Dirt: The Erosion of CivilizationsDirt, soil, call it what you want—it's everywhere we go. It is the root of our existence, supporting our feet, our farms, our cities. This fascinating yet disquieting book finds, however, that we are running out of dirt, and it's no laughing matter. An engaging natural and cultural history of soil that sweeps from ancient civilizations to modern times, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations explores the compelling idea that we are—and have long been—using up Earth's soil. Once bare of protective vegetation and exposed to wind and rain, cultivated soils erode bit by bit, slowly enough to be ignored in a single lifetime but fast enough over centuries to limit the lifespan of civilizations. A rich mix of history, archaeology and geology, Dirt traces the role of soil use and abuse in the history of Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, China, European colonialism, Central America, and the American push westward. We see how soil has shaped us and we have shaped soil—as society after society has risen, prospered, and plowed through a natural endowment of fertile dirt. David R. Montgomery sees in the recent rise of organic and no-till farming the hope for a new agricultural revolution that might help us avoid the fate of previous civilizations. |
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abandoned accelerated acres agri agricultural practices American ancient areas began Bronze Age century civilization clearing climate colonial crop rotations crop yields cultivation cultural decades degradation developed dirt Dust Bowl earth Easter Island environmental eroded erosion rates Europe European farmers farmland feed fields floodplain forest geologic global grain grazing Greece grew ground growing growth guano gullies half harvests hectares hillsides hillslopes human hundred husbandry inches industrial intensive irrigation island land landscape layer legumes less loess Lowdermilk Mangaia manure Mayan methods million modern native natural nitrogen no-till North nutrients organic farming peasants percent plantations plants plowing population rainfall region revolution River rock Roman Rome runoff sediment slaves slopes society soil conservation soil erosion soil fertility soil formation soil loss soil organic matter soil production South southern stripped surface sustain terra preta thick thousand Tikopia tion tobacco topsoil upland valley bottoms vegetation weathered wheat worms Younger Dryas