[Terrapreta] Terra Preta Signatures

[Robert Klein]

Hi all

It has been common practice and acknowledged safe
practice to dispose of ash and other combustion
practice in manures and soils since time immemorial
everywhere.

Were it fell apart is in the volumes.  Far too little
was available to make an appreciable difference in
fertilization and there certainly was only a trivial
amount of charcoal.  Far too little to connect the
dots.

I think only corn was able to provide enough at hand
dry plant material in a convenient stackable form to
accommodate the seasonal production of true biochar.

regards

bob




--- Saibhaskar Nakka <saibhaskarnakka at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear All,
> 
> If application of charcoal and other material
> generated by civilisations is
> useful for application in the Amazon, I was
> searching for similar signatures
> existing in India, which could be called "Terra
> Preta" ?! of India. Since
> every civilisation would use all the best material
> available locally /
> generated. http://e-terrapreta.blogspot.com/
> 
> The potters kiln, is found to be a natural
> contributer in this regard. The
> left over material from the traditional potters kiln
> after baking pottery
> items is a good additive for the soils. These kilns
> yield the following
> material after burning, wood and straw (paddy
> straw), etc.
> 
>    1. Charcoal
>    2. Ash
>    3. Shreds of potter - some of them are broken
> during the baking
>    process
>    4. Brunt soil used to coverup the kiln
> 
> All the above components form a good additive for
> the acidic soils as it is.
> The potter rarely shares this material with others,
> he uses it as the most
> precious materail for his own fields.
> The traditional Terra Preta in parts of India.
> 
> 1. All the charcoal and ash collected from the
> respective stoves is dumped
> into the Farm Yard Manure pits and then spread in
> the fields.
> 
> 2. The ash collected after cremation is immersed
> into the streams or rivers,
> by the sons. A traditional ritual followed by all in
> India.
> 
> For some more details, photos see the link:
> 
> http://e-terrapreta.blogspot.com/
> 
> We could explore / discover such traditional wisdom,
> for application to the
> present problems mitigation including Climate
> Change.
> 
> Dr. N. Sai Bhaskar Reddy
> > _______________________________________________
> Terrapreta mailing list
> Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
>
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/
> http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
> http://info.bioenergylists.org



       
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