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predominant Amazon soils notoriously infertile poor nutrient capacity

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Presentation on theme: "predominant Amazon soils notoriously infertile poor nutrient capacity"— Presentation transcript:

1 predominant Amazon soils notoriously infertile poor nutrient capacity
Terra Preta Confronting Soil Minerals Carbon Climate Change Mystery Soil of the Amazon “dark earth” (Portuguese) Amazon Basin, Brazil Local farmers prize Terra Preta yields three times greater than adjacent infertile tropical soils sustained fertility in intensive use dug up and sold as potting soil Oxisol predominant Amazon soils acidic notoriously infertile very low carbon poor nutrient capacity click to continue

2 Terra Preta Carbon Amazon Basin, Brazil Small Patches Age
Soil Minerals Carbon “dark earth” (Portuguese) Amazon Basin, Brazil Small Patches average: 20 hectares (50 acres) up to 350 hectares (865 acres) near settlements & on bluffs cultural debris animal & fish bones embedded pottery sherds Age years radio-carbon dating (charcoal) recent research: 6000 years Aerial Surveys 10% of total land area able to feed 5-10 million people click to continue

3 Terra Preta Charcoal Carbon Amazon Basin, Brazil reduced carbon
Soil Minerals Carbon Charcoal “dark earth” (Portuguese) Amazon Basin, Brazil reduced carbon High Carbon up to 9% compared with .5% in other soils sometimes over 20% two to six feet deep most carbon is charcoal High Nutrients Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) Calcium (+) Phosphorus (-) Nitrogen (+ / -) High Microbial Activity “microbial reef” Soil Food Web High diversity, high stability Nitrogen-fixing bacteria click to continue

4 Terra Preta Charcoal Carbon reduced carbon
Soil Minerals Carbon Charcoal reduced carbon How did Amazon natives create these remarkably fertile and productive soils? How did these soils sustain their remarkable productivity for five centuries? What can we learn from these soils to sustain soil productivity today? Can this way to create these tropical soils give insights to improve temperate soils? Can this sequester carbon in soil to help reverse global warming? click to continue

5 Carbon Negative Climate Change Terra Preta Confronting Robert Wells
suck CO2 out of Earth’s atmosphere Negative photosynthesis fixed into Carbohydrates In tropical Amazon, replacing slash & burn with slash & char can create sustainable soil fertility initiate permanent agriculture end rainforest destruction plant biomass Terra Preta pyrolysis Cape Cod beach sand heavy Amazon clay transform into positive feedback loop Biochar Any strategy to increase arable land, and improve productivity & yield on existing arable land should receive research priority. sequestered carbon Robert Wells our question is: inoculate Can this work in our “temperate” climate? Organic Farmer Orleans, Massachusetts boost soil fertility restore Soil Biology grow more click to continue

6 out of Earth’s atmosphere
Confronting Climate Change Carbon suck CO2 out of Earth’s atmosphere Negative photosynthesis fixed into Carbohydrates plant biomass pyrolysis transform into positive feedback loop Biochar sequestered carbon our question is: inoculate Can this work in our “temperate” zone? boost soil fertility restore Soil Biology grow more click to continue

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