Chernozem
| Chernozem | |
|---|---|
| Chernozemic soil | |
 |
|
| Chernozem field in Black Dirt Region of Orange County, New York, USA | |
| Used in: | WRB, other |
| WRB code: | CH |
| Profile: | AhBC |
| Parent material: | loess |
| Climate: | humid continental[citation needed] |
Chernozem (from Ukrainian language: чорнозем, chоrnozеm, tɕоrnozem), meaning: black soil), "black dirt" or "black earth", is a black-coloured soil containing a high percentage of humus[1] (7% to 15%), and high percentages of phosphoric acids, phosphorus and ammonia.[citation needed] Chernozem is very fertile and produces a high agricultural yield.
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Distribution [edit]
There are two "Chernozem belts" in the world: from eastern Croatia (Slavonia), along the Danube (northern Serbia, northern Bulgaria (Danubian Plain) and southern Romania (Wallachian Plain)), to northeast Ukraine across the Black Earth Region and southern Russia into Siberia, and the other in the Canadian Prairies. Similar soil types occur in Texas and Hungary. Chernozem layer thickness may vary widely, from several inches up to 60 inches (1.5 metres) in Ukraine.[2] The terrain can also be found in small quantities elsewhere (for example, on 1% of Polish territory). It also exists in Northeast China, near Harbin.
The sale of agricultural land has been illegal in Ukraine since 1992; despite this, there is a black market for chernozem soil, sold in trucks, with approximately $900 million in annual sale.[3]
Canadian and United Nations soil classification [edit]
Chernozemic soils are a soil type in the Canadian system of soil classification and the United Nations' FAO soil classification.
| Chernozemic soil type equivalents, in Canadian, FAO, and USA soil taxonomy | ||
| Canadian | FAO | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Chernozemic | Kastanozem, Chernozem, Greyzem, Phaeozem | Borolls |
| Brown Chernozem | Kastanozem (aridic) | Aridic Boroll subgroups |
| Dark Brown Chernozem | Kastanozem (Haplic) | Typic Boroll subgroups |
| Black Chernozem | Chernozem | Udic Boroll subgroups |
| Dark Grey Chernozem | Greyzem | Boralfic Boroll subgroups, Albolls |
| Source: Pedosphere.com. |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "chernozem". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ^ Ukraine: Soils in Encyclopedia Britannica
- ^ Black market for black earth, Kyiv Post (9 November 2011)
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chernozem |
The dictionary definition of chernozem at Wiktionary
