Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon
Name
sciadv.adh8499.pdf
Size
1.5 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
8acb744a3bfd675b0db46ce8501e03f5
Author(s)
Schmidt, Morgan J.
Goldberg, Samuel L.
Heckenberger, Michael
Fausto, Carlos
Franchetto, Bruna
Watling, Jennifer
Lima, Helena
Moraes, Bruno
Dorshow, Wetherbee B.
Toney, Joshua
Date Issued
September 22, 2023
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Citation
Schmidt, Morgan J., Goldberg, Samuel L., Heckenberger, Michael, Fausto, Carlos, Franchetto, Bruna et al. 2023. "Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon." 9 (38).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Fertile soil known as Amazonian dark earth is central to the debate over the size and ecological impact of ancient human populations in the Amazon. Dark earth is typically associated with human occupation, but it is uncertain whether it was created intentionally. Dark earth may also be a substantial carbon sink, but its spatial extent and carbon inventory are unknown. We demonstrate spatial and compositional similarities between ancient and modern dark earth and document modern Indigenous practices that enrich soil, which we use to propose a model for the formation of ancient dark earth. This comparison suggests that ancient Amazonians managed soil to improve fertility and increase crop productivity. These practices also sequestered and stored carbon in the soil for centuries, and we show that some ancient sites contain as much carbon as the above-ground rainforest biomass. Our results demonstrate the intentional creation of dark earth and highlight the value of Indigenous knowledge for sustainable rainforest management.
Subjects
Multidisciplinary
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh8499
