[blam]

"Shocks the hell out of me."

1491, one of my favorite artricles.

[Carry_Okie]

The Amazon as a system of abandoned farms and orchards makes a lot more sense than the evolutionary model. There would be a top layer of super rich soil that would support more plant life than is typically sustainable, transpiring enormous amounts of water. As the system densified, that nutrient layer would be slowly consumed into a massive overstory that, when removed, would leave extremely poor soils. It makes total sense.

Look at any other long abandoned farm and note how dense the vegetation is.