Science Forums 2

[Fishteacher73]

The problem with biomes such as tropical rain forests and tropical reefs is that there is such an abundance of life that the nutrients available are all used IN the life and the soil/water is VERY nutrient poor. The standard method in the Amazon is the "slash and burn". This is when the forresty is cut and burned prior to cultivation (the source of charcoal). This returns all the various nutrients stored in the plant diversity to the soil. The problem is when the crops are harvested, the nutients are then removed with the crop and reasonably infertile soil is left. This sounds like a poorly researched and biased show that this came from. The only real way to allow for farm land to stay fertile is either through artificial fertilization (not the best) or a cycle of crop rotation and allowing fallow periods upon the field.