Temperate+Grasslands+Types+of+Soils

=**Soils of the Temperate Grassland**=

The soil of temperate grasslands is deep, dark, and loamy with extremely fertile upper layers (O and A horizons). The reason it is so rich is because of the large amount of decay of grass roots. This fertileness is what makes the temperate grassland so valuable to agriculture, as plants and crops flourish in the nutrient-rich soil, these temperate grasslands & praires are very appealing to farmers because they have flat land, nutrient soil, and lots of grass (G1).

The soils of the grassland are known as mollisols. This word stems from the Latin word "soft". The defining characteristic of mollisols is a thick layer of fertile topsoil, called the mollic epipedon. The soils are fertile because they have an abundance of cations such as Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+ that serve to boost the growth of plants. They also have organic matter such as rotten grass and other plant roots which helps hold together the soil and provides nutrients for the currently living plants & organisms (G2, G3, G4). The intricate roots systems help to trap the soil nutrients and moisture; this makes for mild leaching.

Calcification is the process by which soil is formed in the grassland; the B horizon is rich in calcium (in the form of calcium carbonate) that has precipitated from water moving through the soil. Chernozems are the richest type of soil, formed when calcification occurs on loess, a type of silty soil (G5,G6).

Fires also play a part in the nutrient value of the soil. When fire razes the grasses, nutrients are returned to the soil, which makes the grasses grow even faster. G7 Previous Temperate Grassland Home Next