[Terrapreta] Terra Preta - not just about charcoal in soil

[Jon C. Frank]

Just adding charcoal may lead to a nitrogen shortage.

Jon
www.aglabs.com

  -----Original Message-----
  From: terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org
[mailto:terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org]On Behalf Of Sean K. Barry
  Sent: Monday, October 01, 2007 10:12 AM
  To: Robert Flanagan; Kevin Chisholm
  Cc: terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
  Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Terra Preta - not just about charcoal in soil


  Hi Kevin, Robert,

  Good questions, Kevin!  Right on point as I see it.  I would maybe add one
more request, Robert.  4. Could we see if adding just charcoal made from the
stover on a plot continues to show soil with "... a profound effect on plant
development with no other soil fertility program".  You must be careful that
only charcoal made from the wastes on the plot is used.  Adding more rice
hull charcoal, for instance, would add some fertilizing nutrients that were
taken from the soil that the rice grew in.  Adding new rice hull charcoal
would not show the benefits of charcoal alone in the soil.

  As I see it, the contention in recent discussions has been that charcoal
made from the plant crop wastes alone (corn stover) on an agricultural
field, when applied to that field (alone, up to 10 or 50 repeated times) is
all that is required to increase or maintain the soil fertility.  My reading
is that this is NOT TRUE.  I do not see that the nutrient content can be
maintained, as each harvest of the corn cobs will deplete the nutrients and
the charred stover will add nothing new beyond what was there when the crop
sprouted.

  Adding anything else would not reveal the value of charcoal in the soil.

  Regards,

  SKB
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