Terra Preta Soils

Filed in archive Earth Science on September 18, 2006

I would like to thank Erich J. Knight for sending me his opinion on Terra Preta soils which has led me to do my own readings on the subject. I confess that anything related to the soil and agronomy is very exciting for me. In college my best subjects included soil sciences and chemistry and taking a stab at writing about Terra Preta soils as a possible GHG mitigation strategy is quite a fulfilling experience.

For those of you that do not know what Terra Preta soils are defined by www.geo.unibayreuth as:

"...levels of soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium embedded in a landscape of infertile soils. Terra Preta soils occur in small patches averaging 20 ha, but 350 ha sites have also been reported. These partly over 2000 years old man made soils occur in the Brazilian Amazon basin and other regions of South America such as Ecuador and Peru but also in Western Africa (Benin, Liberia) and in the savannas of South Africa. Terra Preta soils are very popularby the local farmers and are used especially to produce cash crops such as papaya and mango, which grow about three times as rapid as on surrounding infertile soils."

So Terra Preta soils are very dark, very fertile, very productive patches. Who first found them and why are they important? Tomorrow I will answer these and most importantly how Terra Preta soils could help mitigate climate change!