Question

which of these is an example of soil degradation?

a. garbage is buried so the land can be reclaimed later.

b. containers designed to store pollutants leak.

c. fertilizers provide too many nutrients to crops.

d. a drought kills all the plants in an area, leaving bare land.

Explanation:

• Option A: Burying garbage for land reclamation is not soil degradation; it's a land management practice.
• Option B: Leaking pollutant containers affect soil pollution but not directly soil degradation (degradation refers to loss of soil quality/structure, etc., from processes like erosion, loss of vegetation).
• Option C: Excess fertilizers cause eutrophication in water bodies or soil pollution, not soil degradation.
• Option D: A drought killing plants leaves bare land, which leads to soil erosion (a form of soil degradation) as there's no vegetation to hold the soil.

Answer:

D. A drought kills all the plants in an area, leaving bare land.