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.
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% |
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