Question #9167a
1 Answer
most of the minerals are locked up in the large trees of the rain forest leaving very little minerals in the soil
Explanation:
It takes a lot of minerals and nutrients to grow a large tree. This removes the nutrients from the soil. Most agriculture in the rain forest is slash and burn. To get enough nutrients to grow crops a section of the forest is burned returning the nutrients to the soil. This allows crops to be grown for a few years.
There is a loss of nutrients as the crops are harvested and not returned to the soil. Often the crop harvested is lumber, the very tall trees that contain most of the nutrients .
Many nutrients such as nitrates are water soluble. The heavy rains of the rain forest wash many nutrients into the steams and rivers of the rain forest. Slash and burn agriculture and clear cutting lumbering leave the soil bare and vulnerable to the dissolving and washing away of the nutrients in the rain
