Soils are the next element of the geographical environment, which is also directly dependent on the climate, mineral content of the mother rock, hydrological conditions and plant cover. The development of soils on the territory of Poland dates back to the retreat of the last ice-sheet (about 12,000 years ago). At that time tundra soils began to form.

It was only when the climate warmed up and the country was covered by coniferous forests that the soil-formation process characteristic to our area began. This process is called podsolization.

From the leaf litter of deciduous trees, in a less acidic environment, brown soils are formed. Podsolic and brown soils are spread out over the whole territory of Poland taking up more than 77% of the total surface of soils.

The best soils in our country are chernozem. These soils contain large amounts of humus and are formed mainly on loessic soils under the influence of steppe and grassland plants. Larger surfaces of black-earths occur mainly in the southeast of Poland. They cover only 1% of the arable surface.

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