Sustainable Management of Volcanic Ash Soils

Abstract

Globally, volcanic soils (Andosols or Andisols) cover 0.84% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface (Dahlgren et al., 2004). Around 60% of the area covered by volcanic soils is in tropical countries (Takahashi and Shoji, 2001). These soils possess very distinctive characteristics defined as andic properties (IUSS, 2015) that distinguish them from other soils in the world. These soils are of major relevance in areas with intense tectonic movements, such as The Circum-Pacific Ring of Fire (USGS, 2018) affecting areas as New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, North America and South America among others (Figure 1)...