[Terrapreta] Biomass sources

[Brian Hans]

Thanks for the question Kurt because its important.
   
  Use all the "waste" crop residues (eg corn stover)? Also not good. If 
you remove that and turn it into char, where is the Soil Organic 
Material going to come from? We're short of that virtually everywhere 
now, are we going to end up with sterile soils that need artificial 
fertilizers to produce anything at all? 
   
  This is where you are missing the point. Lets go thru what happens to biomass that is crop residues? Virtually all of it leaves the the system before it turns into stable carbon. You can see this in a compost pile, whereas you start with 100 lbs of biomass and you end up with 10lbs of compost. What happens to the carbon? The bugs burn thru most of it in the form of CO2. Relatively little carbon is left after the soil biota get thru with it. So this is where TP can come into the game. Charcoal produces much more stable carbon per input lb than letting soil biota do that same work. Thus, TP is a better way of managing ag waste than letting soil biota do the work ever could be for the long term health of the soil. 
   
  We still have to find out if this works anywhere but in tropical 
soils like the Amazon.
   
  Even tho all the data isnt in, its obvious to me and others that TP works in many soils and conditions outside the tropics. I live in Wisconsin and have some land in the central sands. My Plainfield Sand soil has been improved by adding charcoal. Its only anecdotal evidence but that is because its a relatively new concept to modern farmers. There are many ppl on this site that are trying to provide that evidence. 
   
  There IS a possibility:. *ALGAE*. 
   
  Here we go again. Algae production is no where near commercial and likely never will be. Sure there can be an improvement in productivity but that comes with a few problems. 1) Its grown in the water. 2) One needs to build infrastructure vs traditional ag which uses only land. 3) Coal and current biomass sells for .04-.06$/lb. Presently, algae sells for 100's $/lb. 4) Manure and many ag wastes can be had for free (or less) and all have a higher % of solids than algae.   I could go on but the point is, dont hold your breath. 
   
  I hope this helps the TP argument for you Kurt,
   
  Brian
   
   
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