<div>Dear Crispin,</div>
<div>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. </div>
<div>yours</div>
<div>A.D.Karve<br><br></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 4:04 PM, Crispin Pemberton-Pigott <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:crispinpigott@gmail.com">crispinpigott@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<div lang="EN-CA" vlink="purple" link="blue">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d">Dear AD</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d">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.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d">The claims are fairly broad so I am interested in how and under what circumstances it holds true.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d">Thanks</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d">Crispin</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d">+++++++++=</span><span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Dear Kevin,</p></div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <br>
Yours</p></div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anand</p></div></div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>Stoves mailing list<br><br>to Send a Message to the list, use the email address<br>Stoves mailing list<br><br>to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page<br>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>***<br>Dr. A.D. Karve<br>President, Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI)<br><br>*Please change my email address in your records to: <a href="mailto:adkarve@gmail.com">adkarve@gmail.com</a> *<br>
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