Everything about the composition and properties of chernozem

Chernozem soil is the richest in nutrients. On such a site, there are always high yields of vegetables, berry crops, and ornamental plants delight with wild growth and flowering.

Soil composition

Chernozems are different in composition, but in color they are always dark, coal. Formed for thousands of years in places with high humidity and moderate temperatures. The fertile layer is formed by the remains of vegetation, which has been processed by microorganisms and enzymes for hundreds of years.

Source: Depositphotos. Black soil black and lumpy

Fertile soils are formed in forests, forest-steppe zones, meadows and even on loams. They differ in the content of nutrients, a high percentage of vermicompost.

Chernozem composition:

• humus up to 9%;
• humic acids;
• minerals (calcium, phosphorus, potassium);
• other organic compounds.

For the percentage of humus, chernozem is also called fat, implying nutritional value for plants. If you squeeze a lump of earth in your hand, it will leave a greasy mark. The best fertile lands are naturally formed in the southern regions, where vegetation has been abundant for centuries.

Properties and characteristics

Nutrient soils are valued not only for the content of humus and other components valuable for plants. This is still the ideal consistency - grainy-lumpy, which allows air to pass through and retains moisture without fossilization.

Special soil properties:

• neutral ph;
• resistant to weathering, washout and compaction;
• optimal balance of living microorganisms;
• suitable for growing most crops.

The only drawback is the need for additional introduction of loosening mixtures to improve the structure, looseness. Add sand, peat or vermiculite.

Nutritious dark soils are prone to depletion with prolonged use. Therefore, after a few years, fertilization is required. The difficulty lies in determining the dose of nutrients. If chernozem is brought to the site from another region, its fertility decreases in the new place, and the life cycle of microorganisms slows down to adaptation.

In plant growing, the soil, which is oily from biohumus, is considered ideal for obtaining high yields. On poor areas, chernozem is applied carefully, dug up from the existing soil with a pitchfork, avoiding compaction. This procedure is carried out in the fall in order to get the basis for the harvest by the new season.

What does black soil mean? Chernozem is a fertile land with a black shade of color, land endowed with a huge amount of humus and having a granular-lumpy structure. As a rule, chernozem soils are formed in the forest, as well as on loams and clays in a temperate continental climate.
Today chernozem can rightfully be considered the best soil for farmers, farmers and gardeners, a soil on which flowers, trees and shrubs, as well as fruit crops, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc. Therefore, black soil is a wonderful garden land, an excellent land for vegetable gardens, as well as for houseplants.
On the territory of our state, chernozem soils predominate in Western Siberia, in the North Caucasus, in the Volga region, in the central chernozem regions, and they can also be seen today in Ukraine, in North and South America, in China and a number of European states ...

Chernozem is a land saturated with humus, for the formation of which the following conditions are important:
- temperate climate or moderate continental;
- sequential alternation of drying and moisturizing;
- positive temperature regime.
As established by experts, for the formation of chernozems, the most favorable is the temperature regime above +5 degrees and the annual precipitation is up to 600 mm, no more.
Chernozem lands occur, as a rule, on undulating-flat relief, indented in some places by ravines, depressions and river terraces.

As for vegetation on chernozem soil, meadow-steppe and herbaceous plants... Under appropriate climatic conditions, the process of decomposition of such vegetation takes place, as a result of which humus is formed, which accumulates in the upper soil layer over the years. Along with humus, chernozem soils also contain a number of other substances, such as mineral compounds and complex organic substances. It is thanks to them that nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, sulfur and some others, important for plants growing on chernozems, begin to form in the soil.

About the properties of black soil

Chernozem differs not only in its granular-lumpy structure from other types of soils, but also in excellent water-air qualities and a huge content of calcium in its composition. The last substance in chernozem soils contains up to 90%.
Among farmers, chernozem is very valuable and people appreciate it, first of all, for its increased fertility, which in this case is associated with intense natural humification and a very high level of humus in the upper soil layer. Humus in this case is contained in the soil about 15 percent.

Types of chernozem

Specialists subdivide chernozem into 5 main types.
1. Leached. This type of chernozem is formed in the forest-steppe zone in the process of dying off of herb-cereal plants.
2. Podzolized. This type of chernozem is inherent in broad-leaved herbaceous forests.
3. Ordinary. This black soil can be found in the steppe zone. It is formed, as a rule, in the process of dying off of herbs.
4. Typical. The formation of typical chernozem occurs on loams, in meadow-steppe zones and in forest-steppe regions as a result of the decay of herb-cereal crops.
5. Southern. This type of chernozem can be seen in the steppe zones in their southern part, and it is formed as a result of the withering away of fescue-feather grass vegetation.
Due to the high content of humus in the chernozem, this type of soil is valued mainly for its high level of fertility and stable yields. Black soil is on sale, that is, garden soil in bags, as well as in packages weighing from 1 kilogram to several tens of kilograms.

It is worth noting that in addition to humus, chernozem contains other substances that are no less useful for fruit plants, such as phosphorus, nitrogen, iron and sulfur. By its direct structure, the chernozem soil resembles small lumps of fertile land, and the chernozem soil of the southern zones is considered the most fertile. This soil, in another way, is also called "fatty earth" or "fatty black earth".

Today black soil is appreciated not only in our state, but also far beyond its borders, and all thanks to the increased fertility of such soil. At present, it is black soil that is recognized as the best soil for growing berries, fruits, vegetables, fruit bushes and trees. It is important to know that for some individual plant species, only black soil in the soil will not be very useful and it is important to mix it with other useful components, for example, with sand, peat or compost. These components help to make the black soil looser, which will allow you to get the best fruits of certain types of fruit crops.

Application of chernozem

As you know, the best soil for growing vegetables, fruits, berries, as well as fruit and berry bushes and trees is black soil, and all because such soil is very fertile. Chernozem, as the name implies, has a black color, and at the same time a dense composition.

Today chernozem soils are used in gardening, horticulture and agriculture as a quality fruit land for planting various types of plants, shrubs, grasses and trees. Chernozem is used today when laying out lawns, as a special plant soil, when domesticating lands endowed with a large amount of clay, as well as for diluting lands with poor drainage systemin order to create a favorable air-water regime for plant growth on such lands. Chernozem is also the best soil for seedlings, it is in it in black soil that seedlings grow stronger and begin to grow at an unprecedented rate.
Today, fertile land is sold in packages and bags in any volume, you can buy black soil and all kinds of fertile mixtures from it personally from us at the most affordable price.

Characteristics of chernozem

Chernozem is a soil that is enriched with a huge amount of humus and the humus content is especially pronounced in the black soil in its upper layer. Along with this, chernozem soils contain a huge amount of nutrients and microorganisms useful for plants, and visually they represent a lumpy or granular structure. Endowed with black soil and excellent water-air qualities, which no other is endowed with today. natural origin the soil.
Experts have proven that black soil contains up to 90% calcium, as well as humic acids, which today are the most valuable and simply irreplaceable fraction of humus, quickly assimilated by the roots of absolutely all plant species.
Meanwhile, even in spite of the fact that chernozem soil has a number of such significant advantages, it also has one drawback. Chernozem does not have friability, and therefore, when planting plants with a weak root system in this land, it is important to take care of making the chernozem friable. This can be done very easily by adding some sand, peat, or a special compost mixture to the soil, which can be purchased at any gardening or hardware store. The most optimal proportion for creating natural looseness of chernozem is three parts of chernozem itself to one part of any of the above components, that is, peat, sand or compost mixture.

It is worth noting that chernozem soil is also a very oily soil, and this can be seen by simply picking up such soil and squeezing it. On any hand, after these actions, a black bold imprint will remain. It is this that suggests that chernozem is a fertile land with a sufficiently high content, as already noted, of humus. Due to its just such qualities, properties and less porous structure than other types of soil, black soil does not bake in the sun and does not rot under the influence of moisture, as clay soils do, for example.
Plants in black soil feel quite vigorous and at ease, because here they are provided with all the elements necessary for nutrition and oxygen, which is so important for the growth of any living organism. In order to grow good fruits on chernozem soils, you do not need to fertilize the ground with some kind of chemistry or supplements, the plants will bloom and delight you on it in natural conditions without any soil impurities.

Types of chernozem

Today, all farmers and gardeners rightfully call black soil the standard of soil, and this is not in vain, because it is he, black soil, which is half humus, endows plants and fruit crops with everything they need for their life and excellent growth. Therefore, black soil is the most fertile land and this fact is undeniable.
Meanwhile, depending on where exactly the black soil was formed, it differs markedly in its composition. So, chernozem soils are poured into the following types:

Typical black soil;
- drained black soil;
- leached black soil;
- podzolized black soil;
- carbonate-free, etc.

At the same time, despite the difference in species, black soil in any case remains the most fertile soil.
Distinguish chernozem not only by the territory of formation, but also by the percentage of humus in it. In this case, scientists divide chernozem soils into the following types:

Low-humus (contain up to 4% of pure humus in their composition);
- low-humus (contain up to 5-6% of pure humus in their composition);
- medium humus (contain from 6% to 9% of pure humus in their composition);
- highly humus (contain over 9% of pure humus in their composition).

Today, fertile land is sold in bags and packages of various sizes. So, for example, garden land in packages (5,10,25,60 liters) can be purchased directly from us at a favorable price. Landscaping and landscaping of your backyard area with such land will be quick and easy. Among other things, you can buy soil for seedlings and other compounds useful for plant growth and development.

Material prepared by: Yuri Zelikovich, Lecturer at the Department of Geoecology and Nature Management

© When using materials from the site (quotes, tables, images), the source must be indicated.

Chernozem is famous not only for its phenomenal fertility; loess, red and red-brown soils of humid subtropics and tropics are almost as productive. An equally important advantage of chernozem is its stability as a soil ecosystem. Chernozem in favorable conditions for it and with proper use for decades can withstand monoculture without visible signs of depletion; reclaimed relatively quickly and inexpensively. Other types of highly productive soils require rather complicated and expensive agricultural technology to maintain fertility, irrigation / reclamation and / or recover for a long time after depletion or, if improperly used, are irreversibly depleted. The latter in ancient times led to the death of whole, highly developed civilizations for that time (for example, the Indian and Oxo-Bactrian), and the chernozems that were then are still there.

The chernozem soil in the world occupies a small part of the land area (see the map of soils of the world), and in the southern hemisphere there is no chernozem at all.

Of the world reserves of chernozem, the Russian Federation owns 52% in terms of productivity or 48% in terms of area. Therefore, the interest of Russian readers in black soil is quite justified. But dachas on black soil have never been given, and the land plot on it is very expensive. In this regard, this article is intended to:

• First, explain how to rationally use a piece of black soil, if you got it.
• Secondly, is it necessary and in what cases to buy expensive black soil.
• Thirdly, how to handle the soils related to black soil (which Russia is also not poor at all) in order to fully realize their productive potential. This will increase the marketability of the economy, reduce the costs of its maintenance and will benefit the environment as a whole.

What is it about him?

So what is good about black soil? What explains its record low ratio of agricultural costs to crop yields and the stability of the latter? The "highlight" of chernozem is its micro, even nanostructure, due to which moisture is well retained. The smallest exchangeable moisture capacity of chernozems in the period after plowing (the so-called limiting field moisture capacity, PPV) is 270-380 mm per 1 m of humus layer. The black earth seems dense; clenched in hand, leaves behind a greasy mark. But in fact, this "dirt" is well permeable to water and air. However, the capillaries of the chernozem are sinuous and not very long, therefore the evaporation of the absorbed moisture from the chernozem is not very intense; in this respect, chernozem is not like a wick, but like felt. Simply, black soil is not sintered under the Sun.

A consequence of the optimal structure of chernozems, high PPV and the ability to retain moisture when heated is their close to neutral chemical reaction (pH \u003d 6.5-7.5 depending on the type of chernozem). The consequence of the investigation is a favorable environment for beneficial soil microfauna and microflora. The third order consequence is the accumulation of humus, which contains plant nutrients in the most easily assimilated form. Apparent fertility is already the top of the “productivity pyramid”.

The pyramid has a stable structure. Table the characteristics of the most common and accessible to private traders types of chernozems are given in comparison with the accompanying soils, from which it can be seen that the score (characterizing soil fertility) in chernozems in general outstrips the accumulation of useful substances in them. That is, plants on black soil eat not only fully, but also rationally, which also helps to increase the profitability of the economy and improve the quality of agricultural products.

However, the base of the pyramid must not be undermined. With regard to black soil, this means that deep plowing and generally rough methods mechanical processing lands are not allowed. It is possible to indicate more than one region where, after the collapse of the USSR, due to the desire to squeeze everything out of the ground and sooner meter-long chernozems, they completely degraded and the yield of 15 c / ha is considered good where previously 60 c / ha was common. However, we will return to the rational use of black soil on our site.

How is black soil formed?

Fertile chernozem is formed when a number of natural conditions coincide, which is illustrated in the left part of Fig. below; on the right there are shown respectively. soil types. It is chernozems that are obtained if it is aged:

• Plus year - average annual average temperature above 0 (typically +3 - +8).
• Precipitation is within 550-650 mm.
• Small and moderate, up to 25%, excess of evaporation over precipitation.
• The long-term average temperature in July is +20 - +22.
• The parent rock is carbonate: limestone, dolomite.

Such conditions are favorable mainly for the development of herbaceous vegetation; the herbage of cereals and legumes prevails. From autumn to spring, they rot, a kind of natural green manure is obtained, and very nutritious: legumes, as you know, are nitrogen fixers, and cereals are fed very moderately. It is eluvium, the deposition of a nutrient source on the soil surface.

In spring, illuvium begins - the process of penetration of decomposed organic sediments into the soil. With the onset of real heat, due to the excess of evaporation over moisture, organic matter is retained in the upper layer, because the average annual flow of soil waters in this zone is directed generally upward.

Salinization of the soil, in addition to the relatively small excess of evaporation over moisture, is also hindered by parent rocks. Limestone and dolomite have significant moisture absorption and give up water reluctantly; the salt horizon either does not rise to humus at all, or is retained in the subsoil.

It is also very important that the soil salts in this case are carbonates. They are known to be weak alkalis, and soil acids - humic and fulvic - are also weak. Both neutralize each other, and as a result, an almost neutral environment is obtained, favorable for the development of useful micro-living and suppressing the harmful one. And soil bacteria, nematodes, worms, springtails, tardigrades and soil mites (which are microscopically small and not dangerous bloodsuckers) do not need to be taught how to structure the earth, they have it in their genes. In addition, carbonate rocks are rich in trace elements, which also saturate the humus layer. This is how black soil is formed.

What types of chernozems you can meet is shown on the left in Fig. We will need the right side of it when it comes to the correct use of chernozem. In any chernozem, 3 horizons (layers) are clearly distinguishable: illuvial A, transitional B and parent rock C. In works on soil science, they can be divided into subhorizons and designations are supplied with indices, for example, А2В1, etc., but we do not have such subtleties will need.

However, you will hardly have to face the southern black soil. It keeps under monoculture for a long time, but it degrades very quickly, in a few years, but it takes centuries to recover. In America, they faced this at the beginning of the last century, and in the post-Soviet space, literally before our eyes. The surviving patches of natural southern chernozem in the United States and the Russian Federation are now under protection, they are not given for use, and even more so for construction they are not allocated.

Chernozem in Russia - documentary

Where to get black soil?

Black soil for the garden can be obtained in the following ways:

1. Buy;
2. Prepare a substitute;
3. Regulate and correctly use the existing one;
4. Recultivate the used land.

Purchase

Soil is a living entity, and black soil is no exception. It is possible to just buy a car or two black soil, but it is irregular and expensive. The source of the black soil on the market is mainly land allotted for non-agricultural purposes; their humus layer is a valuable commodity. There is no legal development of black soil as a mineral; at least it shouldn't be.

Most often, ordinary chernozem from the Voronezh, Kursk and Tula regions and podzolized Ryazan, Lipetsk, etc. go on sale. The score of all types of fresh black soil is up to 85; old year - 77-78. It is more profitable to use typical and leached chernozems for local agriculture, and there are almost no natural ones on sale.

However, the purchased black soil will give a tangible increase in yield for no more than 2-3 years. Torn away from the conditions it needs, the black soil will die, the supply of nutrients in it will be depleted, and the microstructure will be disrupted even faster. More or less rational will be the addition under vegetable crops 1 / 3-1 / 5 purchased chernozem for greenhouse land, provided that the greenhouse is commercial and gives income; in this case, a relatively small regular purchase of chernozem for the greenhouse is most often profitable.

Another, possibly justified, option is a one-time purchase of chernozem as a seed for the regradation and reclamation of the used soil, see below. However, before doing this, it is necessary to study the local conditions and find out if this is possible at all.

Substitutes

The production of black soil (more precisely, its substitutes, since not all black soil is black soil) is possible on the basis of low-lying peat (black, dense, viscous), humus or compost. The usual proportion is 1 part peat (humus, compost) to 3 parts sand and 10-12 parts of ordinary garden soil. The score of the latter increases from 55-60 to 68-75, but also by 2-3 years. In addition, humus and compost need to be made for 2-4 years, and low-lying peat is only slightly cheaper than black soil.

Low-lying peat, in principle, can be obtained with your own hands in a nearby boggy hollow, in such places it often lies no deeper than half a meter. It is only necessary to open the turf and select high-moor peat (brown, fibrous) quickly so that the water does not have time to fill the hole. However, remember the Law on the Subsoil of the Russian Federation! Individuals in Russia can develop minerals to a depth of 5 m without any permits or licenses, but only on their own site! That is, the same mochazhinka must be on the land you bought, and the deed of ownership is drawn up according to all the rules. If it, the hollow, is on your hard-earned 6 acres in a dacha partnership, then formally you are not the owner, but the extraction will be a violation, prosecuted by law. In addition, you run the risk of being extreme in any disruption to the water supply in the vicinity, because by your excavation of the swamp, at least in theory, you are disturbing the natural subsoil runoff.

Use and regradation

First of all, you need to make sure whether you are really on potential black soil, i.e. that the continental rock is carbonate. Let's return to the right side of Fig. with types of chernozems: this is done by a boiling test. From different depths, starting from the surface, after 20-40 cm, soil samples are taken. It is convenient to take samples with a garden drill, and take samples closer to its axis from the first turn from the tip. A test pinch is put in glass jar or a glass and poured technical hydrochloric acid; from the admixture of carbonates, the sample begins to foam and bubble, this is the boiling of chernozem. And splash acid, so be sure to take precautions and PPE!

If samples from a depth of 180-200 cm do not boil or barely boil, your black soil is actually dark gray (north of chernozems) or chestnut (south) soil. We will see below what can be done with them, and if you still have black soil, you need to check its pH (acidity) with an indicator paper or in the laboratory. There are 3 possible cases: pH \u003d (6.5-7.5), pH<6,5 и pH>7,5.

In the first case, your black soil has not yet degraded and has not become very podzolized, it is simply depleted. It is necessary, first, to give him a neutral nitrogen feeding, except for those containing sodium; say, compost is 0.7-0.8 tons per hundred square meters, or half the amount of cow dung. This is perhaps the only case when the fertilization of black soil is really necessary. It would be even better to sow legumes or on, i.e. in autumn, do not harvest the crop, but plow / bury the withered vegetation in the ground. Secondly, to use sparing agricultural techniques, for example. not dig up with a shovel, but with a pitchfork. Thirdly, if there is an opportunity and desire, to start a vermiculture (see below), regularly give the soil vermicompost and add earthworms in the spring.

With the application of all these measures, it can take up to 5-7 years to regenerate. You can speed it up, especially if, due to climate change, your evaporation has dropped, and moisture has increased, you can completely repartition the site. If it is new, then it is better to immediately plant the trees not in a separate garden, but evenly over the area with wide aisles, see fig. In which other crops will be grown. Next year, when the seedlings take root deeply enough, it will be possible to buy black soil to fill the trunks.

In the second case (the earth began to acidify), before applying these measures, it must be liming. Regeneration, as for neutral soil, begin when the pH rises above 6.5. In the third case, give acidic nitrogen and potassium fertilizers (ammonium sulfate, potassium sulfate). Start the reduction when the pH drops to 7.5. In both cases, within 2-3 years, it is possible to achieve an increase in the score from 55-58 to 78-80 and more.

Reclamation

About 20 years ago, the idea of \u200b\u200bturning your non-black soil into black soil would seem like utter heresy. But let's remember climate changes: conditions favorable for the formation of chernozems in the Russian Federation are gradually spreading to the north, there are many underlying carbonate rocks (why is Moscow white-stone?), And the means to accelerate soil structuring modern science offers a lot. Some gardeners and gardeners have already understood this and are safely using land with a score of more than 80 instead of the previous one to 70.

As mentioned above, the black earth strip from the north and south is framed by gray forest and chestnut soils, respectively. Their structure is shown in Fig. on the right, and there you can see that there is no fundamental difference between them. As for the chestnut soils, they are already very fertile, you just need to help them save water, which is not enough in those parts. The best way for this - drip irrigation, especially since you can do it yourself. Drip irrigation will not only save moisture, but also reduce humus leaching; after 2-4 years, the chestnut soil on drip irrigation begins to stain the hand, like real black soil.

With productive gray soils, the matter is more complicated. Closer to the south lie dark gray forest soils (on the left in the next figure), this is the so-called. forest chernozem, potentially highly productive, but poorly structured: it is baked on heating, which requires loosening (dry irrigation), and its PVA is up to 220-240. Recultivation of dark gray forest soil is possible, firstly, by rational division of the site, as for the regradation of chernozem. Secondly, also to carry out its biostructuring with the help of vermiculture (see below).

Note: in terms of humus and nitrogen reserves, dark gray forest soils are close to rich chernozems. The composition of forest soils in comparison with chernozems, see table. on right.

The gray forest soil (in the center in the figure) does not have a clearly defined horizon A, but in terms of humus and nitrogen it is still suitable for reclamation up to a score of 70-75, which is not bad against its natural 55-58. The WVV of gray forest soils is 180-220, but under conditions of excess moisture over evaporation, this is not a problem. You can help the gray forest soil become more nutritious in the same way as the forest black soil, but before that you need to:

• Plow it in the chill and let it rest under the steam for a year, so that the small roots rot.
• Plant legumes and feed with NPK potassium humate with trace elements.
• Apply vermiculture for biostructuring.

And what to do with light gray (on the right in the figure) and sod-podzolic soils? So far, unfortunately, there is no way to "pull" them to chernozems. It is possible to run a profitable economy on them, but the agricultural technology will be different.

Worms to help

Vermiculture means breeding earthworms. By the way, this is by itself profitable business: worms are eagerly bought by fishermen and pet stores for animal feed. There are even special breeds of worms for vermiculture: Grindal worm, Californian worm, "Prospector" worm, etc. In addition to biomass, vermiculture also provides a highly valuable fertilizer - vermicompost, or vermicelli, or concentrated soil solution (CRS).

It is not necessary to purchase exotic earthworm mother material for the purposes of soil reclamation / regradation. On the contrary, our natives will do better. From late spring to next spring, they are able to increase the biomass of the population by 300-500 times, then most of the brood is introduced into the soil, and the accumulated CRC is used as humates.

Vermiculture is carried out in vermicomposters, a kind of worm hives. The vermicomposter takes up space no more than a stool, requires almost no maintenance and does not stink. They feed the worms with food waste. About the principles of vermiculture and how to make a vermicomposter with your own hands, see the video:

Note: in all cases of using vermiculture to improve the soil, it is advisable to pre-fill the tree-trunk circles with purchased black soil and add worms there. In ecological niches between the roots, the worms will multiply successfully and during the summer they will settle throughout the site. CRC in this case feed crops in the aisles.

And what about the environment?

Okay, let's make our garden land look like black soil. But how will this affect the environment? What happens if everyone does this? First, black soil is not Chernobyl, not a coal mine, or even a quarry. No harm from it, except for the benefit, was noticed.

Second, in nature, chernozem also occurs in spots. Take, for example, the black earth Mecca - the Voronezh region, it is from here that Dokuchaev took the slices that received the gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris. Here is a field of thick, powerful black soil: humus 10.5%, layer A + B 90 cm. Across the road is an oak grove on gray forest soil. There are green glades in the forest; digging - and there is a typical black soil. Dubrava stretches from the highway for about 3 km, then a country road on the sand and a summer residence. A plot of 20 acres is divided diagonally in half: leached black soil and sandy loam.

In general, there are no legislative prohibitions on increasing soil fertility with their own hands on their own land, biological ones are not seen. So - on your way to high yields of organic products!

SPECIAL OFFER FOR SOIL BUYERS !!!

MULTI-COMPONENT SOIL with a certificate of the Ministry of Economic Development at a price of 19,500 rubles / 15 m3 *

When buying in bulk, the cost of soil from 1200 rubles / m3, seeded soil from 1250 rubles / m3, depending on the place and method of delivery *.

The Stroy Nerud company DOES NOT OFFER to buy REAL black soil from the Tula, Voronezh and Oryol regions to its customers.

Some not very decent suppliers call black soil - black soil... At best, this is their delusion, in the usual case it is deceit. In color, black soil and low peat are similar, but this color is due to completely different groups of organic compounds ... 95% of the "CHERNOZEM" offered in Moscow and the Moscow region is in fact a soil based on pure peat or peat mixtures and this can be explained in several ways.

1. Official loot black soil in our country FORBIDDEN , therefore, companies selling it to you violate the law. Real black soil can be bought from private traders who simply steal it in the Tula, Voronezh or Lipetsk regions, cutting it off from the former collective farm fields. Thus, huge damage to agricultural land is caused. After all, after that "the earth becomes dead" and nothing grows on it.

2. TRANSPORTATION or DELIVERYthis type of soil is quite expensive at the current prices for diesel fuel, because the nearest field is about 300 km + costs for unhindered travel with stolen goods. The nearest deposits are located in the south of the Tula and Ryazan regions.

3. Black earth IS NOT certified goods, is not subject to quality control (safety) and therefore does not have all the necessary documents for sale in Moscow and Moscow region. Therefore, when buying, you need to think about the safety of using this material.

4. In accordance with the decree of the Moscow government on July 27, 2004 N 514-PP. "On improving the quality of soil in the city of Moscow" all supplied soils for landscaping are subject to certification by the Moscow Ecological Register, which guarantees their quality and safety of use. On black soil CAN'Tget a certificate because of its illegal extraction.

5. When USEimported black soil in Moscow and the Moscow region after a few years, it loses its properties and turns into a clay substrate, which cracks when it dries, and after rain turns into impassable mud.

SO WHAT IS CHERNOZEM?

Chernozems are soils of the forest-steppe and steppe zones of the temperate zone, the richest in humus, the content of which is 6-9%, which is why these soils have an intense black or brown-black color.

This land was formed as a result of close interaction of herbaceous vegetation, climate, terrain, parent rock, and other factors of soil formation; the consequence of this process is the accumulation of humus.

Humus (from Latin humus - earth, soil) is humus, an organic part of the soil, formed as a result of the biochemical transformation of plant and animal residues. The humus contains humic acids - the most important for soil fertility and fulvic acids (crenic acids). Humus contains the main elements of plant nutrition, which, under the influence of microorganisms, become available to plants.

With sufficient moisture, chernozem soils are very fertile; are used for crops of grain, industrial, vegetable, fodder crops, orchards, vineyards.

Chernozem is, unlike other types of soils, a completely different natural material, since it is characterized by the highest natural fertility: a high content of nutrients, humus, has a loamy texture, a granular-lumpy soil structure, and a neutral reaction of the environment.

However, acquiring real black soil for use on your site, you need to keep in mind that you cannot solve the problem of creating a fertile top layer once and for all. In a few years, a significant part of the nutrients will be washed out of it, due to the effect of low temperatures, the number of representatives of the soil fauna will decrease, the microbiological composition will change, and due to the absence of steppe vegetation, the supply of nutrients will decrease and soil aggregates will collapse. As a result, only a clay substrate will remain, which cracks when dry, and after rain turns into impassable dirt.

Of course, when landscaping works, you should not completely abandon black soil. You just need to use it in small quantities - to optimize water permeability, density, particle size distribution (particle ratio different sizes) soil. The greatest effect is achieved on light sandy soils. On more clayey peat and horse (cow) manure should be used.
Despite the vast territory of distribution of chernozem, there are two main "deposits" - Tula and Voronezh. The chernozems of the north of the Tula region, the west of the Ryazan region and the north of the Lipetsk region are among the poorest (leached), in terms of fertility they occupy an intermediate position between the soils of the Moscow (soddy-podzolic) and the best chernozems of the Kursk and Voronezh regions. As a rule, leached chernozems are weakly acidic (pH \u003d A, 5 - 6.5), and are characterized by a low content of magnesium and phosphorus.

ADVICE : How to distinguish real black soil from dark soil?

We all buy vegetable products from Kursk, Voronezh and other black earth regions. When you wash potatoes or carrots from real black soil, did you not get the feeling of this land resembling clay? Real black earth is "fat", heavy soil of a dark almost anthracite color, which when wet is rather slippery (resembles clay), and when it dries "turns" into stone and cracks in the sun. So this is real black soil ...

The Stroy Nerud company is ready to offer its customers in Moscow and the Moscow region a universal alternative to black soil - specially prepared plant soil and soil, which are safe and completely ready for use on your sites, as well as having all the necessary quality certificates and test reports.

The first scientific provisions on the origin of chernozem are in the works of M.V. Lomonosov (mid-18th century), who believed that these soils were formed as a result of the decomposition of plant and animal organisms. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries. P. Pallas and others put forward a hypothesis of the marine origin of chernozem and considered it as sea silt left after the retreat of the Caspian and Black Seas. This hypothesis is only of historical significance; it reflects the concept of soil as a geological formation that existed at that time. The hypothesis of the bog origin of chernozem was also untenable. Its supporters (EI Eikhvald et al., Mid-19th century) believed that in the past the zone of chernozem soils was a tundra, highly swampy area; the decomposition of marsh vegetation under the conditions of a subsequently established warm climate caused the formation of chernozem. The theory of plant-terrestrial origin of chernozem (F.I.Ruprecht, V.V.Dokuchaev, etc.) links their formation with the settlement and development of meadow-steppe and steppe herbaceous vegetation. This theory is most fully presented in the work of V.V. Dokuchaev "Russian Chernozem" (1883), in which it is proved that chernozem was formed as a result of close interaction of herbaceous vegetation, climate, terrain, parent rock, and other factors of soil formation; the consequence of this process is the accumulation of humus.

Herbaceous vegetation annually leaves a large amount of litter in the soil - plant residues, 75-85% of which are roots. The hydrothermal conditions of the steppe and forest-steppe zones favor the humification process, as a result of which complex humic compounds (mainly humic acids) are formed, which impart a dark color to the soil profile. The best conditions for the humification process are created in spring and early summer. At this time, the soil has a sufficient supply of moisture from autumn-winter precipitation and snow melting, a favorable temperature regime. During the period of summer drying, microbiological processes noticeably weaken, which protects humic substances from rapid mineralization. During the decomposition of plant residues, rich in ash elements and nitrogen, bases are formed (especially a lot of calcium), with which humic substances are saturated. This promotes their fixation in the soil in the form of humates and the preservation of a neutral or close reaction in the upper horizons of chernozem.

Chernozem formation is most intense in the forest-steppe zone, where better moisture contributes to the more powerful development of herbaceous vegetation, active humification of its remains. In the steppe zone, insufficient moisture determines a shallower depth of root penetration, a decrease in the amount of litter entering the soil and its more complete decomposition.

2. Types of chernozem

Chernozem is divided into two gradations: according to the thickness of the humus layer and according to the humus content. Let's consider each gradation in more detail.

By the thickness of the humus layer, chernozem is subdivided into:

· Heavy duty (power more than 120 cm);

· Powerful (120 - 80 cm);

Medium-sized (80 - 40 cm);

· Low-power (less than 40 cm).

· Obese (more than 9%) - black color;

· Medium-humus (6 - 9%) - black color;

· Low-humus (6 - 4%) - dark gray color;

· Low-humus (less than 4%) - gray color;

· Microhumus (less than 2%) - light gray color.

By type, chernozems are:

· Podzolized chernozems;

· Leached chernozems;

· Typical chernozems;

· Ordinary chernozems;

· Southern chernozems.

There are also micellar-carbonate chernozems (Azov and Ciscaucasian), which are formed in areas with warm winters (the soil does not freeze), and chernozems, which develop in winter freezing conditions. Depending on salinity, common, carbonate, solonetzic, solonetzic-saline and others are distinguished.

3. Layers of chernozem

As mentioned above, chernozem can be divided into several types - layers: depending on the thickness of the humus layer (A and B1) - low-power (less than 40 cm), medium-thick (40-80 cm), powerful (80-120 cm) and super-powerful (more than 120 cm). The characteristics of the layers of chernozem are presented in the form of a summary table (Table 1).

Table 1 - Comparative characteristics layers of black soil

4. Properties of black soil

Chernozems have good water-air properties, are characterized by a lumpy or granular structure, content in the soil absorbing complex from 70 to 90% of calcium, neutral or almost neutral reaction, increased natural fertility, intense humification and high, about 15%, content in the upper layers of humus ...

Chernozem in its composition has the largest amount of humus, which determines its high fertile properties. Chernozem also contains a large amount of other nutrients needed by plants: nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, iron. Chernozem has a dense lumpy structure, the most fertile southern chernozem is even called "fat".

Because of its fertility, black soil has always been highly prized all over the world. And now black soil is the best type of soil for growing vegetables, fruits, berries. For some plants, peat, sand or compost should be mixed into chernozem to loosen the soil, since chernozem itself is not highly friable.

5. Areas of distribution

The area of \u200b\u200bchernozems on the globe is about 240 million hectares. They are confined to Eurasia, North and South America. In Eurasia, the black earth zone (the largest) covers Western and Southeastern Europe (Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria, Czech Republic, Yugoslavia, Romania), a wide strip extends in the Russian Federation and continues in Mongolia and China. In North America, chernozems occupy some states of the Western United States and southern provinces of Canada, in South America they are located in the south of Argentina and in the southern foothills of Chile.

In Russia, chernozems are common in the central regions, in the North Caucasus, in the Volga region and Western Siberia. Very fertile and almost completely plowed. The black earth zone is the most important agricultural region, in which more than 50% (130 million hectares) of the arable land of our country is located. Here they grow winter and spring wheat, sugar beets, sunflowers, flax, buckwheat, beans, livestock farming, fruit growing, vegetable growing and viticulture are developed.

6. Application of black soil

Chernozem is ideal for any type of planting. It does not require additional processing and the use of organic and mineral fertilizers. In conditions of good moisture, chernozem is very fertile - it can be used for growing grain, vegetables and fodder crops, for cultivating orchards and vineyards, in landscaping in landscape design.

Most often, black soil is used to form a certain reserve of soil fertility. The introduction of chernozem even into the most depleted soil leads to its recovery, restoration of all its characteristics, first of all, water permeability, enrichment with nutrients. A particularly significant effect is noticeable when using chernozem on light sandy and sandy loam soils.

Chernozem can be used alone or as part of soil mixtures. It should be said that a single use of black soil on the site does not solve the problem of fertility once and for all. Over time, the microbiological composition of the soil changes, and with this, the content of nutrients decreases.

1. Akhtyrtsev B.P., Akhtyrtsev A.B. Soil cover of the Central Russian Black Earth Region. Ed. Voronezh University, 1993

2. Aderikhin P.G. Soils, their genesis, properties and a brief agricultural production characteristics. Ed. Voronezh University, 1993

3. Akhtyrtsev B.P., Efanova E.V. Humus of subtypes of Central Russian chernozems of different granulometric composition. Ed. VSU, 1999

5. Orlov D.S. Soil chemistry. Moscow: Ed. Moscow un-that. 1992.

6. Shcheglov D.I. Chernozems of the center of the Russian plain and their evolution under the influence of natural anthropogenic factors. Ed. "Science", Russian Academy of Sciences, 1999.

Aderikhin P.G. Soils, their genesis, properties and a brief agricultural production characteristics. Ed. Voronezh University, 1993

D.I. Scheglov Chernozems of the center of the Russian plain and their evolution under the influence of natural anthropogenic factors. Ed. "Science", Russian Academy of Sciences, 1999.

Glazovskaya M.A., Soils of the World, Part 1-2, M., 2002-73.

Orlov D.S. Soil chemistry. Moscow: Ed. Moscow un-that. 1992.

Akhtyrtsev B.P., Efanova E.V. Humus of subtypes of Central Russian chernozems of different granulometric composition. Ed. VSU, 1999

Glazovskaya M.A., Soils of the World, Part 1-2, M., 2002-73.

Akhtyrtsev B.P., Akhtyrtsev A.B. Soil cover of the Central Russian Black Earth Region. Ed. Voronezh University, 1993