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Soil Erosion Round the World - Causes and Solutions

April 20, 2015

The Orinoco Basin extends across Veneuela and Colombia. The river's delta is covered with tropical rain forest. For many years now, colossal palm oil plantations have been encroaching on this forest.

https://p.dw.com/p/1FBPJ

But the forest floor is relatively poor in nutrients and rich in oxygen, making it unsuitable for monocultures. Once the soil is depleted, the planters use artificial fertilizers to keep production going as long as they can, and then they move on. But there's another way. Planting many diverse crops in the same ground can help balance out soil use.