Reply #17: you beat me to it

[AlecBGreen]

Terra preta is a promising "new" technique (created by Amerindians 1000's of years ago) to restore soil fertility. Its very exciting but so far there hasnt been a whole lot of research. Im actually considering getting my masters back in China and studying charcoal incorporation. But I digress. Research into ADE is neat and offers a lot of hope but its still unproven in the modern world. Below are some PROVEN methods of restoring soil fertility. Bear in mind these are links to get you started, not the actual published studies.

http://www.permaculture.org - Developed as a coherent theory in the 70's, this is one of the cornerstones of sustainible agriculture. Increasing soil health by crop rotation, soil amendments, addition of organic matter, etc. Buy the book - its worth it.

www.newfarm.org - An experimental farm in PA funded by the Rodale Institute (http://www.rodaleinstitute.org). I believe they are 100% organic by this point and they have turned the farm around in a short period. It went from a badly degraded piece of land farmed conventionally to a healthy, productive farm with few man-made inputs. Again, lots of cover cropping, crop rotation, intensive management, etc.

http://polyfacefarms.com - Right next to my home in the Shenandoah Valley in VA. They've done things the "right way" for generations and show others how it can be done. Intensive grazing, crop rotation, you get the picture. They have built up their soil through the years and have GREAT chicken and beef!

http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/SERG - SDSU soil restoration group

http://www.clu-in.org/conf/tio/ecorestoration2_100506/ - An EPA online seminar. Neat pictures illustrate soil restoration.

The list goes on and on. The point? Soil can be quickly and safely rehabilitated with 1) discontinued use of man-made chemicals and fertilizers 2) additions of organic matter and 3) proper management.