<P> Chernozem (Russian: Чернозём, tr . chernozyom, IPA: (tɕɪrnɐˈzjom); "black soil") is a black - colored soil containing a high percentage of humus (4% to 16%), and high percentages of phosphoric acids, phosphorus and ammonia . Chernozem is very fertile and can produce high agricultural yields with its high moisture storage capacity . </P> <P> The name comes from the Russian terms for black and soil, earth or land (chyorn + zemlya). The soil, rich in organic matter presenting a black color, was first identified by Russian geologist Vasily Dokuchaev in 1883 in the tallgrass steppe or prairie of European Russia . </P> <P> Chernozems cover about 230 million hectares of land . There are two "chernozem belts" in the world: the Eurasian steppe which extends from eastern Croatia (Slavonia), along the Danube (northern Serbia, northern Bulgaria (Danubian Plain), southern Romania (Wallachian Plain) and Moldova) to northeast Ukraine across the Central Black Earth Region of southern Russia into Siberia, and the other from the Canadian Prairies in Manitoba through the Great Plains of the United States as far south as Kansas . Similar soil types occur in Texas and Hungary . Chernozem layer thickness may vary widely, from several centimetres up to 1.5 metres (60 inches) in Ukraine, as well as the Red River Valley region in the Northern United States and Canada (an area formerly known as lake Agassiz). </P> <P> The terrain can also be found in small quantities elsewhere (for example, on 1% of Poland). It also exists in Northeast China, near Harbin . The only true Chernozem in Australia is located around Nimmitabel producing some of the richest soils in the nation . </P>

Where is black soil found in the world