Figure 1 - uploaded by Klaus Hilbert
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Map of Terra Preta sites located in the Rio Tapajós area, drawn by Curt Nimuendajú in 1937 (property: Klaus Hilbert).
Source publication
The anthropogenic origin of the Amazonian dark earths (Terra Preta de Índio) was first verified more than 70 year ago. However, the last 30 years have seen a massive wave of scientific investigation, public interest and an ever-expanding intensification of commercial activity toward all things connected to “Terra Preta.” Today, the dominant concept...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... his research on Terra Preta, Nimuendajú started from the widely-understood fact, that wherever a certain earth was found (locally called Terra Preta de Índio), ceramic fragments of earlier indigenous cultures were always present. Following this premise, near the city of Santarém, at the confluence of the Rio Tapajos and the Amazon, Nimuendajú registered the location of 63 previously unknown Terra Preta sites (Figure 1) [14]. ...
Citations
... Biochar is a carbonaceous material produced by different feedstocks in pyrolysis conditions with the limited presence of oxygen. Naturally, biochar is found in the anthropogenic soil, known as "Terra Preta de Índio", i.e., Amazonian Dark Earths in the Amazon, which gave rise to synthetic biochar produced worldwide [10]. Pyrolyzed feedstocks and pyrolysis conditions determine the physico-chemical properties of biochar, such as nutrient content, porosity, specific surface area, among others. ...
Biochar is a solid material derived from different feedstocks that is added to the soil for various agronomic and environmental purposes, such as nutrient sources and CO 2 emission mitigators. In modern agriculture, the application of herbicides directly in the soil is common for pre-emergent weed control; however, biochars may interfere in the degradation processes of these agrochemicals, increasing or decreasing their persistence. Long persistence is desirable for some herbicides in determined cultivation systems, especially in monoculture, but persistence is undesirable in crop rotation and/or succession systems because the subsequent cropping can be sensitive to the herbicide, causing carryover problems. Therefore, knowing the interactions of biochar-herbicide is essential, since these interactions depend on feedstock, pyrolysis conditions (production temperature), application rate, biochar aging, among other factors; and the physical-chemical characteristics of the herbicide. This chapter shows that the addition of biochar in the soil interferes in the persistence or remediation processes of the herbicide, and taking advantage of the agricultural and environmental benefits of biochars without compromising weed control requires a broad knowledge of the characteristics of biochar, soil, and herbicide and their interactions.
