by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The black soil of the Amazon, or that particular type of soil found in some areas of the forest and famous for its fertility, could prove particularly useful in restoration operations of deforested areas<\/strong>. This is suggested by research carried out by the University of S\u00e3o Paulo<\/strong> in cooperation with two government research organizations: the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture’s Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecu\u00e1ria (Embrapa) and the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaz\u00f4nia Research of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.<\/p>\n “Deforestation of areas for agriculture and cattle breeding is the leading cause of ecological degradation and loss of biodiversity,” says the study published<\/a> in the journal Frontiers in Soil Science<\/em>. “The solution to mitigate these damages relies on techniques that improve soil health<\/strong> and the microbial quality of these degraded areas. Here, we demonstrate that the high nutrient and microbiological contents of Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE) can promote the development of trees used in ecological restoration projects.”<\/p>\n