Maize and rice are the country's main staple
foods.....MORE
FORESTS
EAST TIMOR has a total forest area of 1.4 m ha.....MORE
Soil & Fertility
Soils and water are some of the most important parameters for plant
growth. Since most of the country relies on rain-fed crop production,
the soil assumes great importance as a means of increasing productivity.
Unfortunately soil degradation is a part of man´s interaction
with nature and in tropical areas once the primary forest is cleared,
it becomes very difficult to protect the soil.
Garcia and Cardoso published
in 1978 the soil map of Timor Leste in a 1:100 000 scale. This is
a unique source of soil information for the whole country. These
maps, as well as their legend are published here. ALGIS division
of MAFF, as well as GERTIL have elaborated these mapes and produced
GIS based versions.
Various fertility studies have been carried out in
the country, and it is generally accepted that plants will respond
to nitrogen and phosphorous applications, and that the soils analyzed
in some studies, although poor in phosphorous, did not have a tendency
to fix it.
