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

对热带雨林进行环境和社会可持续利用仍然是一项挑战。对可持续发展经常提到的限制之一是土壤资源的质量，在热带环境中，土壤往往是固有肥力有限的土壤。虽然在亚马逊盆地一般情况下是这样，但也有大量的黑土（Terra Preta）土壤，也被称为亚马逊暗土（ADE）。这些土壤具有更高的营养水平，当用于农业生产时，可以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个谜，直到最近，通过土壤化学和微生物研究，人们才清楚地认识到，土壤中似乎存在维持有机物质的生物反馈机制。目前尚不清楚的是导致ADE形成的具体途径是什么。然而，有证据表明，过去的重大人类活动是通过有意创造土壤和/或在特定地方长期居住来实现的。长期使用被称为“刀耕火种”的土壤管理技术，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巴西帕拉州圣塔伦市家庭花园的“刀耕火种”过程。对家庭花园的相关研究表明，土壤管理措施经常包括“刀耕火种”，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）居民的家庭花园，他们的知识体系可能仍然与前哥伦布时代的过去有关。该项目对40个家庭花园进行了深入调查，对花园管理人员（主要是女性）进行了人种学采访，并记录了“刀耕火种”的过程。每个家庭花园的土壤将被取样，然后分析一般肥力、碳和有机物质。本研究的发现将产生潜在深远的理论和实践贡献。现在的“斜杠和字符”很可能是过去ADE形成的现代模拟物，进一步推动ADE研究，因为这种模拟物可以与考古记录相对照。在实际层面上，拟议的研究将提高未来可持续利用亚马逊和其他热带地区的可能性，因为“刀耕火种”是“刀耕火种”的一种替代方法，是在土壤较少的地区创造更肥沃土壤的一种方式，可能允许可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.