Terra Preta
Today, I would like to introduce you to something rather mysterious and, arguably, rather magical. Terra preta. Also known as Amazonian dark earth, terra preta is one of the world's most fertile soils found in sporadic, unpredictable patches within the heart of the Amazonian rainforest. The fact this coveted soil is found in the Amazon is rather surprising, because tropical rainforest soil is notoriously, and counterintuitively, infertility. This is because so much life recycles nutrients so efficiently through the ecosystem that almost all the carbon and nutrients are locked up in the forest's living and decaying matter. They barely get the chance to reach the soil beneath, which remains thin and infertile. This is why subsistance farmers in the Amazon are often forced to practice slash-and-burn agriculture. This destructive farming technique involves clearing and burning a section of forest, growing crops on the land for about three years after which time t...