[Terrapreta] Earthen Kilns Conjecture

[lou gold]

Hi Guys,

Let me jump in here with a Brazilian perspective.

The second largest biome in Brazil is the *cerrado*. It is considered as the
most bio-diverse grassland in the world and it is now about 70% lost to the
large-scale monocultures of modern agri-business. Most of the loss has
occurred in the last 30 years. This loss is every bit as significant as the
deforestation in Amazônia. Let's not get caught in the trap of not seeing
the soil for the trees. The soils of some natural savannahs store lots of
carbon and retain a lot of water. Interestingly, MOST of Brazil's ground
water (which is what supplies people and farms, even a lot of tributaries of
the Amazon) comes from the *cerrado* and not from Amazônia.

So, the question should not be about choosing between forestland and
grassland but understanding that terra preta technologies should be applied
to all lands that have been degraded either by rural over-population
(combined with slash and burn) or by industrial farming. TP can bring forth
an important shift in the consciousness that has dominated modern
agricultural. The shift carries agriculture away from mining and depleting
the resources and resiliencies of the world's soils toward healing and
restoring them. TP can heal the earth and farmers (at every level of
industrial development) can be the healers.

At the risk of over-simplication I would like to suggest one simple rule --

DO NOT CONVERT ANY MORE NATURAL LAND TO INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE OR FORESTRY.
Instead, improve the practices on what has already been converted and
degraded.




On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 3:58 AM, Sean K. Barry <sean.barry at juno.com> wrote:

>
> Hi Kurt,
>
> Why don't you like the idea of starting with Savannah?  I thought it was
> better since it would remove less standing biomass carbon and then it would
> grow back sooner, too, if it was Savanna, vs old growth forest land.  Maybe
> I'm wrong?  What do you think is the best terraform to start converting to
> charcoal first?  This question applies to now, not when or how the Amazon
> people did it 4500 years ago.
>
> Regards,
>
> SKB
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Kurt Treutlein <rukurt at westnet.com.au>
> *To:* terrapreta <terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
> *Sent:* Monday, April 21, 2008 1:47 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [Terrapreta] Earthen Kilns Conjecture
>
> Sean K. Barry wrote:
> >  Hi Kurt,
> >
> >  Start with savannah--- I like this suggestion.
> >
> >  Regards,
> >
> >  SKB
>
> Yes I know you do, re-read what I said: "Start with Savannah---NO."
> In other words, no, I don't like it.
>
> Kurt
>
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