Why Is Volcanic Soil So Fertile?

Volcanic soil, belongs to a category of soils known as andisols and is derived from both volcanic lava and volcanic ash, both of which are rich in certain key nutrients, such as iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorous, sulfur, silicon and many other trace elements, a rich combination that can act as a stimulant for plant growth. When volcanic ash and lava fall in the same place, particularly if the region receives good amounts of precipitation, this is an ideal situation for rapid regrowth and abundance of plant growth. Many of the mountainsides of the mightiest volcanoes on the planet, peaks that have been bathed in dozens, hundreds or thousands of eruptions, after hundreds of thousands of years, have found a way to once more support abundant life.