Guest guest Posted May 3, 2002 Report Share Posted May 3, 2002 Someone here mentioned the 1491 article in Atlantic Monthly, Matrch issue recently. Someone I work for gave it to me the other day. The author talks of a A. Woods, soil geographer at Southern Illinois University who studied the southern Amazon finding inhospitable soils but also areas of terra preta soil, rich, black, fertile earth that anthropologists attribute to human creation. Woods guesses 10% of Amazonia is terra preta, tropical rains don't leach it's minerals like the other Amazonian soil and it literally fights back. A 300 acre area with a two foot layer of terra preta is quarried by locals for potting soil. The bottom third layer is never removed, workers told because over time it will recreate to original soil layer of the same depth. Scientists suspect a special combination of microorganisms that resist depletion. In a presentation Woods and Wisconsin geographer ph M. McCann stated " at some threshold level...dark earth attains the capacity to perpetuate- even regenerate itself-thus behaving more like a living super organism than an inert material. Heckenberger, University of Florida examined terra preta in upper Xingu cultures. He found not all used terra preta but those that did generated it " rapidly " suggesting deliberate creation. He believes Amazonian peoples inoculated bad soil with a transforming bacterial charge. Found this all the most amazing. Can anyone imagine how healthy such self perpetuating soil would be? Much other food for thought in this article of agriculture and cultural interests. Wanita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 4, 2002 Report Share Posted May 4, 2002 >>>>Someone here mentioned the 1491 article in Atlantic Monthly, Matrch issue recently. Someone I work for gave it to me the other day. ***Wanita, I would LOVE to read that article! as i imagine others would. any chance you could scan it in and post it to the web site files section? Suze Fisher Web Design & Development http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg/ mailto:s.fisher22@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 6, 2002 Report Share Posted May 6, 2002 > >>>>Someone here mentioned the 1491 article in Atlantic Monthly, Matrch > > issue recently. That was me. It was the most fascinating magazine article I've read in a long time...maybe ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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