Terra Preta: Solutions of the past helping with the future?

The dark tera preta earth (background) contrasted
with the pale, nutrient-poor soil that is common in
the Amazon basin.

Black Gold of the Amazon

Fertile, charred soil created by pre-Columbian peoples sustained surprisingly large settlements in the rain forest. Secrets of that ancient “dark earth” could help solve the Amazon’s ecological problems today.

...At more than 100 sites across the peninsula, Petersen and his colleagues had unearthed evidence of early civilizations that were far more advanced, far more broadly connected, and far more densely occupied than that of the small bands of nomadic hunter-gatherers previously hypothesized for the region. Before the Europeans arrived, this peninsula in the heart of the Amazon was home to communities with roads, irrigation, agriculture, soil management, ceramics, and extended trade. These civilizations, Neves says, were as complex as the southwestern Native American cultures that inhabited Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. But due to the scarcity of stone in the Amazon, the people built with wood, and over time the structures disintegrated, leaving little evidence of the culture.

One legacy remains, however: their soil. Terra preta de Indio—Portuguese for “Indian black earth”—is prized among local farmers, and it is a direct contribution of the vanished Amazonian cultures. While most Amazonian earth is notoriously nutrient poor, yellowish, sterile, and unscented, there are extensive patches of soil that are mysteriously dark, moist, fragrant, and filled with insects, microbial life, and organic matter. Scholars have come to realize that by devising a way to enrich the soil, the early inhabitants of the Amazon managed to create a foundation for agriculture-based settlements much more populous than scholars had thought possible.

...

As thrilling as this evidence is to archaeologists, it may also have very practical importance as a modern weapon against some of our most urgent ecological problems. Soil scientist Johannes Lehmann of Cornell University believes that the mysterious dark earth holds clues to creating sustainable farming practices and even to combating global warming.

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What a great read!

Remarkable.

Hello loam, I just started to read about Terra preta myself, interesting stuff


BBC have made a movie called "The Secret of El Dorado".
(more info: www.bbc.co.uk... )

but here is my question: how can i make it?
if you know of any step by step guide, please let my know.
I have a little plan to try i out next spring.



i found a few more links if any are interested:
wiki: en.wikipedia.org...
article "Black is the New Green" (pdf): bestenergies.com...

lets get this topic hot