I International Workshop: Wageningen, The Netherlands, 2011

I International Workshop: Wageningen, The Netherlands, 2011

The First International Workshop of the Terra Preta Program took place in Wageningen (the Netherlands) from May 9th to May 13th, 2011. The workshop was attended by 35 participants, being a third of them PhD students working on terra preta related issues.

The workshop covered a large variety of topics, ranging from administrative aspects of the program (such as rules of the game, structure of the program) to extensive discussions on scientific aspects. The workshop was for many of the participants the first opportunity to meet with each other. The PhD students of the program took great advantage of this opportunity and interacted extensively with their (local and WU) supervisors, which resulted in fruitful and inspiring discussions on their research proposals.

A symposium organized in the framework of the workshop served to highlight current knowledge and future research questions on terra preta. All speakers had ample of experience in working with terra preta from very different perspectives and research fields. Consequently, presentations covered a wide range of topics including archaeology, soil science, ethnobotany, agrobiodiversity, and agriculture. This symposium was open to everybody to increase awareness about terra preta in the larger community of the university.