Creating Soil: A Pilot Study of Amazon Black Earth (ADE) Formation in Amazonian Homegardens

热带雨林的环境和社会可持续利用仍然是一个挑战。 经常提到的可持续发展的限制因素之一是土壤资源的质量，在热带环境中，土壤的固有肥力往往有限。 虽然一般来说，亚马逊盆地是这样的，但也有相当大面积的Terra Preta（黑土）土壤，也被称为亚马逊暗土（ADE）。这些土壤的营养水平高得多，在农业生产中提供更高和持续的产量。 这些土壤在强降雨条件下的存在对科学家来说一直是一个谜，直到最近，通过土壤化学和微生物研究，人们才清楚地看到，似乎有生物反馈机制维持土壤中的有机物质。 目前尚不清楚是什么特定的途径导致ADE的形成。 然而，有证据表明，在过去，通过有意的土壤创造和/或在特定地方的长期居住，人类进行了重大活动。 长期使用土壤管理技术，即“砍和炭”，即缓慢燃烧树叶和其他有机碎片，似乎是关键。 这项试点研究将调查的过程中的“斜线和字符”在家庭花园的桑塔雷姆，帕拉，巴西市。 家庭菜园的相关研究表明，土壤管理措施经常包括“砍和炭”，但这一过程尚未得到具体调查。 该项目特别针对该地区长期居住的混血儿（美洲印第安人、欧洲人和非洲人）的家园，他们的知识体系可能仍然与前哥伦布时期的过去有关。 本研究对40个家庭菜园进行了深入的调查，对菜园管理者（主要是女性）进行了人种学访谈，并记录了“砍和砍”的过程。每个家庭花园的土壤都将被取样，然后分析一般的肥力、碳和有机质。 这项研究的结果将作出潜在的广泛的理论和实践贡献。 很可能，今天的“斜线和焦炭”是过去ADE形成的现代模拟，进一步ADE研究，因为这种模拟可以根据考古记录进行测试。 在实践层面上，拟议的研究将提高亚马逊和其他热带地区未来可持续利用的可能性，因为“刀耕火种”是“刀耕火种”的替代方案，是在一个几乎没有土壤的地区创造更肥沃土壤的一种方式，可能允许持续农业而不会掠夺性砍伐森林。

Environmentally and socially sustainable use of tropical rainforests continues to be a challenge. One of the frequently cited limitations to sustainable development is the quality of the soil resources, which in tropical environments often consist of soils with limited inherent fertility. Although in general this is true in the Amazon Basin, there are substantial areas of Terra Preta (Black Earth) soils, also known as Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE). These soils have much higher nutrient levels and offer much higher and sustained yields when put under agricultural production. The existence of these soils under conditions of heavy rainfall has been an enigma to scientists and only recently, through soil chemical and microbial research, has it become clear that there appear to be biofeedback mechanisms that sustain organic material in the soil. What is not clear at this time is what specific pathways led to the formation of ADE. However, evidence points to significant human activity in the past through intentional soil creation and/ or by long-term habitation in particular places. Long-term use of soil management techniques identified as 'slash and char,' the slow burning of leaf and other organic debris, appears to be key. This pilot study will investigate the process of 'slash and char' in homegardens in the municipality of Santarem, Para, Brazil. Related research in homegardens demonstrated that soil management practices frequently included 'slash and char' but the process has not been specifically investigated. The project specifically targets homegardens of long-term mestizo (Amerindian, European and African) inhabitants of the region whose knowledge system may still be linked to the Pre-Columbian past. This project with survey 40 homegardens intensively, conducting ethnographic interviews with garden managers, mostly women, and documenting the process of 'slash and char.' Soils will be sampled in each homegarden, and then analyzed for general fertility, carbon, and organic matter. Findings from this study will make theoretical and practical contributions that are potentially far ranging. It is likely that present-day 'slash and char' is a modern analog of past ADE formation, furthering ADE research as this analog can be tested against the archaeological record. On a practical level, the proposed research will improve the possibility of future sustainable use of the Amazon and other tropical regions as 'slash and char' is an alternative to 'slash and burn' and is a way of creating more fertile soil in a region with little of it, possibly permitting sustained agriculture without predatory deforestation.