Nutrient Cycling: Quiz
'Slash and burn' is a common subsistence farming system in many of the world's tropical regions.
It involves manually clearing a small patch of rainforest and burning the fallen timber, prior to planting annual crops.
Answer the following question about this practice by selecting the statement you think is most correct...
Growth of the initial crop is
good because rainforest soils are extremely fertile
good because the soil is enriched by the nutrients added due to burning
poor because most of the soil nutrients are lost during the fire
try again
No, not all rainforest soils are intrinsically fertile,
on Fraser Island for example rainforests have developed on pure sands and all nutrients are tied up either
in the biomass or the soil organic matter.
Growth is likely to be good but primarily because of the addition of nutrients to the soil during burning.
Yes, the addition of nutrients to the soil in readily available forms should ensure a good initial crop.
Well done, you answered correctly. Use the 'next' button to proceed.
No, substantial quantities of nutrients may be lost during burning,
but the addition of the remaining nutrients released through to the soil should ensure good growth of the initial crop.