[Terrapreta] Using Biochar to Reduce N & P Use or Runoff

[dyarrow at nycap.rr.com]

good thinking, tom.

use of biochar in soil conditioning will require changes in the 
methods used to fertilize farm fields.  farmers and ag consultants 
will have to be trained how to re-evaluate and re-calculate the amount 
of fertilizers they apply each year.  

the expectation is that incorporating charcoal will reduce losses by 
leaching of critical nutrients such as N, Ca, K, and P, snd thus 
reduce the need for annual applications of these chemicals.  further, 
the increased efficiency of nutrient exchange between soil solution, 
soil microbes and plant roots will similarly reduce the need for 
annual fertilizer applications.

and considering the ability of charcoal to absorb and hold onto these 
nutrient ions within their spongy structure, changes may be needed in 
the laboratory methods used to measure these nutrients.  otherwise N-P-
K-Ca tests may not detect and measure the amounts stored inside the 
char where it resists release by normal solution methods of analysis.

but if farmers & their consultants don't understand the action of 
biochar and don't allow for this difference in their computations, 
they will continue to overdose their fields and crops.

evaluating these issues and suggesting new testing and calculation 
protocols, and then disseminating this modified technique is sure to 
be an obstacle to widespread deployment of biochar strategies.

this is certainly an area the ag & soil scientists are going to have 
to study, quantify and come up with recommendations.

david yarrow

----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Miles <tmiles at trmiles.com>
Date: Tuesday, January 1, 2008 1:21 pm
Subject: [Terrapreta] Using Biochar to Reduce N and P Use or Runoff
To: terrapreta at bioenergylists.org

> Anne Casselman writing in Scientific American last May, suggested 
> that, "the
> use of char also promises to combat marine dead zones, like that 
> in the Gulf
> of Mexico caused by nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich agricultural 
> runoff. Char
> reduces the need for man-made fertilizers by helping the soil retain
> nutrients." 
> 
> 
> 
> It has been suggested in other sources that charcoal as TP could 
> reduce the
> use of N and P. As far as I know we haven't quantified how much 
> fertilizercould be reduced in field crops like corn and soybeans 
> that contribute
> runoff to the Gulf of Mexico. And the problem persists. See: Sarah 
> Williams,Dead Serious, Experts worry about lack of progress in 
> efforts to reduce
> lifeless zone in the Gulf of Mexico
> http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/bob10.asp 
> 
> Week of Dec. 22, 2007; Vol. 172, No. 25/26 , p. 395 
> 
> 
> 
> According to Lehmann "Nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium 
> readilyadhere to charcoal, and the combination creates a good 
> habitat for
> microorganisms." So it should be possible to use TP in various 
> ways to
> reduce runoff. What techniques have been tried?
> 
> 
> 
> Is anyone currently working on using TP for either a) fertilizer 
> reductionfor corn and soybeans or b) reducing nutrient runoff? 
> Again, the
> environmental value of TP may be far greater than the short term 
> monetaryvalue. That could lead to monetary strategies to promote 
> TP. 
> 
> 
> 
> Let's focus this discussion on technology, testing and results and 
> not on
> politics. 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Tom Miles
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Reference links:
> 
> May 15, 2007 Special Report: Inspired by Ancient Amazonians, a 
> Plan to
> Convert Trash into Environmental Treasure
> 
> New bill in U.S. Senate will advocate adoption of "agrichar" 
> method that
> could lessen our dependence on fossil fuel and help avert global 
> warming by
> Anne Casselman
> 
> http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=pyrolyisis-terra-preta-could-
> eliminate-g
> arbage-generate-oil-carbon-sequestration  
> 
> 
> 
> Rebecca Reiner,  Rethinking biochar Environmental Science and 
> Technology,Technology News - August 1, 2007
> 
> http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-
> w/2007/aug/tech/rr_biochar.html
> 
> 
> 
>