ABSTRACT
Natural conditions, which are predetermined by climate, water, soil and vegetation, strongly influence a region’s basic agricultural potential. Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) can be divided into two areas in terms of climate: a large part with temperate climate, and a much smaller part with Mediterranean climate. Relationships between weather or climate and agriculture are extremely complex. Agriculture’s primary demands on weather and climate relate to warmth and moisture; a deficit or surplus of these factors sets back agricultural activities. Soil is the product of many processes that occur on or near the Earth’s surface. Soil-forming factors, including parent material, climate, water, flora and fauna, and human activity, over time determine soil-related processes such as weathering, mineralization and humification, and horizontal and vertical mineral shifting. In CEE, Luvisols are formed as brownish soils, mostly on glacial and periglacial deposits. The older soils in southern Europe have a more distinctly reddish color caused by longer rubification.
