[Stoves] [biochar] Capturing carbon in the timber industry

[Anand Karve]

Dear Crispin,
we have been conducting trials with biochar for several years but have never
found statistically  significant increase in yield due to application of
charcoal to the soil. A small increase in yield could be seen in the average
of several trials, but it might be due to improved drainage of the soil, or
due to minerals in the charcoal itself. Organic compost, vermicompost etc.
always gave significantly higher yield than the untreated control.  In
Thailand, I saw a plantation, in which lumps of charcoal were placed around
the plants as a sort of mulch, covering the soil about one meter around the
plants. It may have acted as a mulch, preventing evaporation of water from
the soil.
yours
A.D.Karve

On Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 4:04 PM, Crispin Pemberton-Pigott <
crispinpigott at gmail.com> wrote:

>  Dear AD
>
>
>
> The proposal is that burying charcoal in the forest floor might improve the
> forest yield. Perhaps it is limited by something else, say, water. I am
> wondering if there is any support for the general claim that char in the
> soil is beneficial, without worrying yet about whether it makes economic
> sense.
>
>
>
> The claims are fairly broad so I am interested in how and under what
> circumstances it holds true.
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
> Crispin
>
>
>
> +++++++++=
>
>
>
> Dear Kevin,
>
> the need of the hour is fuel. By leaving the branches, leaves and bark
> lying on the forest floor, you sacrifice a large amount of energy. The soil
> has enough minerals to support forestry and agriculture indefinitely. These
> minerals have very low solubility in water, and therefore the root hairs of
> the plants are not able to absorb them efficiently, but the soil
> micro-organisms can absorb them much more efficiently, because they absorb
> through their entire cell surface. The microbes then make the mineral
> nutrients available to plants. It is an accepted fact that there exists a
> positive correlation between the number of soil microbes per g soil and the
> soil fertility. Applying about 50 kg green leaves to the soil, once every
> three months, is enough to maintain a high microbial population density in
> the soil.
> Yours
>
> Anand
>
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-- 
***
Dr. A.D. Karve
President, Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI)

*Please change my email address in your records to: adkarve at gmail.com *
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