[Terrapreta] This is a very clear, concise, well written article on the basic concepts of Terra preta.

[Michael Bailes]

This is a very clear, concise,  well written article on the basic concepts
of Terra preta.

You might like to show it to others to explain to them why you belong to a
Terra preta Discussion list! :)
http://www.championtrees.org/topsoil/TerraPreta.htm

EG

> *TERRA PRETA DEFINED*
>
> *Terra preta do indio* is a black, earth-like, anthropogenic (man-made)
> soil with enhanced fertility due to high levels of soil organic matter (SOM)
> and nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, arid calcium embedded
> in a landscape of infertile soils.
>
*Terra preta* soils occur in small patches averaging 20 hectares (50 acres),
> but 350 hectare (865 acre) sites have also been reported. These
> 2,000-year-old manmade soils occur in the Brazilian Amazon basin and other
> regions of South America. *Terra preta* soils are very popular with the
> local farmers, and are used especially to produce cash crops such as papaya
> and mango, which grow about three times as rapidly as on surrounding
> infertile soils.
>
> South American *terra preta* soils are also full of pieces (sherds) of
> unfired pottery. It is generally believed that the pottery was introduced
> into the soil much as modern growers add perlite or sand to potting mix, as
> a way of keeping the soil from baking completely tight under the tropical
> sun before a cover of vegetation could grow over it. Much is made of these
> sherds as "proof" that *terra preta* deposits are really prehistoric trash
> piles, but Charles C. Mann asserts there are indications that much of this
> pottery was actually made specifically for incorporation into the soil.
>
-- 
m
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