Which mechanism reduces soil fertility when prolonged floodplain inundation occurs on alluvial plains used for agriculture?

💡 Explanation

When floodplains are inundated for extended periods, the soil becomes waterlogged as oxygen diffusion decreases, leading to anaerobic conditions because microbes deplete available oxygen. Therefore, nutrient uptake decreases, and toxic compounds like hydrogen sulfide accumulate, reducing soil fertility in agricultural lands, rather than other processes that require aeration.

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