[Stoves] Free FUEL is rotting around you !

[Anand Karve]

Dear Robert,
the important minerals (e.g. N and P) are generally removed from the leaves
by the plants themselves, before shedding the leaves. The ash that is left
after charring  the leaves generally contains potassium and silica, both of
which are abundantly available in the soil (at least where I live). The
notion that plants get their nutrients from the leaves and other plant
parts is wrong. The organic matter like leaf litter serves mainly as carbon
source to the soil microbes. Most of the plants growing outside the
cultivated fields take up the minerals from the soil with the help of the
soil microbes.
Yours
A.D.Karve

On Mon, Oct 29, 2012 at 6:24 PM, Robert Fairchild <solarbobky at yahoo.com>wrote:

>   Dear Stovers,
>  If we remove too much biomass we will disrupt the functioning of the
> ecosystem. The biomass contains nutrients, protects the soil from erosion,
> and produces soil as it decomposes. At the very least the mineral nutrients
> (ash) need to be returned to the land. Biochar could replace some of the
> "stolen" water holding ability.
>  Bob
>
>
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-- 
***
Dr. A.D. Karve
Trustee & Founder President, Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI)
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