Ebook: Amazonian Dark Earths: Wim Sombroek's Vision

Amazonian soils are almost universally thought of as extremely forbidding. However, it is now clear that complex societies with large, sedentary populations were present for over a millennium before European contact. Associated with these are tracts of anomalously fertile, dark soils termed terra preta or dark earths. These soils are presently an important agricultural resource within Amazonia and provide a model for developing long-term future sustainability of food production in tropical environments. The late Dutch soil scientist Wim Sombroek (1934-2003) was instrumental in bringing the significance of these soils to the attention of the world over four decades ago.
Wim saw not only the possibilities of improving the lives of small holders throughout the world with simple carbon based soil technologies, but was an early proponent of the positive synergies also achieved in regards to carbon sequestration and global climatic change abatement. Wim’s vision was to form a multidisciplinary group whose members maintained the ideal of open collaboration toward the attainment of shared goals. Always encouraged and often shaped by Wim, this free association of international scholars termed the Terra Preta Nova Group came together in 2001 and has flourished. This effort has been defined by enormous productivity. Wim who is never far from any of our minds and hearts, would have loved to share the great experience of seeing the fruits of his vision as demonstrated in this volume.

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Amazonian soils are almost universally thought of as extremely forbidding. However, it is now clear that complex societies with large, sedentary populations were present for over a millennium before European contact. Associated with these are tracts of anomalously fertile, dark soils termed terra preta or dark earths. These soils are presently an important agricultural resource within Amazonia and provide a model for developing long-term future sustainability of food production in tropical environments. The late Dutch soil scientist Wim Sombroek (1934-2003) was instrumental in bringing the significance of these soils to the attention of the world over four decades ago.
Wim saw not only the possibilities of improving the lives of small holders throughout the world with simple carbon based soil technologies, but was an early proponent of the positive synergies also achieved in regards to carbon sequestration and global climatic change abatement. Wim’s vision was to form a multidisciplinary group whose members maintained the ideal of open collaboration toward the attainment of shared goals. Always encouraged and often shaped by Wim, this free association of international scholars termed the Terra Preta Nova Group came together in 2001 and has flourished. This effort has been defined by enormous productivity. Wim who is never far from any of our minds and hearts, would have loved to share the great experience of seeing the fruits of his vision as demonstrated in this volume.

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Amazonian soils are almost universally thought of as extremely forbidding. However, it is now clear that complex societies with large, sedentary populations were present for over a millennium before European contact. Associated with these are tracts of anomalously fertile, dark soils termed terra preta or dark earths. These soils are presently an important agricultural resource within Amazonia and provide a model for developing long-term future sustainability of food production in tropical environments. The late Dutch soil scientist Wim Sombroek (1934-2003) was instrumental in bringing the significance of these soils to the attention of the world over four decades ago.
Wim saw not only the possibilities of improving the lives of small holders throughout the world with simple carbon based soil technologies, but was an early proponent of the positive synergies also achieved in regards to carbon sequestration and global climatic change abatement. Wim’s vision was to form a multidisciplinary group whose members maintained the ideal of open collaboration toward the attainment of shared goals. Always encouraged and often shaped by Wim, this free association of international scholars termed the Terra Preta Nova Group came together in 2001 and has flourished. This effort has been defined by enormous productivity. Wim who is never far from any of our minds and hearts, would have loved to share the great experience of seeing the fruits of his vision as demonstrated in this volume.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xxiv
Amazonian Dark Earths: The First Century of Reports....Pages 1-14
Pre-Columbian Settlement Dynamics in the Central Amazon....Pages 15-31
Steps Towards an Ecology of Landscape: The Pedo-Stratigraphy of Anthropogenic Dark Earths....Pages 33-83
Phytoliths and Terra Preta: The Hatahara Site Example....Pages 85-98
Anthropogenic Dark Earths of the Central Amazon Region: Remarks on Their Evolution and Polygenetic Composition....Pages 99-125
An Assessment of the Cultural Practices Behind the Formation (or Not) of Amazonian Dark Earths in Marajo Island Archaeological Sites....Pages 127-141
Kayapo Savanna Management: Fire, Soils, and Forest Islands in a Threatened Biome....Pages 143-162
Amerindian Anthrosols: Amazonian Dark Earth Formation in the Upper Xingu....Pages 163-191
Indigenous Knowledge About Terra Preta Formation....Pages 193-204
Sweep and Char and the Creation of Amazonian Dark Earths in Homegardens....Pages 205-211
Pedology, Fertility, and Biology of Central Amazonian Dark Earths....Pages 213-228
Historical Ecology and Dark Earths in Whitewater and Blackwater Landscapes: Comparing the Middle Madeira and Lower Negro Rivers....Pages 229-264
Amazonian Dark Earths in Africa?....Pages 265-278
Locating Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE) Using Satellite Remote Sensing – A Possible Approach....Pages 279-298
Microbial Response to Charcoal Amendments and Fertilization of a Highly Weathered Tropical Soil....Pages 299-308
Effects of Charcoal as Slow Release Nutrient Carrier on N-P-K Dynamics and Soil Microbial Population: Pot Experiments with Ferralsol Substrate....Pages 309-324
Microbial Population and Biodiversity in Amazonian Dark Earth Soils....Pages 325-338
Spectroscopy Characterization of Humic Acids Isolated from Amazonian Dark Earth Soils (Terra Preta De Indio)....Pages 339-349
Solid-State 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Characterisation of Humic Acids Extracted from Amazonian Dark Earths (Terra Preta De Indio)....Pages 351-362
Charcoal Making in the Brazilian Amazon: Economic Aspects of Production and Carbon Conversion Efficiencies of Kilns....Pages 363-372
The Effect of Charcoal in Banana (Musa Sp.) Planting Holes – An On-Farm Study in Central Amazonia, Brazil....Pages 373-391
Characterization of Char for Agricultural Use in the Soils of the Southeastern United States....Pages 393-409
Black Carbon (Biochar) in Rice-Based Systems: Characteristics and Opportunities....Pages 411-422
City to Soil: Returning Organics to Agriculture – A Circle of Sustainability....Pages 423-432
Back Matter....Pages 433-443
....Pages 445-463