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The Most Valuable Soil on Earth

Soil is the backbone of Earth's ecosystems, holding everything together from forests to rivers while also giving us the base for growing food like grains and vegetables.

Chernozems rank as one of the top soils for richness. Russians dub them "black earth" ("chernozems") for their inky color, which builds up from plant remains over ages, hitting around 10 to 16 percent organics.

They come from open grasslands hit by freezing winters, steamy summers, and steady but not heavy rains. Extra water would rinse out the good stuff, and dryness would stunt the grasses. Each year, those grasses push up, fade, and mix back in, with roots pushing nutrients deep to form solid, fertile bands. Right now, they cover some 230 million hectares, spread through the Eurasian steppes and North American prairies where weather and plants synced up long ago.

The maps below by vividmaps.com point out the most valuable soils on earth.

Black soils on Earth

Russia tops the list with 1,200,000 square kilometers, grabbing 52 percent overall. Ukraine comes in at 340,000 square kilometers for 15 percent, Kazakhstan at 300,000 square kilometers for 13 percent. Those three handle 80 percent total.

Country Area (km²) Area (mi²) Share
Russia 1,200,000 463,000 52%
Kazakhstan 300,000 116,000 13%
Ukraine 340,000 131,000 15%
United States ~200,000 ~77,000 ~9%
Canada ~150,000 ~58,000 ~6%
Mongolia ~100,000 ~39,000 ~4%
China ~60,000 ~23,000 ~3%
Argentina ~50,000 ~19,000 ~2%
Poland ~15,000 ~6,000 1%
Romania ~10,000 ~4,000 0.4%

The Great Plains in North America host some too, with the US and Canada splitting roughly 15 percent. These spots fuel nearby farms, though Eurasia's wider reach from perfect setups dwarfs them. Spot the steady line on the map running from Ukraine through Russia to Kazakhstan.
Nearby, you get soils like kastanozems and phaeozems edging them.

Black soils


Eurasian breakdown has chernozems in brown running mid-way, kastanozems orange down south in dry stretches, phaeozems pink in damper edges.

Kastanozems lean chestnut shaded with slimmer organic stacks from less rain, filling southern Russia and Kazakhstan. Phaeozems take shape under extra wetness, covering lots of North American prairies. The trio handles big harvests of wheat, sunflowers, or corn with minimal added fertilizers compared to weaker ground.

On the green side, they let farms produce more without heavy chemicals, helping steady food flows and healthier eating. Keeping them safe from wear or bad practices builds a stronger planet for us all. 


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