfide under anaerobic conditions.
That is why in recent years, there is an increase emphasis on recycling construction waste,
so as to divert a substantial proportion of the waste away from the landfills.

Deforestation and Soil Erosion

Deforestation is another one of mans activities that is a major cause of land pollution.
Deforestation often arise from the need to extract more raw materials (e.g. wood) from the
forests for industries, or the need to clear more land for human activities, such as
agriculture, urban development or building of industries.
Deforestation often results in soil erosion a cause of land pollution. Without the roots of
plants and trees to hold the soil particles, the particles become more prone to being
dislodged by wind and water. The eroded soil loses its nutrients and organic matter, as well
as its ability to hold water. As such, soil erosion can render fertile land as no longer suited
for agriculture, or even turn originally fertile land into barren deserts.
Deforestation does not only bring about desertification through soil erosion. Changes in the
local climate and rainfall patterns brought about by deforestation can also convert vast
green lands to deserts. Today, desert areas are expanding and taking over futile land. In
Mali, the desert has taken over about 220 miles in as few as 20 years.
Other than causing soil erosion, deforestation has also been linked to floods, which can in
turn be seen as another cause of land pollution and water pollution. As Andy Lipkis
(president & founder of Tree People) said in the movie, The 11th Hour, a tree can capture
about 57,000 gallons of water in a 10 to 12-inch flash flood, it can grab that much water,
prevent it from running off, captures it in that sponge, cleans it, puts it back in the aquifer.
But if we take that one tree away, you got a flood, you got soil erosion. Youve lost those

57,000 gallons from the local water supply. Then that water is rushing downstream, hurting
people, hurting communities, ultimately polluting the ocean.
Of course, there are also many other problems with deforestation besides being a cause of
land pollution. Deforestation destroys the habitats of numerous species of plants and
animals growing in the forests, as well as leaves less vegetation to convert the large
amounts of carbon dioxide green house gas humans produce to oxygen. However, these
problems would not be discussed here.
Agricultural Activities
Agriculture malpractices are another cause of land pollution.
As the demand for food increases with the growing human population, the pressures for
farmers to increase their yields also rise. Soil nutrients are necessary for plant growth and
development, so farmers generally use fertilizers to correct soil deficiencies and pesticides
to kill unwanted insects, fungi, bacteria or viruses.
However, when farmers adopt maladaptive agricultural practices like the overuse of
synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, problems arise. Fertilizers and pesticides can
contaminate the soil with impurities and toxins (e.g. dioxin) a cause of land pollution. This
pollution situation is even more prevalent when the farming products are manufactured
using non-natural and toxic chemicals. In turn, the overuse of these farming products may
lead to the build up of these toxic chemicals in the soil, eventually leading to the poisoning
of the very crops that the synthetic pesticides and man-made fertilizers were meant to
protect and nourish. And when animals and humans consume these contaminated crops,
they too will suffer from bioaccumulation and bio-magnification of the toxins built up in
their bodies over time.
Also, while the aim of using fertilizers and pesticides is to increase crop yield, the excessive
use of these farm products can reduce crop yields in the long term. Synthetic pesticides and
fertilizers that leave acidic by-products in the soil acidify the soil over time. This acidification
process leeches away nutrients in the soil and kills organisms in the soil that are beneficial
for plant growth another cause of land pollution. The crop yield, as well as the nutritional
value of the crops harvested from that polluted piece of land, is hence reduced.
Other undesired agricultural practices like intensive plowing and mono-crop agriculture can
are also a cause of land pollution these malpractices often lead to nutrient depletion in the
soil and large scale soil erosion.

Mining Activities
With increasing demand for goods by the growing population, the demand for raw materials
has also increased. Some of these raw materials like metals (e.g. copper), coal and precious
stones are extracted from the earth via mining. However, mining activities have large impact
on the environment. In particular, it is a big cause of land pollution.

With mining activities, especially surface mining projects, the destruction of existing
vegetation becomes inevitable.
The land area, void of vegetation, then becomes very susceptible to soil erosion, which is a
cause of land pollution.
The mining and mining-related activities (e.g. road construction) also destabilizes the land
structures in the area, exacerbating the frequency at which soil erosion occurs, especially
when little or no preventive and control measures are employed.
Mining produces large amount of waste rocks (rocks not containing the desired substance
such as coal or copper) that need proper disposal, for otherwise they would bring about
environmental problems. According to the Safe Drinking Water Foundation, the Canadian
mineral industry produces 650 million tones of mining waste every year. This is a huge
amount of waste to be disposed of. At times, the mining waste might not be sent for proper
disposal, but is instead piled up and simply abandoned (illegally, and irresponsibly) near the
mining sites a cause of land pollution. The disposal site becomes an informal landfill,
with its inherent pollution problem (described above). The land can no longer be used for
other purposes; the landscape is also damaged.
What is worse is that when the mining waste is exposed to the elements, like rainwater, it
often leeches harmful substances, like heavy metals (e.g. arsenic), sulphuric acid or
chemicals used in processing ores (e.g. cyanide), into the ground another cause of land
pollution by soil contamination. The leeching can also take place in exposed underground
mines. These harmful chemicals can pose serious dangers to the lives of organisms living in
the soil, as well as animals and humans living near the contaminated land.
Read related topics:

soil pollution facts

land pollution facts

how to stop land pollution

Most appalling pollution scenes

If you have ever witnessed scenes of pollution on land that are either disturbing or heartwrenching, share photos of these pollution scenes with our readers, so that the photos may
open the eyes of those who are still unmoved about the environmental problems of the
world today.

Read more: http://www.all-recycling-facts.com/cause-of-land-pollution.html#ixzz3OrSZto6e

Causes of Land Pollution

Below are the sources of land pollution:

1. Deforestation and soil erosion: Deforestation carried out to create dry lands is
one of the major concerns. Land that is once converted into a dry or barren land,
can never be made fertile again, whatever the magnitude of measures to redeem it
are. Land conversion, meaning the alteration or modification of the original
properties of the land to make it use-worthy for a specific purpose is another major
cause. This hampers the land immensely. Also there is a constant waste of land.
Unused available land over the years turns barren; this land then cannot be used.
So in search of more land, potent land is hunted and its indigenous state is
compromised with.
2. Agricultural activities: With growing human population, demand for food has
increased considerably. Farmers often use highly toxic fertilizers and pesticides to
get rid off insects, fungi and bacteria from their crops. However with the overuse of
these chemicals, they result in contamination and poisoning of soil.
3. Mining activities: During extraction and mining activities, several land spaces are
created beneath the surface. We constant hear about land caving in; this is nothing
but natures way of filling the spaces left out after mining or extraction activity.
4. Overcrowded landfills: Each household produces tonnes of garbage each year.
Garbage like aluminum, plastic, paper, cloth, wood is collected and sent to the
local recycling unit. Items that can not be recycled become a part of the landfills
that hampers the beauty of the city and cause land pollution.
5. Industrialization: Due to increase in demand for food, shelter and house, more
goods are produced. This resulted in creation of more waste that needs to be
disposed of. To meet the demand of the growing population, more industries were
developed which led to deforestation. Research and development paved the way for
modern fertilizers and chemicals that were highly toxic and led to soil
contamination.
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