Anthropogenic soils in the Central Amazon: From categories to a continuum

Fraser, James A.; Teixeira, Wenceslau Geraldes; Falcão, Newton P.S.; Woods, William I.; Lehmann, Johannes; Junqueira, André Braga

Artigo

Anthropogenic soils in the Central Amazon: From categories to a continuum

Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE), one of the best-known examples of anthropogenic (man-made) soils, are the result of Amerindian settlements in the pre-Columbian period. ADE are highly variable in terms of their size, shape, depth and physical and chemical make-up. Scholars tend to divide ADE into two ca...

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Autor principal:	Fraser, James A.
Outros Autores:	Teixeira, Wenceslau Geraldes, Falcão, Newton P.S., Woods, William I., Lehmann, Johannes, Junqueira, André Braga
Grau:	Artigo
Idioma:	English
Publicado em:	Area 2020
Assuntos:	Agricultural Soil Geographical Distribution Interpolation Physicochemical Property Principal Component Analysis Settlement History Soil Classification Soil Fertility Amazonia Brasil Madeira River
Acesso em linha:	https://repositorio.inpa.gov.br/handle/1/18155

id	oai:repositorio:1-18155
recordtype	dspace
spelling	oai:repositorio:1-18155 Anthropogenic soils in the Central Amazon: From categories to a continuum Fraser, James A. Teixeira, Wenceslau Geraldes Falcão, Newton P.S. Woods, William I. Lehmann, Johannes Junqueira, André Braga Agricultural Soil Geographical Distribution Interpolation Physicochemical Property Principal Component Analysis Settlement History Soil Classification Soil Fertility Amazonia Brasil Madeira River Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE), one of the best-known examples of anthropogenic (man-made) soils, are the result of Amerindian settlements in the pre-Columbian period. ADE are highly variable in terms of their size, shape, depth and physical and chemical make-up. Scholars tend to divide ADE into two categories: terra preta and terra mulata. The former are dark and highly fertile soils replete with ceramic shards, indicating former areas of habitation, while the latter are lighter in colour, less fertile, lacking pottery and thought to be old agricultural fields. While a scientific consensus on the origins of terra preta has existed for several decades, the origins of terra mulata remain enigmatic and contested. We argue that owing to the overlapping and constantly changing boundaries of agricultural and habitational areas, it is unlikely that there exist two clear soil fertility classes. This article examines the hypothesis that rather than two distinct anthrosol categories, ADE sites should exhibit a highly fertile 'core area', which grades into more subtly modified soils, with a continuum of fertility between them. Using principal components analysis (PCA) and interpolations based on the geographic distribution of the soil samples, we show that ADE along the Middle Madeira, Brazilian Amazon are extremely diverse, but data support more of a gradient between areas of greater and lesser fertility rather than two distinct categories. We also assess local people's perceptions and classifications of anthropogenic and surrounding soils using ethnographic data. Rather than discarding the terra preta-terra mulata opposition however, we suggest abandoning only the idea that they are separate categories, and instead emphasise a continuum, the darker, bluff edge 'central' regions with abundant ceramics are consonant with published descriptions of terra preta, which grade into surrounding areas with lighter, less fertile soils that better fit terra mulata descriptions. © 2011 The Authors. Area © 2011 Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). 2020-06-15T21:52:06Z 2020-06-15T21:52:06Z 2011 Artigo https://repositorio.inpa.gov.br/handle/1/18155 10.1111/j.1475-4762.2011.00999.x en Volume 43, Número 3, Pags. 264-273 Restrito Area
institution	Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - Repositório Institucional
collection	INPA-RI
language	English
topic	Agricultural Soil Geographical Distribution Interpolation Physicochemical Property Principal Component Analysis Settlement History Soil Classification Soil Fertility Amazonia Brasil Madeira River
spellingShingle	Agricultural Soil Geographical Distribution Interpolation Physicochemical Property Principal Component Analysis Settlement History Soil Classification Soil Fertility Amazonia Brasil Madeira River Fraser, James A. Anthropogenic soils in the Central Amazon: From categories to a continuum
topic_facet	Agricultural Soil Geographical Distribution Interpolation Physicochemical Property Principal Component Analysis Settlement History Soil Classification Soil Fertility Amazonia Brasil Madeira River
description	Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE), one of the best-known examples of anthropogenic (man-made) soils, are the result of Amerindian settlements in the pre-Columbian period. ADE are highly variable in terms of their size, shape, depth and physical and chemical make-up. Scholars tend to divide ADE into two categories: terra preta and terra mulata. The former are dark and highly fertile soils replete with ceramic shards, indicating former areas of habitation, while the latter are lighter in colour, less fertile, lacking pottery and thought to be old agricultural fields. While a scientific consensus on the origins of terra preta has existed for several decades, the origins of terra mulata remain enigmatic and contested. We argue that owing to the overlapping and constantly changing boundaries of agricultural and habitational areas, it is unlikely that there exist two clear soil fertility classes. This article examines the hypothesis that rather than two distinct anthrosol categories, ADE sites should exhibit a highly fertile 'core area', which grades into more subtly modified soils, with a continuum of fertility between them. Using principal components analysis (PCA) and interpolations based on the geographic distribution of the soil samples, we show that ADE along the Middle Madeira, Brazilian Amazon are extremely diverse, but data support more of a gradient between areas of greater and lesser fertility rather than two distinct categories. We also assess local people's perceptions and classifications of anthropogenic and surrounding soils using ethnographic data. Rather than discarding the terra preta-terra mulata opposition however, we suggest abandoning only the idea that they are separate categories, and instead emphasise a continuum, the darker, bluff edge 'central' regions with abundant ceramics are consonant with published descriptions of terra preta, which grade into surrounding areas with lighter, less fertile soils that better fit terra mulata descriptions. © 2011 The Authors. Area © 2011 Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers).
format	Artigo
author	Fraser, James A.
author2	Teixeira, Wenceslau Geraldes Falcão, Newton P.S. Woods, William I. Lehmann, Johannes Junqueira, André Braga
author2Str	Teixeira, Wenceslau Geraldes Falcão, Newton P.S. Woods, William I. Lehmann, Johannes Junqueira, André Braga
title	Anthropogenic soils in the Central Amazon: From categories to a continuum
title_short	Anthropogenic soils in the Central Amazon: From categories to a continuum
title_full	Anthropogenic soils in the Central Amazon: From categories to a continuum
title_fullStr	Anthropogenic soils in the Central Amazon: From categories to a continuum
title_full_unstemmed	Anthropogenic soils in the Central Amazon: From categories to a continuum
title_sort	anthropogenic soils in the central amazon: from categories to a continuum
publisher	Area
publishDate	2020
url	https://repositorio.inpa.gov.br/handle/1/18155
_version_	1787141632637796352
score	11.653393

Anthropogenic soils in the Central Amazon: From categories to a continuum

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