Terra Preta News

Neves has studied human occupation of the Amazon for 30 years and found evidence of rice, manioc and palm tree cultivation dating back thousands of years.

It was over twenty years ago when locals in Bolivia’s northern plains told archaeologist Heiko Prümers, with the German Archaeological Institute in Bonn, about mysterious mounds of earth in the…

Amazonia, with its towering trees, bright birds, pink dolphins and mysterious big cats, has been painted as the quintessential wilderness, an exuberant and endless landscape that evolved beyond the touch…

As Earth's largest rainforest, the Amazon is the planet's single greatest repository of biodiversity, houses the largest number of uncontacted indigenous tribes, and is home to the world's mightiest river.…

Pristine areas of Amazon rainforest are usually considered to be ancient, untamed jungles overflowing with old trees and biodiversity that have grown for centuries untouched by human hands. But that…

Modern day signs of human activity in the Amazon rainforest. Courtesy of NASA. Click to enlarge. Researchers are planning to use drones equipped with vegetation-penetrating lasers to scan the Amazon…

I said in my recent book that perhaps the only tool we had to bring carbon dioxide back to pre-industrial levels was to let the biosphere pump it from the…

Indigenous people of the Amazon produced rich agricultural soil by adding charcoal, manure, and animal bones to the otherwise nutrient-poor dirt of the world's greatest rainforest. The inputs allowed early…

Forest clearing in the Amazon. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Indigenous populations in the Amazon successfully farmed without the use of fire before the arrival of Europeans, demonstrating a potentially…

Sebuah wawancara dengan Laurens Rademakers dari Biochar Fund. Biochar - penggunaan arang yang diproduksi dari membakar biomassa untuk pertanian - mungkin merupakan saru dari revolusi lingkungan dan sosial yang terpenting…

An interview with Laurens Rademakers of Biochar Fund. Biochar—the agricultural application of charcoal produced from burning biomass—may be one of this century's most important social and environmental revolutions. This seemingly…

Congo biochar initiative wins critical funding to support poverty alleviation, climate change mitigation An initiative using soil carbon enrichment techniques to boost agricultural yields, alleviate poverty, and protect endangered forests…

The growing concerns about climate change have brought biochar, a charcoal produced from biomass combustion, into limelight.

Ancient Amazon tribes lived in sustainable "garden cities", argues new research Researchers have uncovered new evidence to support the controversial theory that parts of the Amazon were home to dense…

Charcoal signatures: Heavily-populated Amazon was decimated by old world disease Charcoal signatures: Heavily-populated Amazon was decimated by old world disease Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com June 9, 2008 Ecologists and archaeologists agree…

Could felling trees and burying them help fight global warming? Could felling and burying trees help fight global warming? mongabay.com April 30, 2008 Could cutting down trees and burying them…

"Black Gold Agriculture" May Revolutionize Farming, Curb Global Warming Fifteen hundred years ago, tribes people from the central Amazon basin mixed their soil with charcoal derived from animal bone and…

Biochar fund to fight hunger, energy poverty, deforestation, and global warming The biochar revolution begins Biochar fund to fight hunger, energy poverty, deforestation, and global warming mongabay.com March 10, 2008…

Restoring soil carbon can reverse global warming, desertification and biodiversity loss Restoring soil carbon can reverse global warming, desertification and biodiversity loss mongabay.com February 21, 2008 Restoring the ability of…

Ancient Amazon fires linked to human populations Ancient Amazon fires linked to human populations Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com February 20, 2008 European contact resulted in both a steep decline in…

Killers of renowned anthropologist sentenced in Brazil Killers of renowned anthropologist sentenced in Brazil mongabay.com July 12, 2007 The men charged with the 2005 killing of University of Vermont anthropology…

Ancient Amazonian technology could save the world Ancient Amazonian technology could save the world mongabay.com May 17, 2007 Terra preta, the ancient charcoal-based soil used by ancient Amazonians to create…

Who pays for Amazon rainforest conservation? Who pays for Amazon rainforest conservation? An interview with the largest private sponsor of rainforest protection: the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Rhett Butler,…

Global warming could cause catastrophic die-off of Amazon rainforest by 2080 Amazon conservation efforts must come soon to save world's largest rainforest says leading scientist Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com October…

The Virgin Forest? Amazon Myths and New Revelations Modern day agriculture in the Amazon. Controversial evidence uncovered over the past decade suggests that the Amazon rainforest was once home to…