Amazonian Dark Earth
Terra Preta - The Mysterious Super Soil
Deep within the Amazon Rainforest, lies a secret. One who’s truth has been lost to time. The secret is that of Terra Preta, a rare and powerful soil.
It is known to be abundantly productive for agriculture and never needing fertilization, distinguished from its other soils in the surrounding regions. The majority of the Amazon contains poor soil structure, iron oxides and clays that bind up nutrients and biological activity. Yet in pockets throughout the Amazon is a soil unlike the others, Terra Preta.
This is known as an anthropogenic soil, or ancient man-made soil. It is thought that Terra Preta was made as far back as 5,000 years ago. As its composition and inputs are unnatural for the other surroundings. Terra Preta was an intentional effort to build a soil environment that led to more agricultural production, or perhaps just a waste site left with time that evolved into something else. Regardless, it’s agricultural benefits are clearly seen.
Terra Preta contained pieces of broken ceramics, biochar from burned plants and trees of the surrounding areas and even human wastes at times. There was a clear sign of inputs and human development. Although as time went on and the tribes amongst these areas died off or moved away, the exact methodology of creating Terra Preta was lost.
Soil scientists from across the globe have traveled to the Rainforest and sampled Terra Preta in an attempt to understand and recreate it. Its properties have never been fully reincarnated.
Yet in my own research throughout the years I have seen a trend in the reports that have came out, they focus on the physical and chemical properties, and not the biological ones. I have only seen mention of what materials, elements, composition percentages and while that is all important to understand they are not the only active forces within a soil environment.
This gap in findings combined with the magic that is Terra Preta is why I chose to name my company after it, because the life within the soil is the primary factor for its productivity!
Microbes, Fungi, Paramecium, Bacteria! All of these are the actual moving and transitional forces of a soil environment, they are the work force, the defense line and even the highways.
By understanding the life within Terra Preta or any other soil, we are able to understand our system more and its capabilities. Which is why I intend to do genetic sequencing of Terra Preta soils, to prove the hypothesis of a composition of known plant growth promoting microbes or PGPM.
Somehow thousands of years ago they tapped into the power of a functional soil environment and we at Terra Preta intend to figure that secret out, and share it all with you!