DARK EARTH: SCIENTISTS UNVEIL A NEW 'SECRET WEAPON' TO COMBAT DEFORESTATION

Ancient soil from the heart of the Amazon could help restore the planet's depleted rainforests

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Scientists may be able to protect the future of the world's forests by using remnants from the past, in the form of a thick, black soil buried deep in the Amazon rainforest. It's called 'Dark Earth'.

Transformed from poor-quality soil by centuries of deposits from indigenous peoples, Dark Earth could now be the 'secret weapon' we need to restore forests across the globe, according to a new study from the University of São Paulo, Brazil. The scientists found that tree species grow as much as six times taller in Dark Earth than in normal soil.

Amazonian Dark Earth (or ADE) comprises ancient sediments of day-to-day life, including charcoal from fires for cooking and burning waste, animal bones, broken pottery, compost and manure. These were created by millions of Amerindian people between 450 BC and AD 950.