[Terrapreta] Charcoal agriculture: not ready for prime time

[Allan Balliett]

Michael (et al) - Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but all the 
info we have on this 'we can't make terra preta' thing is an 
unsubstantiated quote in a Scientific American article, isn't it? 
Gosh, after biological farming for a couple of decades I'm STILL 
continuously surprised by how many unaccounted far factors can affect 
the productivity of a planting or of a piece of ground. I'd sure like 
to see 'more sciene' on this 'conclusion.' Without seeing some 
replication and, really, without the involvement of some biological 
farmers - - you know, the ones who were telling science that compost 
is a good way to grow plants for about 70 years before science 
started supporting the idea of a 'soil food web - - in that 
replication, I have a hard time thinking that terra preta nova has 
been debunked.

Or, have I missed something here?

Thanks

-Allan