Scientists Search for Carbon Solutions in Amazonia's 'Black Earth'

Draw-Down Strategy

Imagine if in a poverty-stricken sector of the equatorial band, littered with acidic soils barely fit for farming, there were jet-black patches of dirt, seeded with charcoal and so fertile that they could be planted continuously for over 40 years without applying fertilizer.

Then imagine that those patches were so loaded with carbon that they had six to seven times the amount of carbon per pound of the surrounding soils, that Western scientists could partially replicate the process through which the black earth was made, and that by burying carbon in earth they could augment soil fertility and, perhaps, leach carbon out of the atmosphere and reverse global warming.

Perhaps the jig is already up—too much detail. What we’re talking about is terra preta, or more colloquially, biochar, the Amazonian miracle soil.

NASA Climatologist James Hansen has endorsed terra preta—literally black earth—as a carbon “draw-down strategy.” British chemist James Lovelock, originator of the Gaia hypothesis, says it is the “one way we could save ourselves.”

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Item Tag: Carbon Action, James Hansen, James Lovelock, Science, Solution

Comments (4)

Ilcemar

09 April 2012 at 17:56 | #

It is a specific type of sobsuiler, developed by P.A. Yeomans in Australia in the 1940 s. It has less surface disturbance than other sobsuilers and, in conjunction with the land design method of Keyline Design (also developed by Yeomans) we are keyline plowing. We use a specific contour line, called the keyline, to plow by we stay parallel to this specific line rather than staying exactly on contour. By doing this, Yeomans discovered that you can actually harvest water up to the ridges! The land is able to hold more water for longer periods, evenly across the landscape. Technically, you could still do keyline plowing with any other sobsuiler, as long as you are following the specific keyline, however, we've found that the Yeomans equipment is best suited it it.

Thanks

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Sergio

08 April 2012 at 14:10 | #

I guess the best thing is to put the char below the compost. Mix it 50/50 with brown gtorinen-low stuff, for better aeration and pathways for worms/microbes/fungi when the stuff rots. Being at the bottom of the compost it can 1) absorb compost seepage (otherwise lost) and 2) perhaps provide the little grinding stones needed by some worms for digestion.But I did that only once. Alas I had no opportunity for comparative compostology when I had my garden: There was no much soil when I started, only granite sands and rocks below the grass. (That's how I got started with char coal: Every boulder plugged out of the ground left behind a hole. As I had not enough material to fill the hole I threw in some BBQ char. Only later I learned this is actually a good idea.)Also I had no big on-time supply of char dust. I just added it to the compost when I got some from my garden fireplace (flushed with water, then grinded by hand) or from home heating (saw dust briquettes put in a bucket of water when red glowing).Soaking with urine is sure a good idea. But char plus urine gets extremely smelly (ammonia), even to a sickening degree. Make sure it is well covered with wet stuff that absorbs/filters the ammonia. Too much urine is poison to most compost fauna and chases away the worms but they do return and the dead critters' bodies constitute a good step in the composting cycles.Methinks comfrey tea would be a waste of work and comfrey.For real gardening men there's Florifulgurator's practical portable pissoir: You need a funnel, a bottle/canister, and a table tennis ball to automaticly close the funnel to avoid odor. The funnel needs to fit absolutely airtight to the bottle, for otherwise the ball gets stuck. (Kitchen-sink experiment: put ball in funnel cone, fill in water the ball gets stuck down and no water flows off. Close funnel outlet with finger ball floats up and when opening the outlet, waters flows out.) Peeing into that thing and watching the ball rotate is fun. Needs only a cup of water (or cold coffe, etc.) to flush.

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Charmaster Dolph Cooke

08 April 2012 at 03:23 | #

Hello Elice, I could not think of anything more itiexcng than to go to NZ and demonstrate. I never travel far from home and have never been out of OZ as I have a big job to do on the forest. But if I ever find myself in a situation where I am on my way over to New Zealand I will email you and definitely come visit/display/teach/enthusi you.

Thanks for the comment and don't forget to get involved with our website by sending me pictures of you and friends and your countryside and of course your attempts at making Biochar.

Charmaster Dolph

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Marcela

08 April 2012 at 02:35 | #

Please keep thorwnig these posts up they help tons.

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