Legacy of Amazonian Dark Earth soils on forest structure and species composition

Aim: Amazonian forests predominantly grow on highly weathered and nutrient poor soils. Anthropogenically enriched Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE), traditionally known as Terra Preta de Índio), were formed by pre-Columbian populations. ADE soils are characterized by increased fertility and have continued to be exploited following European colonization. Here, we evaluated the legacy of land-use and soil enrichment on the composition and structure in ADE and NDE forests.

Location: Eeastern and southern Amazonia

Time period: Pre-Columbia - 2014

Methods: We sampled nine pairs of ADE and adjacent NDE forest plots in eastern and southern Amazonia. We collected soil samples per plot at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth and measured stem diameter, height, and identified all individual woody plants (palms, trees, and lianas) with diameter ≥10 cm. We compared soil physicochemical properties, vegetation diversity, floristic composition, aboveground biomass, and percentage of useful species.

Results: ...