Rodrigues L. auteur aut IRD Sprafke T. auteur aut IRD Moyikola C. B. auteur aut IRD Barthès Bernard auteur aut IRD Bertrand I. auteur aut IRD Comptour M. auteur aut IRD Rostain S. auteur aut IRD Yoka J. auteur aut IRD McKey D. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access The functioning and productivity of pre-Columbian raised fields (RFs) and their role in the development of complex societies in Amazonian savannas remain debated. RF agriculture is conducted today in the Congo Basin, offering an instructive analogue to pre-Columbian RFs in Amazonia. Our study of construction of present-day RFs documents periodic addition of organic matter (OM) during repeated field/fallow cycles. Field investigations of RF profiles supported by spectrophotometry reveal a characteristic stratigraphy. Soil geochemistry indicates that the management of Congo RFs improves soil fertility for a limited time when they are under cultivation, but nutrient availability in fallow RFs differs little from that in uncultivated reference topsoils. Furthermore, examination of soil micromorphology shows that within less than 40 years, bioturbation almost completely removes stratigraphic evidence of repeated OM amendments. If Amazonian RFs were similarly managed, their vestiges would thus be unlikely to show traces of such management centuries after abandonment. These results call into question the hypothesis that the sole purpose of constructing RFs in pre-Columbian Amazonia was drainage. specialized CONGO BASSIN AMAZONE BASSIN AMAZONIE 068 076 112 10 1 [12 p.] 2020 2045-2322 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010079375 10.1038/s41598-020-67467-8 2045-2322 [F B010079375] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010079375 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers20-08/010079375.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2020-09-17 2025-02-24 fdi:010079375 fre