[Terrapreta] Feedstock for TP Charcoal

[rkurt at tadaust.org.au]

Hi folkes,
What can we successfully make TP charcoal out of?
Well, we don't really know, do we. A number of people and concerns on 
this list are working to the point, but nobody except the old Indios 
really know.
Their evidence, some years old suggests that tropical hardwoods from 
their sites are the way to go.
In Japan they have been working with bamboo charcoal and allegedly have 
had some success.
Anecdotal evidence from Australia suggest that trees cleared and 
windrowed and burnt to make way for pasture had a TP type effect, in one 
case and unknown in another.

If it is in fact hardwood charcoal that is needed, then how are we going 
to get enough to make a difference. Presumably, other kinds of charcoal 
will be less effective in rasing fertility leavels, though that should 
not stop us putting it in the soil.
How do you get lots of hardwood to make into charcoal? Australian 
eucalypts would do the job, but you'd have people out in force to string 
you up from them if you suggested razing Australian forests to make 
charcoal. People ARE planting them at present, mainly for the woodchip 
trade and others to make timber in the future. These all seem to 
envisage eventual clear felling---- but---- there is another way. 
Coppicing. Cut the tree off a foot or so above the ground, when its 8 or 
so inches thick. Use the wood, the stump will reshoot and some years 
later you will be able to repeat the process and keep on doing so, over 
the years. In Elizabethan days, practically all Englands forests were 
managed that way. Other kinds of trees will do the same.

Another possibility is algae. According to discussion on the "Oil from 
Algae" list truly enormous amounts of algae can be harvested from an 
acre of pond. The stuff can double every day down to every few hours. 
Dry it. You can then extract oil, or burn it in powerhouses. It may even 
be usable for TP purposes, but that needs experimentation. It would 
certainly help reduce the amount of fossil fuel being fed into 
powerhouses. Any oil would make a usable supply for vehicles. Where do 
you get it? There are plenty of sunny non-arable areas around, deserts 
and such. The ponds could be built there.

Something to think about.

Kurt