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Interesting. I have a question though. It notes in the article that “ Amazon’s nutrient-poor soil was inadequate”. How can the soil be so deficient in a fore

Interesting. I have a question though. It notes in the article that “ Amazon’s nutrient-poor soil was inadequate”. How can the soil be so deficient in a forest where there is constant death and decay? Or is it because the trees don’t shed their leaves seasonally? I would have imagined that a place so rich in biodiversity had rich soil.

detaro 4y ago
Dead matter decays quickly (due to hot&wet climate) on the surface instead of settling into the ground and decaying there. And rich ecosystem also grows fast, picking up any nutrients immediately. And high rainfall etc means nutrients would be washed out quickly. These three things mean that soil in tropical rainforests isn't nutrient-rich, because the nutrients are constantly reused everywhere else.
- Razengan 4y ago
  That logic doesn’t make sense: “This person isn’t rich because he keeps spending millions.” If the soil wasn’t “rich” how did it become such a forest in the first place? Maybe reword it as “forests are not suitable for farmland”.
  - axus 4y ago
    If you're always spending money (soil), there's nothing left for someone else (the farmer) to steal.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - minsc_and_boo 4y ago
    It's rich because of the insane cash flows going through the soil. Clear out the rainforest for traditional agri and you've lost your insane income.
  - codefreeordie 4y ago
    At one time in the past, it was richer. But the forest ecosystem was too stable, causing it to continue to grow until it had consumed all of the resources, leaving the soil poor. But the forest remains, and remains almost maximally stable, so any time that anything dies, freeing up resources, they're almost immediately taken back up by the system and converted into more forest.
  - Ericson2314 4y ago
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_and_flow https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_and_flow
Carioca 4y ago
Just as an aside: indigenous Amazonian populations also developed techniques to make the earth better for agriculture[1] 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_preta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_preta
jonnycomputer 4y ago
Most of the nutrients are stored in the forests itself, not the soil. https://www.dw.com/en/the-amazon-nutrient-rich-rainforests-on-useless-soils/a-50139632 https://www.dw.com/en/the-amazon-nutrient-rich-rainforests-o...

detaro 4y ago

Dead matter decays quickly (due to hot&wet climate) on the surface instead of settling into the ground and decaying there. And rich ecosystem also grows fast, picking up any nutrients immediately. And high rainfall etc means nutrients would be washed out quickly. These three things mean that soil in tropical rainforests isn't nutrient-rich, because the nutrients are constantly reused everywhere else.

Razengan 4y ago
That logic doesn’t make sense: “This person isn’t rich because he keeps spending millions.” If the soil wasn’t “rich” how did it become such a forest in the first place? Maybe reword it as “forests are not suitable for farmland”.
- axus 4y ago
  If you're always spending money (soil), there's nothing left for someone else (the farmer) to steal.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- minsc_and_boo 4y ago
  It's rich because of the insane cash flows going through the soil. Clear out the rainforest for traditional agri and you've lost your insane income.
- codefreeordie 4y ago
  At one time in the past, it was richer. But the forest ecosystem was too stable, causing it to continue to grow until it had consumed all of the resources, leaving the soil poor. But the forest remains, and remains almost maximally stable, so any time that anything dies, freeing up resources, they're almost immediately taken back up by the system and converted into more forest.
- Ericson2314 4y ago
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_and_flow https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_and_flow

Carioca 4y ago

Just as an aside: indigenous Amazonian populations also developed techniques to make the earth better for agriculture[1] 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_preta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_preta

jonnycomputer 4y ago

Most of the nutrients are stored in the forests itself, not the soil. https://www.dw.com/en/the-amazon-nutrient-rich-rainforests-on-useless-soils/a-50139632 https://www.dw.com/en/the-amazon-nutrient-rich-rainforests-o...