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

[Shengar at aol.com]

Hi Tom, 
Virginia Tech's chicken litter pyrolysis process claimed that P was held  in 
the charcoal 10X longer than the litter spread onto fields. 
I don't know what the average volume of CH4 & N2O & CO2 soil  emissions are 
as soil type and conditions vary, but it wouldn't seem to  difficult to 
establish baselines to verify benefits. 
Extrapolating from the numbers bellow, say a conservative overall 1/3  
reduction of GHG soil emissions, what would that benefit be expressed in  equivalent 
tons of carbon per acre?   
_http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2007/aug/tech/rr_biochar.html
_ 
(http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2007/aug/tech/rr_biochar.html)  
"Preliminary results indicate that biochar amendments to soil appear to  
decrease emissions of nitrous oxide as well as methane, which is a greenhouse  gas 
23 times more potent than CO2. In greenhouse and field  experiments in 
Colombia, nitrous oxide emissions were reduced by 80% and methane  emissions were 
completely suppressed with biochar additions to a forage grass  stand, Marco 
Rondon of the International Development Research Centre and  colleagues told 
participants at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Symposium on  Greenhouse Gases 
and Carbon Sequestration in 2005. _Lukas Van Zwieten_ 
(http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/research/updates/issues/may-2007/soils-offer-new-hope)  and colleagues at 
the Wollongbar  Agricultural Institute are seeing similar preliminary results, 
and Lehmann's  group also has greenhouse and field data showing the same 
effect. 
Possible explanations, Lehmann says, include biochar's influence on  
water-filled pore space, nitrification rates, and the microbial community  structure." 
To paraphrase Faraget;........Damn The Politic's....... FULL SPEED AHEAD! 


ALSO;
Hey Folks, you too can experience the warm glow I get when I recieve  replies 
like this;

Nardi, a scientist at the University of Illinois, writes in his newly  
published book, "Life in the Soil," that a square meter of healthy garden soil  is 
home to 10 trillion bacteria, 10 billion protozoa, 5 million nematodes,  
100,000 mites, 50,000 springtails, 10,000 creatures called rotifers and  
tardigrades, 5,000 insects and arachnids, 3,000 worms and 100 snails and slugs.  Throw in 
the occasional mammal such as a chipmunk or a mole, and a salamander or  two, 
and you get the idea that you don't have to travel to the Brazilian rain  
forest to luxuriate in the biodiversity at our feet.

_washingtonpost.com - nation, world, technology and Washington area  news and 
headlines_ (http://washingtonpost.com/) 


Jim Nardi to me;

Dear Erich,  Thank you for calling my attention to the Terra Preta 
technology. Yes, it is  definitely of interest to me - and I readily inferred its vast 
promise from just  my cursory reading . I shall continue looking over the vast 
amount of  fascinating information you sent me and hope that I may speak with 
you about  certain details after I learn more. 

With much gratitude for sharing this  information on Terra Preta, Jim Nardi"





So..Ya'll ...get posting......

I cover; The Washington Post
MIT  Technology Review
SCIAM
Popular Science

My GooGle filters cover;  Terra Preta
Agrichar
Biochar 
Agricultural charcoal

Please  Report all sucesses to the TP List and /or the "Lobby for Terra 
Preta"  thread 
at_http://forums.hypography.com/terra-preta/13302-lobby-terra-preta.html_ (http://forums.hypography.com/terra-preta/13302-lobby-terra-preta.html) 

Cheers,
Erich
Erich J.  Knight
Shenandoah Gardens
1047 Dave Berry Rd.
McGaheysville, VA.  22840
(540)  289-9750
shengar at aol.com




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