The geochemical transformation of natural soils and enhancement of agricenosis productivity due to volcanic ejecta entering the soil.

It is found that the overwhelming majority of mobile forms of the chemical elements (up to 99%) that are thought to produce favorable effects when they arrive with volcanic ash to soils and supply additional elements that enhance the bioproductivity of ecosystems do not come in the form of ash particles, but in a gas-dissolved form directly from volcanic aerosol. Volcanic ash when considered independently of volcanic eruptions does not contain considerable amounts of accessible forms of chemical elements that would enable us to consider them as sources of nutrient elements for living organisms. However, the extensive range of elements that are contained in ash in ratios that are necessary for effective life activities invests these elements with catalytic properties that regulate the nutrient regime of plants and that can be used in agriculture in combination with lower amounts of traditional fertilizers to produce substantial (up to 72%) yield increases and to improve the quality of agricultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]