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Volcanic materials ultimately break
down and weather to form some of the most
fertile soils on Earth,
cultivation of which has produced abundant food and fostered civilizations.
-- Excerpt from: Tilling, 1985, Volcanoes:
USGS General Interest Publication
Volcanoes can clearly cause much damage and destruction,
but in the long term they also have benefited people. Over
thousands to millions of years, the physical breakdown and
chemical weathering of volcanic rocks have formed some of the
most fertile soils on Earth. In tropical, rainy regions,
such as the windward (northeastern) side of the Island of Hawaii, the
formation of fertile soil and growth of lush vegetation
following an eruption can be as fast as a few hundred years. Some of
the earliest civilizations (for example, Greek, Etruscan,
and Roman) settled on the rich, fertile volcanic soils in the
Mediterranean-Aegean region. Some of the best rice-growing
regions of Indonesia are in the shadow of active volcanoes.
Similarly, many prime agricultural regions in the western
United States have fertile soils wholly or largely of volcanic
origin.
-- Excerpt from: Kious and Tilling, 1996, This Dynamic Earth: The Story of Plate
Tectonics: USGS General Interest Publication
The Earth's crust, on which we live and depend,
is in large part the product of
millions of once-active volcanoes and tremendous volumes of
magma
that did not erupt but instead cooled below the surface. Such
persistent and widespread volcanism has resulted in many valuable natural
resources throughout the world.
For example, volcanic ash blows over thousands
of square kilometers of land increases soil fertility for forests and
agriculture by adding nutrients and acting as a mulch.
-- Excerpt from: Brantley, 1994, Volcanoes of the United States:
USGS General Interest Publication
Given enough rainfall, areas buried by new lava recover quickly;
revegetation
can begin less than one year after the eruption. Erosion and breakdown of the
volcanic material can form fertile soils over periods of tens to thousands of
years. These rich soils fostered the agricultural development of the Hawaiian
Islands, as represented principally by the sugar, pineapple, coffee, and
macadamia nut industries.
-- Excerpt from: Tilling, Heliker, and Wright, 1987,
Eruptions of Hawaiian Volcanoes:
Past, Present, and Future: USGS General Interest Publication
Auckland's (New Zealand)
Volcanoes are of special significance to the region.
Auckland Volcanoes are places where Maori made their living spaces and
used the steep sided cones as part of fortified sites or pa. Maori
used the valuable rich volcanic soil to grow food producing vegetables for the
early Auckland settlement. The fields surrounding Mt Wellington,
the Panmure Basin and Mangere Mountain were important for
food production until the 1960's when urban development saw
most of the crops replaced by industrial and commercial uses.
-- Excerpt from:
The Volcanoes of Auckland Website, June 2001
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