Reclaiming Degraded Land in India Through the Cultivation of Medicinal Plants

Abstract: Despite having only about 2.4 % of the total land area India accounts for nearly 8.0 % of the biodiversity of the world. Though having great biodiversity, a very large part (20.16%) of total geographical area of the country is occupied by the degraded land. Adoption of inappropriate soil and crop management practices following grassland cultivation exacerbated processes of land degradation resulting in rapid expansion of land desertification in semi arid region of the world including India. Indigenous plant species have proved successful in environmental rehabilitation because of their adaptation to local conditions. Furthermore, many medicinal plant species have spread globally both via intentional and carefully planned transfer and as the unintentional outcome of people’s movements. The demand of Indian medicinal plants has increased over the years in the international market. To meet out the demand of medicinal plants at international market we should use degraded lands of the country, this practice will help to save the crop land from overburden, different researches explain that the cultivation of various medicinal plants helps to reclaim the degraded lands. Key words: Degraded land Reclamation Medicinal plants INTRODUCTION through the use of fertilizers; others need more Land, a non-renewable resource, is central to all soil cannot be recovered at all. In the developing primary production system. Over the years, the country’s countries like India due to high population rate there i