[Terrapreta] Charcoal costs

[Richard Haard]

S,K,J,N and Tom

Jim and I have been discussing CEC and soil nutrition and charcoal for  
a few rounds offline and the apparent anomaly of my data not showing a  
boost in CEC with charcoal addition. Rereading Steiner etal tonight I  
have concluded my  first year data is consistent with first year  
results obtained by Steiner in Brazil.

It seems that charcoal addition to soil does not make terra preta and  
that terra preta itself is the product of a long term biological,  
chemical and physical process. The process we used to make our  
charcoal 2 was identical to the local production method where Steiner  
obtained his charcoal.

Jim or anyone do you have a citation that supports your statement in  
an earlier posting

Jim Joyner wrote:
> The CEC increases with compost and charcoal (in Brazil)  . . . well,  
> of course it does.


Here are some quotes from Steiner et al (2007) and my comments that  
might be interesting for this topic of CEC and charcoal in soil.

Paper cited: Long term effects of manure, charcoal and mineral  
fertilization on crop production and fertility on a highly weathered  
central Amazon upland soil

abstract here<  >

from Steiner et al et al p 2

Terra Preta research has shown that oxidation on the edges of the  
aromatic backbone and adsorbtion of other OM to charcoal is  
responsible for the increased CEC, although the proportion of these  
two processed is unclear (Liang et al 2006)

cited  Liang B et al Black Carbon increases cation exchange capacity  
in soils Soil Sci Soc Am J 70:1719-1730

and from page 12 - ' the period of this study might have not been  
sufficient for oxidation'

'and SOM was only effective at increasing CEC levels above pH 5.5  
which is consistent with the blockage of exchange sites by either Al  
or Fe at lower values ---- In our study only plots fertilized with CM  
had pH values higher than 5.5 and increased CEC. '

His charcoal was derived from a secondary producer and manually  
crushed ( not special charcoal and made with a technique identical to  
our charcoal 2 = heap burn)

Definitions of his treatment blocks

C  control
L  leaf litter
LB   simulated slash and burn (burned litter)
F    inorganic fertilizer
CM  chicken manure
2CO  compost
2CC   charcoal
2CO+F  compost +F
2CC+F   charcoal + F
CC+CO  Charcoal + Compost
2CC+CO   Charcoal + Compost
2CC+CO+F Charcoal + Compost + Fertilizer
2CCp charcoal pieces

 From Table 2 page 11 of Steiner et al soil Chemical Properties after  
first harvest (CEC only)

(cmole+kg-1)

Steiner et al  after first harvest values first -  then my own after  
first harvest (charcoal 1 then charcoal 2)
C			1.61	         9.85
L			1.52		
LB			1.73
F			2.16		12.05
CM			12.55
2CO			1.94		11.9
2CC			1.80		10.4,11.9
2CO+F		2.45		12.3
2CC+F		1.94		10.1, 11.25
2CC+CO 		1.8		10.95, 12.3
2CC+CO+F	2.11		12.7, 12
2CCp		1.65

Interesting pattern here. Charcoal 1 showed the best indication of  
enhanced growth above ground and roots. I might speculate the lower  
CEC values represent greater nutrient utilization. Additionally, CEC  
may be incidental to the role of charcoal in soil. We should include  
also biological factors in our considerations.

In terms of biological contribution to beneficial effects of charcoal  
additions Steiner et al concluded

The conditions of ADE (Amazon Dark Earth) are ideal for maximum  
biological N2 fixtation. About 77% of the ADE sampled showed positive  
incidence of Aspospirillum sp. compared to only 10 % of the  
Ferralsols. Charcoal provides a good habitat for the propagation of  
useful microorganisms such as free living nitrogen fixing bacteria and  
mycorrhizal fungi. Ogawa holds the charcoals weak alkalinity, porosity  
and ability to retain water and air responsible for stimulation of  
microbes (citations excluded).

Steiner et al did conclude that

'Charcoal proved to sustain fertility if an additional nutrient source  
was given. Even though significantly more nutrients were exported from  
the charcoal plots (with higher yields) the available nutrient  
contents of the soil did not decrease in comparison to just mineral  
fertilized plots'

In addition he demonstrated highest mineral losses in plots treated  
with Chicken Manure, followed by compost, then litter and control.

Rich H

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