[Terrapreta] Praire is natures way of making terra preta.

[joe ferguson]

Two points:
    I recall from somewhere in my ancient education that many areas of 
the US Midwest have deep loess soils accreted from windblown particles 
eroded from the mountains to the west (upwind.)
    And I recall reading a recent article about current work in 
perennial crops, such as wheat, and what they can do for restoring the 
soil.  I just googled for a reference to the specific article, but to no 
avail.  But I did get lots of hits on the subject.

Joe

lou gold wrote:
> Thank you, David. I'll chalk it up to my mis-education as a youth in 
> Illinois. Yes, I really was taught this long ago. It seems similar (as 
> you suggest) to the widespread teaching that there could not have been 
> developed civilizations in the Amazon "due to poor soils."
>
>
>
>
> On 9/1/07, *David Yarrow* <dyarrow at nycap.rr.com 
> <mailto:dyarrow at nycap.rr.com>> wrote:
>
>     the notion the midwest's thick dark loams are glacial deposits is
>     as falacious as the original assumption terra preta was a natural
>     geological deposit.  glaciers deposit minerals from cracked,
>     scoured and pulverized rocks.  they didn't deposit (hardly) any
>     organic materials.
>      
>     the last continental glacier retreated 10-12,000 years ago.  with
>     a fresh supply of primary, unreacted rock minerals and trace
>     elements, biological nature rapidly turned inert dirt -- primary
>     rock minerals -- into topsoil.
>      
>     many prairie and forest plants send dense root structures six,
>     eight, even ten feet into the ground.  some are taproot
>     structures; others are fine mesh, highly branched networks.  when
>     these plants die, they leave all their carbon skeletons deep in
>     the soil.  and larger soil organism such as earthworms further
>     distribute organic matter  throughout the subsoil.  10,000 years
>     in highly mineral enriched soil is more than enough time for
>     nature to create high carbon soils several feet deep.
>      
>     but it only takes a century (or less) of plowing and chemicals to
>     burn off most of that organic matter.  after all, the tractor was
>     only widespread beginning the early 1900s, and ag chemical didn't
>     widely proliferate until after WW2.
>      
>     which is part of the intrigue and mystery of terra preta and
>     charcoal: their fertility, organic carbon content and stucture
>     hasn't degraded all that much in 300 years of intensive use.
>      
>     David Yarrow
>     "If yer not forest, yer against us."
>     Turtle EyeLand Sanctuary
>     44 Gilligan Road, East Greenbush, NY 12061
>     dyarrow at nycap.rr.com <mailto:dyarrow at nycap.rr.com>
>     www.championtrees.org <http://www.championtrees.org>
>     www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org
>     <http://www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org>
>     www.citizenre.com/dyarrow/ <http://www.citizenre.com/dyarrow/>
>     www.farmandfood.org <http://www.farmandfood.org>
>     www.SeaAgri.com <http://www.SeaAgri.com>
>      
>     "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times,
>     if one only remembers to turn on the light." 
>     -Albus Dumbledore
>
>         ----- Original Message -----
>         *From:* lou gold <mailto:lou.gold at gmail.com>
>         *To:* Gerald Van Koeverden <mailto:vnkvrdn at yahoo.ca>
>         *Cc:* Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
>         <mailto:Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> ; bhans at earthmimic.com
>         <mailto:bhans at earthmimic.com>
>         *Sent:* Saturday, September 01, 2007 10:41 AM
>         *Subject:* Re: [Terrapreta] Praire is natures way of making
>         terra preta.
>
>         Hmmm. I grew up in Illinois and was taught that the deep rich
>         black loam soils were "pushed" to their present locations as
>         advancing glaciers scraped away the top-soils to the north. Is
>         this an incorrect view?
>
>         I think my wording was a bit inaccurate.  All soils grow
>         through nature's processes.  My  point was simply that they
>         did not grow to the great depths in the Midwest as they did
>         and do in the Amazon. Soil that grew to the north was
>         deposited along with native growth.
>
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     Terrapreta mailing list
>     Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org <mailto:Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
>     http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/
>     <http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/>
>     http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
>     http://info.bioenergylists.org
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Terrapreta mailing list
> Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/
> http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
> http://info.bioenergylists.org

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: /pipermail/terrapreta_bioenergylists.org/attachments/20070901/aa4aa0e9/attachment.html