[Stoves] [biochar] Re: Report on APBC - first two days

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Reposted after notification of failure to deliver.

 

 

Dear AD

 

I presume you have heard about a fad (craze? activity?) in Europe of walking
through damaged forests and adding powdered rock with several claims made
about how that assisted the forest to regain health.

 

Do you think this is rooted in the silica availability? Or is the claim
spurious? It is reported from the UK as well but I have not read details.

 

If the crop/forest in question would benefit from added, freshly broken
rock, does it not make sense that adding rice hull biochar (which is more
than 1/2 silica) would have equal effect?

 

The electrical properties mentioned by Tom certainly grabbed by attention.

Charged clay particles (which just means they are smaller than 2 microns) in
an electrically conductive environment with lots of finely structured silica
(basically a sponge) might release the needed minerals more efficiently than
otherwise might be the case.

 

Combined with Ron's report that there are a wide variety of chars with very
different properties if will not surprise me to find that your poor results
trying biochar amendment and the success in other places can all be fit into
a single paradigm. You need the right kind to char to get any benefit where
you are.

 

Thanks

Crispin

 

 

+++++++

 

Dear Crispin,

the so called insoluble minerals in the soil actually do dissolve in water,
albeit in extremely small quantities. They cannot be detected in tests using
only chemistry based on their detection in a test tube by using specific
reagents. All minerals absorbed by plants growing in nature come from this
soil solution. Powdering rocks helps the process of dissolving the minerals
in water, and that is why addition of rock powder to a field often gives
higher yield than a field to which such dust is not added. Even silica has
to be dissolved in water, before plants can take it up. Silica and silicates
constitute almost 30% of the earth's crust, and therefore it is the most
abundently available mineral in the soil. Therefore I don't think that
adding more silica to the field would give you higher yield.

 

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