Amazonian Dark Earths

Johannes Friedrich Lehmann, geb. 1966. Studium der Germanistik, Romanistik, Geschichte und Theaterwissenschaft in Düsseldorf, Freiburg und Mainz.

Amazonian Dark Earths are not only a testament to the vanished civilizations of the Amazon Basin, but may provide the answer to how the large, sophisticated societies were able to sustain intensive agriculture in an environment with mostly infertile soils. Locally known as Terra Preta de Indio or Indian black earth, these anomalous soils are even today fertile and highly productive. Though clearly associated with pre-European settlements questions remain whether the Dark Earths were intentionally produced or merely a by-product of habitation activities. This publication provides a comprehensive review of our current understanding of these fascinating soils: their origin, properties, and management through time. These new and multidisciplinary perspectives by leading experts on Amazonian Dark Earths may pave the way for the next revolution of soil management in the humid tropics.

Discovering Amazonian Dark Earths.- Development of Anthrosol Research.- Historical Perspectives on Amazonian Dark Earths.- Historical and Socio-cultural Origins of Amazonian Dark Earth.- Distribution of Amazonian Dark Earths in the Brazilian Amazon.- Classification of Amazonian Dark Earths and Other Ancient Anthropic Soils.- Properties of Amazonian Dark Earths.- Soil Fertility and Production Potential.- Amazonian Dark Earths as Carbon Stores and Sinks.- Soil Organic Matter Stability in Amazonian Dark Earths.- Agrobiodiversity in Amazônia and Its Relationship with Dark Earths.- Ethnoscientific Understandings of Amazonian Dark Earths.- Methods for Characterization of Amazonian Dark Earths.- Archaeobotanical Methods for the Study of Amazonian Dark Earths.- Organic Chemistry Studies on Amazonian Dark Earths.- The Use of Micromorphology for the Study of the Formation and Properties of Amazonian Dark Earths.- Determining Nutrient Bioavailability of Amazonian Dark Earth Solis - Methodological Challenges.- Soil Physical Characterization.- Amazonian Dark Earths Biological Measurements.- Pedogeochemical and Mineralogical Analyses of Amazonian Dark Earths.- Amazonian Dark Earth Management.- Indigenous Soil Management and the Creation of Amazonian Dark Earths: Implications of Kayapó Practice.- Cultural Behaviors of Indigenous Populations and the Formation of the Archaeological Record in Amazonian Dark Earths: The Asurini do Xingú Case Study.- Contemporary Use and Management of Amazonian Dark Earths.- The Effect of Management of the Fertility of Amazonian Dark Earth Soils.- Weed Population Dynamics and Management on Amazonian Dark Earth.- Historical Ecology and Future Explorations.