[Terrapreta] Subject: Re: An interesting conversation on CO2 if interested

Mon Nov 12 16:59:15 EST 2007

Bakary,

I'm enjoying your posts.  I am behind in keeping up with the tp  
discussions and so don't know how long it has been since John Todd's  
"Creating World Class Soils" has been mentioned and I wanted to make  
sure everyone was aware of it.

http://www.oceanarks.org/annals/articles/world%20soils/index.php

This paragraph in particular is of interest here:

  This winter (2007) in Costa Rica, during the dry and windy weather, we  
attempted an experiment to combine terra preta formation with  
composting. Trenches were dug to a depth of about a meter and a half.  
Tree limbs and branches were placed in the bottom of the trenches and  
set on fire. Once combustion was initiated, green organic matter and  
soil were added on top of the burning limbs to slow the combustion and  
lower oxygen levels. This resulted in charcoal formation. As the pile  
cooled, green matter mainly banana stocks, was added, as was soil with  
clay in order to inoculate the compost. In the future the trenches will  
be dug along the contour lines on the slopes of hills. The hillside  
contours, which are planted on the downward side with vetiver grass,  
will not only control runoff and capture moisture; they will be  
powerful sinks for nutrients. This will prevent the leaching of  
nutrients down the hill and away from the farm.

peace,

Doug Clayton

On Nov 12, 2007, at 12:39 PM, bakaryjatta wrote:

> Dear lou and list members,
>
> If we link TP and sequestering CO2 with Agricultural systems, let us  
> go a
> step
> further. Soil erosion is a major disaster world wide, especially when  
> people
> are trying to farm marginal lands on side hills and other problem  
> sites. A
> successful technology
> introduced in many countries is the use of Vetiver grass to make low  
> contour
> bunds permanent. It is not invasive and is a survivor. It traps soil  
> and
> debris and breaks the force of run off water.
> The grass has roots that penetrate soil to a depth of up to
> three meters. It gets established within a short time and it probably
> sequesters CO2 more effectively than several other plant species. Add  
> some
> biochar when planting to optimize the process right from the start and  
> you
> have added another plus to increased agricultural production. For more  
> info
> about the technology go to www.vetiver.org .
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Bakary Jatta
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>>
>> Message: 2
>> Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:23:11 -0200
>> From: "lou gold" <lou.gold at gmail.com>
>>> To: "Michael Bailes" <michaelangelica at gmail.com>
>> Cc: Terrapreta <terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
>> Message-ID:
>> <90d45c6d0711120223o1ac0caf8o4e0cde4b06351e01 at mail.gmail.com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>>
>> Yes, interesting discussion at the forum.
>> I tried to register to participate but couldn't figure out how?
>> Oh well, perhaps it's best for me not to get pulled into yet
>> another conversation (heheh).
>>
>> Two points about calculating human impact in terms of CO2,
>> a big one and a strong quibble:
>>
>> The quibble is that it is completely wrong to say that replanting  
>> trees
>> balances
>> CO2 release through deforestation. Yes, young trees have faster pull  
>> down
>> of CO2 but they must grow to the age of the ancient forest that was  
>> cut in
>> order
>> to sequester as much carbon.
>>
>> The big point is very simple -- natural ecosystems can hold 20 - 100  
>> times
>> more CO2
>> per unit area than agricultural systems. Human populations need
>> agriculture.
>> Population
>> increase expands agriculture. Huge amounts of CO2 are released quite
>> independent of
>> human or industrial "emissions" just because we eat.
>>
>> TERRA PRETA TO THE RESCUE -- CREATE AN AGRICULTURE THAT HOLDS MORE  
>> CARBON
>>
>> Which leads me to something that I'm coming to appreciate more and  
>> more.
>> Terra Preta is not simply a method to achieve a more efficient form  
>> of btu
>> exchanges, a new balance between generation and exhaust, more food  
>> from
>> less
>> input and less waste, etc.
>>
>> It is a paradigm shift from the extractive agriculture of modern
>> civilization which is based on extraction (mining the soil) to a
>> restorative
>> agriculture that holds the promise of healing both nature and people.
>> This is the new dream of the earth!
>>
>> Well ... I believe it.
>> I suspect that some of you do as well.
>>
>> hugs,
>>
>> lou
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Nov 12, 2007 6:40 AM, Michael Bailes <michaelangelica at gmail.com>  
>> wrote:
>>
>>> An interesting conversation on CO2 if interested
>>> http://forums.hypography.com/environmental-studies/13337-co2.html
>>>
>>> --
>>> Michael the Archangel
>>>
>>> "You can fix all the world's problems in a garden. . . .
>>> Most people don't know that"
>>> FROM
>>> http://www.blog.thesietch.org/wp-content/permaculture.swf
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Terrapreta mailing list
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>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> http://lougold.blogspot.com/
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/visionshare/sets/
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>
>
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Douglas Clayton
50 Bullard Rd
Jaffrey, NH  03452
work:  603-532-1120
home: 603-532-7321
fax: 603-532-4581

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