[Terrapreta] Earthen Kilns Conjecture

[Kurt Treutlein]

Sean K. Barry wrote:
> Hi Jim,
>  
> I've never seen the canopy of the rainforest in the Amazon.  I hope to 
> someday soon.  We should ask Lou about it.  He lives there.  I have 
> seen the canopy in temperate forests.  You cannot get enough sunlight 
> to grow food crops under a forest canopy, I didn't think.  I might be 
> wrong about this, but I think its true?  Nowadays, Brazilians do not 
> leave trees standing and grow crops under them.  They slash-and-burn.  
> We seek to change that to slash-and-char.  No maybe Savanna might be a 
> better terraform to begin "Terra Preta Nova" development in than in a 
> rainforest.  That is certainly possible, don't you think?
>  
> Regards,
>  
> SKB
Having lived in New Guinea for many years I found their slash and burn 
methods allowed quite enough light down to the soil to grow crops  in a 
slash and burn situation. Which by the way is little different from 
slash and char in it's canopy opening results. And these were originally 
done with stone axes, the stone for which had often been traded in from 
far away. Start with savannah--- no.

Kurt