Editing Chernozem (section)

== Distribution ==
[[File:Chernozem map.svg|thumb|Distribution of chernozem soils according to the [[World Reference Base for Soil Resources]] classification:
{{legend|#d95f0e|Dominant (more than 50% of soil cover)}}
{{legend|#fec44f|Codominant (25–50%)}}
{{legend|#fff7bc|Associated (5–25%)}}]]
The name comes from the [[Russian language|Russian]] terms for black (чёрный ''čjornyj'') and soil, earth or land (земля ''zemlja'').<ref name=Etymonline/><ref name=Merriam-Webster/> The soil, rich in organic matter presenting a black color, was first identified by the [[Russians|Russian]] geologist [[Vasily Dokuchaev]] in 1883 in the tallgrass [[steppe]] or prairie of [[Eastern Ukraine]] and [[European Russia]]. It is distinct from the similar [[terra preta]] of the [[Amazon rainforest]].

Chernozem covers about 230 million [[hectare]]s of land. There are two "chernozem belts" in the world. One is the [[Eurasian Steppe]] that extends from eastern [[Croatia]] ([[Slavonia]]), along the [[Danube]] (northern [[Serbia]], northern [[Bulgaria]] ([[Danubian Plain (Bulgaria)|Danubian Plain]]), southern and eastern [[Romania]] ([[Wallachian Plain]] and [[Moldavian Plain]]), and [[Moldova]], to northeast [[Ukraine]] across the [[Central Black Earth Region]] of [[Central Russia|Central]] and [[Southern Russia]] into [[Siberia]]. The other stretches from the [[Canadian Prairies]] in [[Manitoba]] through the [[Great Plains]] of the United States as far south as Kansas.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=GTHrCAAAQBAJ&dq=kansas+Chernozem+soil&pg=PA58 Ecology of Arable Land – Perspectives and Challenges] by M. Clarholm and L. Bergström {{ISBN|978-94-010-6950-2}}</ref> 

Chernozem layer thickness may vary widely, from several centimetres up to 1.5 metres (60 inches) in Ukraine,<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/612921/Ukraine/30095/Soils Ukraine: Soils] in [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]</ref> as well as the [[Red River Valley]] region in the northern United States and Canada (location of the prehistoric [[Lake Agassiz]]).

The terrain can also be found in small quantities elsewhere (for example, in 1% of Poland, Hungary, and Texas). It also exists in [[Northeast China]], near [[Harbin#Economy|Harbin]]. The only true chernozem in Australia is located around [[Nimmitabel]], some of the richest soils on the continent.<ref>KG McQueen. "[http://regolith.org.au/docs/cars/carspub2.pdf The Tertiary Geology And Geomorphology Of The Monaro: The Perspective In 1994]" Centre For Australian Regolith Studies, Canberra 1994</ref>

Previously, there was a [[black market]] for the soil in Ukraine. The sale of agricultural land was illegal in Ukraine from 1992 to 2020,<ref>{{cite web |title=Ukraine lifts ban on sale of farmland in bid to receive international funds |url=https://www.euronews.com/2020/03/31/ukraine-lifts-ban-on-sale-of-farmland-in-bid-to-receive-international-funds |website=Euronews |date=31 March 2020 }}</ref> but the soil, transported by truck, could be traded legally. According to the [[Kharkiv]]-based Green Front NGO, the black market for illegally acquired chernozem in Ukraine was projected to reach approximately US$900 million per year in 2011.<ref>[https://www.kyivpost.com/article/opinion/op-ed/black-market-for-rich-black-earth-116610.html Black market for rich black earth], [[Kyiv Post]] (9 November 2011)</ref>