What makes the soil fertile? 

The correct answer is The right mix of minerals and organic matter.

Key Points

• Soil fertility
  • The right mix of minerals and organic matter makes the soil fertile.
  • Soil fertility is the ability of soil to sustain plant growth by providing essential plant nutrients.
    • Plant nutrients include the macronutrients nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, sulfur, calcium and magnesium.
  • The impacts of soil fertility are reflected in most of the Sustainable Development Goals, as they contain economic, social and environmental aspects.
  • Nutrient sources include chemical and mineral fertilizers, organic fertilizers, such as livestock manures and composts, and sources of recycled nutrients.
  • Some bacteria like rhizobium and blue-green algae are able to fix nitrogen gas from the atmosphere to enrich the soil with nitrogen compounds and increase its fertility.
  • The nitrogen-fixing bacteria and blue-green algae are called biological nitrogen fixers.