Brown earth is a type of soil. Brown earths are mostly located between 35° and 55° north of the Equator. The largest expanses cover western and central Europe, large areas of western and trans-Uralian Russia, the east coast of America and eastern Asia. Here, areas of brown earth soil types are found particularly in Japan, the Koreas, China, eastern Australia and New Zealand. Brown earths cover 45% of the land in England and Wales. They are common in lowland areas (below 1,000 feet) on permeable parent material. The most common vegetation types are deciduous woodland and grassland. Due to the reasonable natural fertility of brown earths, large tracts of deciduous woodland have been cut down and the land is now used for farming. They are normally located in regions with a humid temperate climate. Rainfall totals are moderate, usually below 76 cm per year, and temperatures range from 4°C in the winter to 18°C in the summer. They are well-drained fertile soils with a pH of between 5.0 and 6.5.
Read more about Brown Earth: Horizontal Structure, General Relations in Western Europe, Classification
Famous quotes containing the words brown and/or earth:
“You sell a screenplay like you sell a car. If someone drives it off a cliff, that’s it.”
—Rita Mae Brown (b. 1944)
“Have We not made the earth as a cradle and the mountains as pegs? And We created you in pairs, and We appointed your sleep for a rest; and We appointed night for a garment, and We appointed day for a livelihood. And We have built above you seven strong ones, and We appointed a blazing lamp and have sent down out of the rain-clouds water cascading that We may bring forth thereby grain and plants, and gardens luxuriant.”
—Qur’An. “The Tiding,” 78:6-16, trans. by Arthur J. Arberry (1955)