[Terrapreta] Fw: QuantumShift.tv - Soil: Secret Solution to Global Warming

[David Yarrow]

below is an email i got from Michael Martin Melendrez of Soil Secrets.  dr. melendrez has studied soil systems intensively for 30 years, especially the extremely challenging soils of the southwestern states -- new mexico, arizona, colorado, etc....  in the process, he developed a series of soil treatments that are proven highly effective to dramatically accelerate the processes of soil formation, including both chemical and bioloigical components.  

michael's true passion isn't soil, but trees, and he operates a nursery in las lunas, new mexico which includes the largest collection of oak species west of the mississippi.  his nursery was orginally a bare, infertile, unproductive soil which is now a working demonstration of his strategies and materials.

below are his initial comments on terra preta, and the idea of addressing global warming by storing carbon from the air as soil carbon.

you can learn more about his unique strategies to create fertile, productive topsoil from the arid, infertile southwest soils at his website:
www.soilsecrets.com

~david yarrow

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Soilsecrets at aol.com 
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 11:56 AM
Subject: Check out QuantumShift.tv - Soil: The Secret Solution to Global Warming -...


Good Morning, 

The question is can Global Warming be mitigated somewhat by humans by the simple act of sequestering carbon into the soil by instigating Pedogenesis (soil creation)?  It's an interesting concept to say the least!  

It is possible to measure the quantity of carbon in the soil by measuring the actual humus content using a base extraction technique to leach the Humic acids from the soil.  It will also require some extrapolation based on a before and after quantifying and qualifying of the soils Humic acid content.  

For example, if you look at Kim's soil before using Soil Secrets 3 years ago (first image)


and then after 3 years of using our stuff (second image) 

a clear topsoil development has occurred.  We'd need to just measure that top 3 inches of new topsoil to quantify what has happened.  

In the case of the Terra Preta soils of the Amazon watershed, much examination and claims of benefits have been placed on the charcoal that is found on these sites.  The observation followed by the hopeful claim was made that when these soils were harvested by the local people, so long as some Terra Preta soil was not harvested, the black earth would grow back in a certain time period.  Therefore it may be possible to use this natural soil biology to reclaim soils in other places on earth.  

My issue with this concept is that again the Terra Preta soils were rich in charcoal and in ceramic shards, and much emphasis has been placed on the benefit coming from the charcoal.  But when I asked the Professor (who made that observation and hopeful claim) how the charcoal returned to the harvest site, he was unable to answer that question.  In fact, it was never even questioned if the locals were  telling the truth of this phenomenon actually taking place.   

The reason for the excitement about charcoal used in building the fertility of soils is because the fact that charcoal -- like humus -- is a long lasting substance with a chemical half life measured in many decades, or even centuries.  It therefore can bank carbon for a long time! 

It's important to understand that the carbon tied up in Humic acids (Humus) is banked for a long time because Humus is not rapid-cycling carbon, since it has no calorie value.  As compared to compost and organic matter in the soil, which does have a calorie value, primarily in the form of Carbohydrates, and is therefore distinguished as a 'Rapid-Cycling Carbon' -- with most of the carbon turning into Carbon Dioxide - a greenhouse gas.  

Of course, compost and mulches have value and importance as a soil husbandry tool, and should not be discounted in those respects.  But Pedogenesis requires humus to accumulate in order to define a topsoil, and this process is still not well defined, yet it can be seen clearly in these photos.  

Michael Martin Meléndrez
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