Carlos Henríquez

Properties, Geographic Distribution, and Management of Major Soil Orders of Costa Rica

Publisher Summary Soils are the most important of the earths resources for humans. The soils of an entire nation are proportionately more complex, and need to be understood in their complexity in order to understand their sustainability. The chapter provides an overview of soils at the national level, including their types, patterns of use, and conservation status. It examines particular Costa Rican soils in much more detail, including their origin, physical and chemical nature, and management needs. The Costa Rican economy has been dependent historically on its agricultural soils. Since before colonial times natural vegetation growing in fertile lands nourished the local population, and subsequently sustained the European settlers. The agriculturally based economy has expanded to include many nontraditional crop production systems and even government sponsored reforestation. These are all part of a more diversified economy that includes the expansion of industry and tourism, and were the richness of Costa Ricas soils that has provided nutrients and maintained their physical properties through time. Costa Rica has extraordinary soil diversity in a very limited area, greatly enhancing vegetation diversity and thus possibilities for any kind of agricultural operations. The reason for this diversity is the highly variable parental material, a heterogeneous relief, and the action of a greatly variable climate and biota.