A lost civilization in the Amazon rain forest once flourished on a grand scale and generated an abundance of agricultural produce.

While the cities vanished without a trace over a thousand years ago, the soil they cultivated lives on and now offers hope for a world in need of more sane farming practices.

Locals call the magical soil “terra preta”, Portuguese for “dark soil”. Its dark color contrasts to the Amazon’s normal yellow and acidic soil that is not good for growing much more than rain forest.

The soil contains charcoal, pottery fragments and remnants of human waste and produces substantial higher yields than other soil. It is a living eco-system that also captures and retains carbon and even expands at a rate of up to 1 centimeter per year.

While locals have mined the soil for centuries, it wasn’t until the late Dutch soil scientist Wim Sombroek (1934-2003) brought the soil to the attention of science that serious study commenced in the 80′s.

What scientists have found is that terra-preta charcoal, called biochar, attracts certain fungi and microorganisms which break down the charcoal into smaller pieces that absorb and retain nutrients.

When the soil is produced in other areas it could boost crop yield without chemical fertilizers while reducing the amount of Co2 in the atmosphere.

If the people who currently engage in slash and burn practices instead practiced slash and char it would save enormous amounts of carbon from entering the atmosphere and greatly reduce the need for deforestation.

For more info. visit:

http://www.terracarbona.org/en/index.php