NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Geography Chapter 2

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Geography Chapter 2 – Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources (Social Science), contains solutions to various questions in Exercise for Chapter 2. NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science help to check the concept you have learnt from detailed classroom sessions and application of your knowledge.

1. Answer the following questions.

(i) Which are the two main climatic factors responsible for soil formation?

Answer – The two main climatic factors responsible for the formation of soils are: Temperature and Rainfall.

(ii) Write any two reasons for land degradation today.

Answer – Land degradation is a global problem occurring today mainly due to the following two reasons:

• Deforestation: this is the unjust way of chopping trees which leads to the loss of soil and biodiversity loss. Deforestation degrades the quality of land to a large extent
• Over grazing: Due to the shortage of grasslands, most cattle, sheep, goats are left to graze on the same fields year after year thereby, loosening the binding property of soil and the moisture content within the soil is also lost. Thus the alkaline and acidity increases or reduces at a vast rate, depleting the quality of land.

(iii) Why is land considered an important resource?

Answer – Land is considered as an important resource as all the activities of man and the terrestrial nimals occur upon the land itself. People build their homes on the land, cultivate and plough the fields on the land. Give birth and move across one place to another on land. Most minerals are found on the land itself. Thus land is a very important resource.

(iv) Name any two steps that government has taken to conserve plants and animals.

Answer – The government has taken many steps to conserve plants animals such as:

• Claiming forests as biosphere reserves, national parks and sanctuaries- this reduces the risk of poaching and deforestation practices
• Awareness programmes like social forestry and Vanamohatasava are other initiatives taken by the government.

(v) Suggest three ways to conserve water.

Answer – Some of the ways to conserve water are:

• Rain-water harvesting: this is a practice where people can store the rain aterin an eco friendly environment so that this natural resource which otherwise would have flowed to the rivers remains stored in the tanks or wells
• Building of earthen dams: Earthen dams are easy to build with stones and mud. This helps to store the water from flowing away.
• Recycling the water: By reducing the amount of water which goes to waste, we can recycle and reuse water in kitchens or for washing and irrigation purposes.

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Geography Chapter 2 – Land,Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources

2. Tick the correct answer.

(i) Which one of the following is NOT a factor of soil formation?
(a) time
(b) soil texture
(c) organic matter

(ii) Which one of the following methods is most appropriate to check soil erosion on steep slopes?
(a) shelter belts
(b) mulching
(c) terrace cultivation

(iii) Which one of the following is NOT in favour of the conservation of nature?
(a) switch off the bulb when not in use
(b) close the tap immediately after using
(c) dispose polypacks after shopping

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Geography Chapter 2 – Land,Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources

3. Match the followings :

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Geography Chapter 2 – Land,Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources

4. State whether the given statement is true or false. If true, write the reasons.

(i) Ganga–Brahmaputra plain of India is an overpopulated region.  TRUE, The Ganga Brahmaputra plain is a flat and fertile land which supports a huge number of people. The cultivation of paddy, wheat, maize, jowar, sugarcane is easily practiced here. There are many tributaries draining the region which further helps derive water for various purposes.

(ii) Water availability per person in India is declining. True, this is mostly due to the increase in population India is experiencing. The amount of fresh water available is declining as most water is getting polluted and fresh water is scarce.

(iii) Rows of trees planted in the coastal areas to check the wind movement is called intercropping. False

(iv) Human interference and changes of climate can maintain the ecosystem: False.

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Geography (Social Science)

• Chapter 1 – Resources
• Chapter 2 – Land,Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources
• Chapter 3 – Mineral and Power Resources
• Chapter 4 – Agriculture
• Chapter 5 – Industries
• Chapter 6 – Human Resources