[Terrapreta] Fwd: Google Alert - "terra preta "

[Sean K. Barry]

Hi Brian,

Does anyone know the difference in tons of carbon per hectare between "corn rows" and a forest of 350' tall tropical rainforest trees?
Which one is bigger?  Which does anyone think is more likely to have been the most prevalent plant form in the Amazon Tropical Rainforest, then (2500 years ago) or now; "rainforest trees", or "corn rows"?  Did the continent of South America move into the area from outside the tropics, in around 2500 years ago?

I think these questions and probably some others would lead one to question "highly" the possibility that corn was used to make the bulk of the charcoal, rather than trees.

This is just my opinion?

SKB


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Brian Hans<mailto:bhans at earthmimic.com> 
  To: Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org<mailto:Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
  Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 9:03 PM
  Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Fwd: Google Alert - "terra preta "


  http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2003doc.nsf/43bb6130e5e86e5fc12569fa005d004c/f70b80eb7cd25728c1256d57003e5f0c/$FILE/JT00147699.PDF<http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2003doc.nsf/43bb6130e5e86e5fc12569fa005d004c/f70b80eb7cd25728c1256d57003e5f0c/$FILE/JT00147699.PDF>

  Some light botanical reading on corn. 

  A few 'corn off topic' notes;

  Notice where they talk about perennial relation to corn. I cannot believe someone hasnt been able to cross that perennial line with corn, seeing how much work is done on corn itself. My guess is that type of research is scratched for future economic reasons by the big guys. Imagine the world if corn was a perennial... 

  I studied botanical taxonomy @ UWMadison and Iltis is convinced of the 'teosinte' theory and he is a mountain of a man @ UWMadison, so who am I to argue. 

  Notice how important corn really is to the human diet. It makes alot of sense that we would try to make ethanol with it...just as anyone plays with their food they are swimming in. 

  Putting yourself into the shoes of pre-modern man, every part of the crop would have been utilized. Im curious as to how they handled the stover. If 'terra preta man' infact had corn stover...it seems plausable that stover was apart of the making of char. Remember that stover is a good 'carbon crop' and certainly it was used in ancient times as such. 

  Brian Hans

  lou gold <lou.gold at gmail.com> wrote:
    Well, in the Beni region they found a tribe that still had the old words for maize (and other plants).  I'm wondering if there is similar (or other) evidence of corn from central Amazonia, or if it's just an hypothesis?  

    Perhaps Robert can answer here?



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