"Hidden" wrote in message
news:MOD$010109.959@rec.gardens.ecosystems... > > > "Tricia 9" wrote : > > > And I'm not so sure the forest floor is an especially furtile soil. > > Much more fertile than previously over-used fields, those over used > fields turning into the towns or hopefully the forests of tomorrow. That
is > what Nomadicism and Expansionism are all about.
Different ecosystems have different soil qualities. For example, temperate
forests have a lot of organic carbon available for plants. In the tropics,
although there is a great amount of fecundity, most of the organic carbon is
tied up in living plants and fungi. That's why the tropical rainforest, when
cleared, is burned to provide a quick (and short-lived) nutrient source.