[Terrapreta] 80 degrees Fahrenheit

[William Carr]

On Jan 26, 2008, at 7:08 PM, Gerald Van Koeverden wrote:

> I wonder if this is key to understanding why the effect of charcoal
> amendments might turn out to be so much more dramatic in tropical
> than in temperate zones?

That's been suggested.   Like the sand in my garden, poor soils in a  
tropical environment might gulp down digestible organic matter and  
blow it off as CO2.

Bio-char, however, is indigestible and provides a substitute for the  
missing OM.

It may store nutrients by absorbing and "adsorbing" them, improving  
the soil fertility.