[Terrapreta] Interesting article

[Philip Small]

Interesting.  It should come as no surprise to the list that charcoal
(without added nutrients) will, over a ten year period in this case, effect
increased microbial activity. The increased loss in organic carbon was
clearly from the less recalcitrant sources in the mixed bag: leaf litter and
such,  less recalcitrant sources that are sure degrade far sooner than the
charcoal which replaces it.  Yet the attention grabbing spin in the media
headlines, including an article in Scientific American, (Charcoal in Burned
Forests No Way to Store Carbon) is that the charcoal is a bankrupt vehicle
for carbon sequestration. Rubbish.

The articles do not go into much depth.  We here know enough to give a nod
to increased biomass productivity and thus to increased forest
sequestration, as well as a nod to reduced nitrous oxide emissions from the
soil.

I for one wonder what comparative microbial goosing effect one can validate
in a far shorter time line.  My 80:20 leaf:kitchen-scraps compost has gone
from a vermicompost process for the previous 3 years to one too hot for
worms this year, and the most visible change I can point to is an ever
increasing proportion of charcoal (now approaching 5%) in the compost
feedstock.

On Fri, May 2, 2008 at 7:24 AM, folke Günther <folkeg at gmail.com> wrote:

>  In the latest number of Sciene, (2 May), David Wardle, Marie-Charlotte
> Nilsson och Olle Zackrisson delivers an article: "Fire-Derived Charcoal
> Causes Loss of Forest Humus", where they claim that charcoal particles
> remaining after fire increase the microbial activity so tey break down humic
> particles at a rate that counteracts the carbon sequestration effect of the
> carbon.
> I haven't read the article myself, but I am interested in he content. I
> asked David Warle for a pdf.
>
> FG
>
> --
> ----------------------------------------
> Folke Günther
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> 224 73 Lund
> Sweden
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