The most fertile soils in Russia

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

More than a hundred years ago, V. V. Dokuchaev established the geographic zonality along which the main types of soils on Earth are located. It shows where fertile soils, tundra, gray soils are located. On the territory of Russia, zonality is more pronounced than in other countries. This is due to the large length of the country from south to north and the predominance of flat terrain.

Soil types

On the territory of the Russian Federation, a zonal change of soils is clearly visible. There are tundra lands, gley, sod-podzolic, podzolic, brown and gray, fertile soils (chernozems), semi-deserts, chestnut, serozems, gray-brown. In the subtropics, red and yellow soils are common. In the mountains, a feature of soil change is altitudinal zonality. All types are divided by composition, structure. Soil fertility also affects the classification.

Description of types

The northern part of the country is represented by tundra-gley soils. They are weak, containsmall amount of oxygen. A variety of land types are common in the forest zone. Podzolic lands are formed in the taiga under coniferous forests. Due to the decomposition of coniferous litter, acids are formed that increase mineralization and organic decay. Humus is washed out of the upper layers of water and transferred to the lower layers. As a result of this, the upper layers become whitish, which is why they got their name - podzol. If the top layer is enriched with humus, then such soil is called sod-podzolic.

The most fertile soils - chernozems - are formed in the forest-steppe zone. They are characterized by the absence of a leaching regime, and because of the steppe plants, the soil is enriched with organic substances. Because of this, a large layer of humus is formed. In arid lands, a chestnut layer is formed. They are low in humus. Such soils are found to the south, where the climate is dry and warm, and vegetation is sparse. With a close occurrence of groundwater, solonchaks are formed.

Chernozems

Chernozem is considered the most fertile soil. It is characterized by black color, grain-lumpy structure. This type of land is formed under grassy vegetation in the steppe and forest-steppe zone.

Chernozem is characterized by the following:

1. A large amount of humus. Chernozem contains up to fifteen percent of humus. Because of this, such lands are highly fertile.
2. Many microorganisms. Microorganisms exist in every type of soil, but it is in the chernozem that they are the most.
3. The fertile soils of Russia havegranular-lumpy structure.

Harvest land

Chernozem soils have the highest yield. In areas with such land, warm temperatures prevail, stimulating the intensity of metabolism in plants.

In creating soils, natural conditions play a significant role, which form a favorable regime for the accumulation of nutrients and their conservation. In the black soil layer there are many worms and bacteria. They create favorable conditions for growing any kind of plants.

Where black soil is found

In addition to the territory of the Russian Federation, chernozem soils are found in America, Canada, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria. The Chernozem region in Russia accounts for about half of all fertile lands on the planet. Also, the chernozem on our territory has a rich composition, while in other countries these lands are poorer.

Types of chernozem

And what are the best fertile soils of all types of black soil? The characteristics of the black earth determine the type. So, according to this criterion, podzolized, typical, leached, southern land is distinguished. In the central part of Russia, chernozem has about eight percent humus. The layers themselves lie at a depth of no more than seventy centimeters.

Steppe chernozem is a typical species. It contains about ten percent of humus. In the layers of North America, the humus content is not more than three centimeters. And this despite the fact that the land with its content of less than two percent is considered to be dead. Of all the black soils of Russia, the standard of fertilityconsidered Voronezh. It is even exhibited in the museum of France as a symbol of fertility.

Formation of chernozem

Formation of black soil is a long and complex process. It is influenced not only by flora and fauna, but also by the location of the land, the climate of the region. In the process of farming, if the land is not replenished with fertilizers, the quality of the black soil is lost. The cut fertile layer loses its properties after a few years. An example of this is the transportation of chernozem layers to Germany in the post-war period. Over the years, they have lost their properties.

Sale of black soil

In recent years, the sale of soil has been growing rapidly. This leads to the destruction of the black earth, the creation of which takes decades. The fertility of the land is influenced by many factors, among which the main one is the type of plants growing on the ground. If the plant has a powerful root system, then the fertility of the chernozem will be better. This is due to the fact that large roots loosen the soil when deepening, allowing oxygen to penetrate deep into the formation. The most fertile soils are those on which trees and shrubs grow.

Use of black soil

Chernozem is delivered to various parts of the world. It is used in landscape design in large cities where land is depleted. In central Russia, chernozem soils are used to create the necessary fertile layer. With its help, water permeability, granulometric composition, and density are optimized. After making soil on sandylands are seeing a recovery, improving fertility.

Russian soils

The territory of Russia is huge, but there are few lands favorable for agriculture. More than ten percent of the land area is occupied by tundra, about thirteen percent is wetland, the same amount of land is used in agriculture. The most valuable lands make up about seven percent of the entire country. Half of them are in the Chernozem zone: about eighty percent of the country's total production is produced here. Podzolic and chestnut lands are allotted for pastures and hayfields.