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Created with Fabric.js 1.4.5 Soil in Climates around the World The climate in a Tropical Rain Forest is very humid. The area receives a large amount of precipitation- specifically rain. The soil of the Tropical Rain Forrest is nutrient poor. Most people would predict the soil would be very nutrient, because of the lush vegetation. The soil is poor because of two reasons.1- The heavy rains cause leaching, which is nutrient loss by water. Another reason is because,2- Because of the leaching, the topsoil is thin. So the nutrients that aren't leached away, are quickly taken up by the trees and plants. The desert is dry and hot. It receives, in some cases, less than 25 cm. a year. Since their is a lack of rain, their is no leaching problems, but a slow rate of chemical weathering. Even though their is a small amount of rain, their is groundwater that can seep to the surface. When the water reaches the surface, it evaporates quickly. This leaves back toxic salt. The leaving behind of this toxic salt has created Death Valley. The toxic salts makes it hard for plants to survive. In Temperate Climates, their is a lot of chemical weathering. Not enough to leach nutrients in soil. Since their is a lot of nutrients in the soil, the temerate forest areas experience the best area for farm land. Most of the continental United States is temperate forest area. In result, they can grow many different crops. The mid-western part of the United States has been given the nickname, "Breadbasket," because of the many crops the region supports. Even though their is fertile nutrients in the thick topsoil, the soil could potentially lack nutrients one day. In order to keep nutrients in the soil after growing corn, they use the technique crop rotation. After one year of growing corn, the next year they will plant soy beans. Soy beans have a lot of nutrients in them and when they are planted, they will restore nutrients. Arctic areas have so little precipitation that they are like cold deserts. In arctic and desert climates, chemical weathering occurs very slowly. Since chemical weatheringhappens slowly, so does soil formation. Slow soil formation makes it hard to support plant growth. Arctic climates also have low soil temperatures. Thiscauses the decomposition ofplants and animals to happenslower, or completely stop. Slow decompositon limitsthe amount of humus in the soil, which limits the nutrientsavailable. The nutrients areneeded for plant growth. Horizon A: This horizon includes the topsoil and Horizon O, which is the litter of dead of animals and plants. Horizon E: This horizon experiences intense leaching of nutrients. Horizon B: This horizon collects the nutrients deposited from the upper horizons. Horizon C: This layer is made of partially weathered bedrock. Horizon R: This horizon is made of bedrock that has little or no weathering. Soil Layers
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