Terra Preta - The parent thread which started it all

[erich]

New Study of 13Carbon in Terra Preta:

Characterisation of black carbon-rich samples by 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance
http://www.springerlink.com/content/...0ae2d534c&pi=2

This may have been posted before:

Ameliorating physical and chemical properties of highly weathered soils in the tropics with charcoal - a review
http://www.springerlink.com/content/...6d24799b2&pi=1



Erich J. Knight

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by erich

This may have been posted before:

Ameliorating physical and chemical properties of highly weathered soils in the tropics with charcoal - a review
http://www.springerlink.com/content/...6d24799b2&pi=1

Erich J. Knight

I haven't seen either article before Erich, thanks.
It would be nice to know what exactly the second article means by this
"Higher charring temperatures generally improved exchange properties and surface area of the charcoal"
Unfortunately it costs money to find out.
Most people talk about charcoal produced at c400C, being best for soil (especially that produced from resinous trees) but most easily available charcoal is 'activated' and produced at much higher temperatures (Which may not be as good in sequestering carbon(CO2) too?)

[erich]

The registration at the Springerlink is free, and you get one journal of your choice free with your registration

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by erich

The registration at the Springerlink is free, and you get one journal of your choice free with your registration

Did't get offered ajournal
Just got this

Access to this resource is secured.
Add this item to your shopping cart for purchase later.
Description Price
Individual Article (Electronic Only) $30.00

It is 2004 so most of the article shoud be around by now.
Temperature the charcoal is produced at seems to be important however and it would be nice to see what they say

[erich]

HOT DAMN!!!!!........We made it into Nature!!

If this doesn't get Terra Preta some real traction , I don't know what will.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal...l/442624a.html

[erich]

I got a Terra Preta story accepted at this science news site:

http://www.sciscoop.com/

Erich

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by erich

HOT DAMN!!!!!........We made it into Nature!!

If this doesn't get Terra Preta some real traction , I don't know what will.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal...l/442624a.html

Good article.
This was especially interesting re global warming

According to Glaser's research, a hectare of metre-deep terra preta can contain 250 tonnes of carbon, as opposed to 100 tonnes in unimproved soils from similar parent material.
The extra carbon is not just in the char — it's also in the organic carbon and enhanced bacterial biomass that the char sustains.

That difference of 150 tonnes is greater than the amount of carbon in a hectare's worth of plants. That means turning unimproved soil into terra preta can store away more carbon than growing a tropical forest from scratch on the same piece of land, before you even start to make use of its enhanced fertility.

and
further on

The remarkable thing about this process is that, even after the fuel has been burned, more carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere than is put back. Traditional biofuels claim to be 'carbon neutral', because the carbon dioxide assimilated by the growing biomass makes up for the carbon dioxide given off by the burning of the fuel. But as Lehmann points out, systems such as Day's go one step further: "They are the only way to make a fuel that is actually carbon negative".
. . .
Then he discovered that his employees were reaping the culinary benefits of the enormous turnips that had sprung up on the piles of char lying around at the plant. Combining this char with ammonium bicarbonate, made using steam-recovered hydrogen, creates a soil additive that is now one of his process's selling points; the ammonium bicarbonate is a nitrogen-based fertilizer.
. . .
Brown thinks a 250-hectare farm on a char-and-ammonium-nitrate system can sequester 1,900 tonnes of carbon a year.

This was an interesting way of explaing things in an article that quotes this site as a source! (Guess that was you erich?)
http://www.sciscoop.com/story/2006/9/14/11028/4598

Terra Preta creates a terrestrial carbon reef at a microscopic level. These nanoscale structures provide safe haven to the microbes and fungus that facilitate fertile soil creation, while sequestering carbon for many hundred if not thousands of years.
The combination of these two forms of sequestration would also increase the growth rate and natural sequestration effort of growing plants.
. . .

Harnessing the work of this vast number of microbes and fungi changes the whole equation of EROEI for food and Bio fuels. I see this as the only sustainable agricultural strategy if we no longer have cheap fossil fuels for fertilizer.

We need to get this super community of wee beasties to work with usby populating them into their proper Soil horizon Carbon Condos.

I feel Terra Preta soil technology is the greatest of Ironies since Tobacco.
That is: an invention of pre-Columbian American culture, destroyed by western disease, may well be the savior of industrial western society.. . .

[Michaelangelica]

This site, along with Cornell Uni., is a major source of internet info on Terra preta.!
SEE:-
http://www.answers.com/topic/terra-preta

Terra preta (which means "dark soil" in Portuguese), refers to expanses of very dark soils found in the Amazon Basin. It is also known as "Amazonian dark earths", "Terra preta do indio", "Terra preta de indio" and "Indian black earth".
Overview
Terra preta is distinguished from "terra comum", or "common soil", which refers to the reddish or yellowish ferralsols that predominate under tropical soils. Terra preta is believed to be the result of past indigenous activities in the forest and is thus considered to be anthropic and/or anthropogenic, possibly from a pre-Columbian civilization.
It seems to be comprised of low temperature charcoal, pottery sherds, plant residues, animal feces, fish bones, and perhaps some biological agent like a special ecosystem of healthy microorganisms.
Because they are very rich in nutrients they are explored and used as compost by Amazonian local farmers and "caboclos".

[erich]

Here's a good source for many different types of charcoal production:

RENEWABLE CARBON
Biomass Charcoal, Activated Carbon

http://www.repp.org/articles/static/1/1011975672_7.html


Erich J. Knight

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by erich

Here's a good source for many different types of charcoal production:

RENEWABLE CARBON
Biomass Charcoal, Activated Carbon

http://www.repp.org/articles/static/1/1011975672_7.html


Erich J. Knight

So much info there!! Thanks erich.

I looked up the 'Home Charcoal production' link but it didnt work so I sent an email to the list owner. He has just replied giving this excellent link
http://bioenergylists.org/en/taxonomy/term/244