Soil fertility is the characteristic of soil that supports abundant plant life. In particular the term is used to describe agricultural and garden soil.* Loess field in Germany Soil horizons are formed by combined biological, chemical and physical alterations. ...

Fertile soil typically arises from the use of soil conservation practises, and fertile soil has the following properties: Sheep pasture with macroscale erosion, Australia Soil conservation is a set of management strategies for prevention of soil being eroded from the earth’s surface or becoming chemically altered by overuse, salinization, acidification, or other chemical soil contamination. ...

• It is rich in nutrients necessary for basic plant nutrition including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
• It contains sufficient minerals (trace elements) for plant nutrition including boron, chlorine, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum, sulfur and zinc.
• It contains soil organic matter, that improves soil structure and soil moisture retention.
• Soil pH is in the range 5.5 to 6.2.
• Good soil structure, creating well drained soil.
• A range of microorganisms that support plant growth.
• It often contains large amounts of topsoil

General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... General Name, Symbol, Number phosphorus, P, 15 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 3, p Appearance waxy white/ red/ black/ colorless Atomic mass 30. ... General Name, Symbol, Number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 4, s Appearance brownish white Atomic mass 39. ... General Name, Symbol, Number boron, B, 5 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 13, 2, p Appearance black/brown Atomic mass 10. ... General Name, Symbol, Number chlorine, Cl, 17 Chemical series halogens Group, Period, Block 17, 3, p Appearance yellowish green Atomic mass 35. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Atomic mass 63. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... General Name, Symbol, Number manganese, Mn, 25 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 7, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Atomic mass 54. ... General Name, Symbol, Number magnesium, Mg, 12 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 24. ... General Name, Symbol, Number molybdenum, Mo, 42 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 6, 5, d Appearance gray metallic Atomic mass 95. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sulfur, S, 16 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 3, p Appearance lemon yellow Atomic mass 32. ... General Name, Symbol, Number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Atomic mass 65. ... Organic matter (or organic material) is matter which has come from a recently living organism; is capable of decay, or the product of decay; or is composed of organic compounds. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Soil structure is a sub-discipline of Soil Science concerned with the description of how particles in a given soil adhere - how they stick together. ... Topsoil is the uppermost layer of soil, usually the top six to eight inches. ...

Soil depletion

Soil depletion occurs when the components which contribute to fertility are removed and not replaced, and the conditions which support soil fertility are not maintained. This leads to poor crops, which may in turn affect the health of the animals that consume those crops. In agriculture, depletion is often due to inadequate soil management. One of the most widespread occurrences of soil depletion as of 2006 is in tropical zones where nutreint content of soils is low, and where slash-and-burn techniques deplete soil through rapid and almost total nutrient removal. Depletion may occur through a variety of other effects, including overtillage which damages soil structure, and overuse of inputs such as synthetic fertilizers and herbicides, which leaves residues and buildups that inhibit microorganisms. Assarting in Finland in 1892 Slash and burn (a specific practice that may be part of shifting cultivation or swidden-fallow agriculture) is an agricultural procedure widely used in forested areas. ...

See also

• Plaggen soil
• Shifting cultivation
• Soil contamination
• Soil life
• Terra preta

Plaggen is a type of soil created in Europe in the Middle Ages, as a result of so called plaggen cultivation, created by cutting turves of peat from an outfield area, and then using them as bedding for cattle; the slurry-soaked bedding was later spread on the arable fields... Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which a person uses a piece of land, only to abandon or alter the initial use a short time later. ... Excavation of leaking underground storage tank causing soil contamination Soil contamination is the presence of man made chemicals or other alteration to the natural soil environment. ... Soil life is a collective term for all the organisms living within the soil. ... Terra preta (which means dark soil in Portuguese), or Terra prêta de índio, refers to extensions of very dark soils found in the Amazon Basin. ...

External link

• Building Fertile Soil is a dead link; use the Internet Archive link here instead