Terra Preta

Author : Ute Scheub
Publisher : Greystone Books
ISBN 13 : 1771641118
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.11/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Terra Preta written by Ute Scheub and published by Greystone Books. This book was released on 2016-05-10 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Terra preta is the Portuguese name of a type of soil which is thought to have almost miraculous properties. The newspapers are flooded with reports about “black gold,” scientists believe that two of the greatest problems facing the world – climate change and the hunger crisis — can be solved by it. The beauty of it is that everyone can do something about it because since 2005 the secret of producing this black soil has been revealed — and it is a secret that seemed to have been lost forever with the downfall of the once thriving Indian culture of the Amazon basin. The recipe is astonishingly simple as all you need are kitchen or garden wastes, charcoal and earthworms, so it can be produced on every balcony or on the smallest of garden plots. The trio of authors Scheub, Pieplow and Schmidt, set off on a treasure hunt and condensed all the knowledge about the world’s most fertile soil into a convenient guidebook. In addition to a sound instruction manual on producing terra preta and organic charcoal (biochar), the handbook covers fundamental principles from climate farming to closed-loop economy. It makes a passionate plea against synthetic fertilizers and genetic technology and offers indispensable advice to all those who feel strongly about healthy food.

Author : William I. Woods
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1402090315
Total Pages : 512 pages
Book Rating : 4.18/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Amazonian Dark Earths: Wim Sombroek's Vision written by William I. Woods and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-11-16 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amazonian soils are almost universally thought of as extremely forbidding. However, it is now clear that complex societies with large, sedentary populations were present for over a millennium before European contact. Associated with these are tracts of anomalously fertile, dark soils termed ‘terra preta’ or dark earths. These soils are presently an important agricultural resource within Amazonia and provide a model for developing long-term future sustainability of food production in tropical environments. The late Dutch soil scientist Wim Sombroek (1934-2003) was instrumental in bringing the significance of these soils to the attention of the world over four decades ago. Wim saw not only the possibilities of improving the lives of small holders throughout the world with simple carbon based soil technologies, but was an early proponent of the positive synergies also achieved in regards to carbon sequestration and global climatic change abatement. Wim’s vision was to form a multidisciplinary group whose members maintained the ideal of open collaboration toward the attainment of shared goals. Always encouraged and often shaped by Wim, this free association of international scholars termed the “Terra Preta Nova” Group came together in 2001 and has flourished. This effort has been defined by enormous productivity. Wim who is never far from any of our minds and hearts, would have loved to share the great experience of seeing the fruits of his vision as demonstrated in this volume.

Author : Johannes Lehmann
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1402025971
Total Pages : 505 pages
Book Rating : 4.76/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Amazonian Dark Earths written by Johannes Lehmann and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-05-08 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dark Earths are a testament to vanished civilizations of the Amazon Basin, but may also answer how large societies could sustain intensive agriculture in an environment of infertile soils. This book examines their origin, properties, and management. Questions remain: were they intentionally produced or a by-product of habitation. Additional new and multidisciplinary perspectives by leading experts may pave the way for the next revolution in soil management in the humid tropics.

Author : Bruno Glaser
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3662056836
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.37/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Amazonian Dark Earths: Explorations in Space and Time written by Bruno Glaser and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-12-14 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Robert Tindall
Publisher : North Atlantic Books
ISBN 13 : 1623171180
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.86/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Sacred Soil written by Robert Tindall and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2017-07-18 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating description of how utilizing the biochar embedded in terra preta, the recently rediscovered sacred soil of the pre-Columbian peoples of the Amazon rainforest, can cut our dependency on petrochemicals, restore the health of our soils, remove carbon from our overheating atmosphere, and restore the planet to pre-industrial levels of atmospheric carbon by 2050. The authors show that the rediscovery of terra preta is an opportunity to move beyond the West’s tradition of plunder and genocide of the native civilizations of the Americas by offering an invitation to embrace the deeper mystery of the indigenous methods of inquiry and to participate in an animate cosmos that gave rise to such a powerful soil technology. Sacred Soil, in recognizing the need for biocultural regeneration, takes a multi-disciplinary approach to the phenomenon of biochar soils, utilizing mythopoeic, historical, anthropological, and scientific perspectives to embrace the deep past, the vexed present, and the prospectus for our future. Coming at this crucial juncture in human history, the potential resting in biochar is also an open doorway into the indigenous ways of knowing that enabled the pre-Columbian Amazonian high civilizations to support a population of millions while leaving their lands more fertile than when they arose.

Author : D. S. Hammond
Publisher : CABI
ISBN 13 : 9781845930929
Total Pages : 552 pages
Book Rating : 4.24/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Tropical Forests of the Guiana Shield written by D. S. Hammond and published by CABI. This book was released on 2005 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Guiana Shield is an ancient geological formation located in the northern part of South America, covering an area of one million square kilometres. Despite its hostile environment, it is home to many unusual and highly specialized plants and animals, which constitute a rich area of biodiversity. Chapters in this book include hydrology, nutrient cycling, forest phenology, insect-plant interactions, forest microclimate, plant distributions, forest dynamics and conservation and management of flora and fauna. It provides a comprehensive and detailed review of the ecology, biology and natural history of the forests of the area.

Author : Ashley Kalym
Publisher : North Atlantic Books
ISBN 13 : 1623174120
Total Pages : 332 pages
Book Rating : 4.25/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Complete Calisthenics, Second Edition written by Ashley Kalym and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2019-12-17 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ultimate guide to bodyweight exercises for anyone interested in taking their workouts to the next level without the use of weights, machines, or expensive gym memberships Complete Calisthenics is an essential guide for anyone interested in losing weight, building core strength, and taking their workouts to the next level. Author and trainer Ashley Kalym has designed a comprehensive, easy-to-follow guide to calisthenics using only one's own bodyweight for resistance. Readers will learn how to execute a wide range of exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, core development movements, and lower-body routines. Also included are easy-to-follow instructions for the planche, the front and back lever, handstands, handstand push-ups, muscle-ups, leg training, and other key exercises. Complete Calisthenics includes essential information on workout preparation, simple props, nutrition, and an assortment of diverse training routines. New to this second edition are enhanced muscle-building exercises, instructions for optimal rest and recovery, and an assortment of original recipes. Kalym also includes samples from his personal food diary. With over 500 instructional photos, Complete Calisthenics takes readers on a path to creating physical endurance, agility, and power. The book is suitable for every level of athlete, from beginner to experienced.

Author : Christoph Steiner
Publisher : Cuvillier Verlag
ISBN 13 : 3867274444
Total Pages : 189 pages
Book Rating : 4.49/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Slash and Char as Alternative to Slash and Burn written by Christoph Steiner and published by Cuvillier Verlag. This book was released on 2007 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The extraordinary fertility of manmade Terra Preta soils in the Brazilian Amazon provided the incentive to study the effects of soil charcoal amendments on soil fertility, nutrient cycling, and soil biology. The existence of Terra Preta suggests that tropical soils, which are notorious for being infertile, can be greatly improved. The agricultural produces charcoal out of fallow vegetation instead of converting it to carbon dioxide through burning. Slash and char improves soil quality by transferring organic carbon into recalcitrant soil organic matter pools. This newly described agricultural practice has important implications for the earth's carbon budget and sustainability in tropical agriculture.

Author : Nicholas C. Kawa
Publisher : University of Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 147730844X
Total Pages : 203 pages
Book Rating : 4.48/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Amazonia in the Anthropocene written by Nicholas C. Kawa and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2016-05-10 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Widespread human alteration of the planet has led many scholars to claim that we have entered a new epoch in geological time: the Anthropocene, an age dominated by humanity. This ethnography is the first to directly engage the Anthropocene, tackling its problems and paradoxes from the vantage point of the world’s largest tropical rainforest. Drawing from extensive ethnographic research, Nicholas Kawa examines how pre-Columbian Amerindians and contemporary rural Amazonians have shaped their environment, describing in vivid detail their use and management of the region’s soils, plants, and forests. At the same time, he highlights the ways in which the Amazonian environment resists human manipulation and control—a vital reminder in this time of perceived human dominance. Written in engaging, accessible prose, Amazonia in the Anthropocene offers an innovative contribution to debates about humanity’s place on the planet, encouraging deeper ecocentric thinking and a more inclusive vision of ecology for the future.

Author : William M. Denevan
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780199257690
Total Pages : 434 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Cultivated Landscapes of Native Amazonia and the Andes written by William M. Denevan and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cultivated Landscapes of Native Amazonia and the Andes examines Indian agriculture in South America. The focus is on field types and field technologies, including agricultural landforms such as terraces, canals, and drained fields, which have persisted for hundreds of years. What emerges is a picture of mostly successful indigenous farming practices in difficult environments--rain forests, savannahs, swamps, rugged mountains, and deserts.