Among the major factors responsible for land degradation, the most significant ones are –

– soil salinity and water-logging in agricultural fields due to flawed agronomic practices, and

– water and wind erosion in the areas that have lost their vegetative cover.

– In the Northeast, a hilly region, the continuation of the practice of shifting cultivation, also known as slash-and-burn agriculture or jhum, is the main cause of land degradation. Under this system, the farmers clear the forested land, cultivate it for a few years, and then move to another spot, leaving the old patch barren.

Source: Article