Terra Preta soils are of pre-Columbian
nature and were created by humans between 450 BCE and 950
CE. The soil’s depth can reach 2 meters, and exists in small plots averaging 20 hectares along the Amazon river.
It was made by adding a mixture of charcoal, bone, and manure to infertile soils, making them ideal for agriculture, and it can even renew itself slowly thanks to all the microorganisms living in it.
It’s such a rich soil that researchers are trying to recreate it on a larger scale and include it in
modern agriculture practices.
SCREAMS ABOUT SOIL ECOLOGY AND THE BRILLIANT FARMING PRACTICES OF PRECOLOMBIAN PEOPLE LIVING IN SOUTH AMERICA FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS
I’m researching de-desertification techniques and other agricultural tricks from older civilizations so I can totally sneak them into the various cultures of my fantasy setting. Not gonna lie.
Also if you want an excellent source for de-desertification here’s a documentary for you.
Vid link is dead for me, but Chinampas look absolutely like something the Mortei would engage in, along with making terraced gardens on the mountainous areas of their land range (they rolled the shitty land lottery, they have borderline tropical swampy wetlands in the valley of mountain ranges; but the flipside is they have HUGE stores of coal and artisinal springs, not to mention plenty of growing weather).
Look up “Green Gold” with John D. Liu; you should be able to find the docu somewhere.
He’s achieved remarkable things in reversing desertification in China and parts of Saudi Arabia.
Me: This is more than just dirt guys, look at it, this is history and heritage, it has fantastic implications for ecology and sustainable –
Death By Catchphrase 