This course is designed to increase the awareness of undergraduate students about types of degraded lands and their effective utilization for crop production. The students should be able to know causes of land degradation and their management for crop productivity. The subject specific skills of the students is expected to be improved to deal with problematic soils and use of treated wastewater. The students also be able to calculate soil amendment requirements for reclamation of problematic soils according to set goals and identify hazards associated with irrigation water including different salts and toxicity hazards. Knowhow of the students about practical use of land degradation and management for crop production, environmental factors that affecting the soil organic matter decomposition, and their impacts on crops. It also helpful to understand the drought, low and erratic precipitation, global warming and climate change and their impacts on soil health and crop production in Pakistan.   

Successful completion of the course should lead to the following outcomes, knowledge and understanding of student is expected to identify degradation of soil chemical and physical properties, understand the chemistry of soil degradation processes, understand methods of reclaiming problematic soils, and understand best management practices for reclaimed soils. This course also helpful for students to identify problematic soils in Pakistan and reasons for their degradation and understand the efficient use of treated wastewater for prevention of soil degradation. The intellectual analytical and cognitive skills of the student is expected to become competent in analyzing soil degradation and reclamation processes, use the concepts of soil chemistry to explain problematic soils and their restoration. But in case of transferable key skills of the students is expected to manage problematic soils related to chemical processes at the farm level and also manage low quality irrigation water in a manner that ensure agricultural sustainability. 1. Land resources and their uses in global and Pakistan perspective, 2. Causes and types of degraded lands, 3. Nutrient dynamics and management in degraded lands, 4. Threats to national land use, 5. Drought; low and erratic precipitation, 6. Lowering of water table, 7. Global warming and climate change, 8. Water and wind erosion, 9. Nutrient and organic matter depletion, 10. Salinization of soil and water, 11. Sea water intrusion, 12. Soil physical degradation: Crusting and compaction, 13. Water-logging, 14. Land sliding; BOOKS RECOMMENDED: 1. Chisholm, A. and R. Dumsday. 2009. Land Degradation: Problems and Policies. Cambridge University Press, London, UK., 2. Johnson, D.L. and L.A. Leiois. 2007. Land Degradation: Creation and Destruction. 2nd Ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. USA. 3. Pessarakali, M. (Ed.). 2010. Handbook of Plant and Crop Stress. 3rd Ed. Marcel and Dekker Inc., NY, USA. 4. Wong, M.H., J.W.C. Wong and A.J.M. Baker. 1999. Remediation and management of degraded lands. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA.