@article{fdi:010079375,
  title = {{A} {C}ongo {B}asin ethnographic analogue of pre-{C}olumbian {A}mazonian raised fields shows the ephemeral legacy of organic matter management},
  author = {{R}odrigues, {L}. and {S}prafke, {T}. and {M}oyikola, {C}. {B}. and {B}arth{\`e}s, {B}ernard and {B}ertrand, {I}. and {C}omptour, {M}. and {R}ostain, {S}. and {Y}oka, {J}. and {M}c{K}ey, {D}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he functioning and productivity of pre-{C}olumbian raised fields ({RF}s) and their role in the development of complex societies in {A}mazonian savannas remain debated. {RF} agriculture is conducted today in the {C}ongo {B}asin, offering an instructive analogue to pre-{C}olumbian {RF}s in {A}mazonia. {O}ur study of construction of present-day {RF}s documents periodic addition of organic matter ({OM}) during repeated field/fallow cycles. {F}ield investigations of {RF} profiles supported by spectrophotometry reveal a characteristic stratigraphy. {S}oil geochemistry indicates that the management of {C}ongo {RF}s improves soil fertility for a limited time when they are under cultivation, but nutrient availability in fallow {RF}s differs little from that in uncultivated reference topsoils. {F}urthermore, examination of soil micromorphology shows that within less than 40 years, bioturbation almost completely removes stratigraphic evidence of repeated {OM} amendments. {I}f {A}mazonian {RF}s were similarly managed, their vestiges would thus be unlikely to show traces of such management centuries after abandonment. {T}hese results call into question the hypothesis that the sole purpose of constructing {RF}s in pre-{C}olumbian {A}mazonia was drainage.},
  keywords = {{CONGO} {BASSIN} ; {AMAZONE} {BASSIN} ; {AMAZONIE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{S}cientific {R}eports - {N}ature},
  volume = {10},
  numero = {1},
  pages = {[12 p.]},
  ISSN = {2045-2322},
  year = {2020},
  DOI = {10.1038/s41598-020-67467-8},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010079375},
}