paleorthid's Feed

The Charcoal Vision

paleorthid — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:11:00 -0400

Application of the charcoal to soils may be key to sustainability. Application of charcoal to soils is hypothesized to increase bioavailable water, build soil organic matter, enhance nutrient cycling, lower bulk density, act as a liming agent, and reduce leaching of pesticides and nutrients to surface and ground water. The half-life of C in soil charcoal is in excess of 1000 yr. Hence, soil-applied charcoal will make both a lasting contribution to soil quality and C in the charcoal will be removed from the atmosphere and sequestered for millennia. Tagged by paleorthid under agrichar, bio-char, carbon, innovation, biofuels, soil_science, terra_preta,

transect points: Sombroek's Challenge - Terra Preta Nova

paleorthid — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 01:39:00 -0500

The Godfather of Terra Preta, soil scientist Wim Sombroek (1934 - 2003) enjoyed a lifelong fascination with enhanced soil. The importance of plaggen soil in his native Netherlands impressed him at an early age, and early in the 1960's, he recognized in the Amazonian Dark Earths something familiar and precious. Before his passing, he assembled specific soil scientists challenged them to discover the process for making and sustaining a modern equivalent of the bio-char enhanced terra preta, what he termed terra preta nova. A great opportunity in answering Sombroek's challenge lies is surmounting the opacity of mutualistic rhizospheric species to traditional analytical approaches: only 1% of rhizospheric species are cultureable ala petri dish. We don't have a robust body of culture-independent studies against which to compare Terra Preta, so we are doubly challenged to reverse-engineer the phenomenon. Considering Wim Somboek's many noteworthy accomplishments, the perspective of his international leadership, and the late-in-life timing of his challenge, one senses he is pointing us to a mystery fundamental to understanding soil in new and exciting ways. This happens at a time when the soil science profession is in dynamic transition and sorely in need of a unifying vision. Wim Sombroek has given soil scientists a most welcome and worthy quest. Tagged by paleorthid under terra_preta, microbiology, research, soil_science, bio-char, carbon_sequestration, innovation,

transect points: My picks from Vadose Zone Journal

paleorthid — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 12:02:00 -0500

VZJ articles are released to open access 18 months after online publication. These articles, from May 2005, became available on November 13, 2006. (1) Buckingham, 1907: An Appreciation: Buckingham articulated his findings mostly in written prose, without much reliance on mathematics. His foundational ideas are as valid today as when he proposed them. (2) Simplified Method to Estimate [hydraulic conductivity] ... A simple, innovative method is presented to estimate saturated hydraulic conductivity in soil. The only paired data points necessary for this proposed new method are the times when the permeameter is half full and when it reaches empty. Tagged by paleorthid under physics, edaphology, soil, water, vadose, research, open_access,

Amazing Carbon

paleorthid — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 07:11:00 -0500

Web site discusses science in support of using grassland to sequester atmospheric carbon. Tagged by paleorthid under climate_change, carbon, CO2, soil, farm, innovation,

transect points: Toronto Star reports on terra preta and terra mulata

paleorthid — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 02:18:00 -0500

The article highlights some important nuances. Terra mulata, the lighter type of terra preta, covers much more area than the celebrated black type central to the concept of terra preta. Tagged by paleorthid under terra_preta, bio-char, carbon, sequestration, soil, science, innovation, global_warming, climate, agriculture,

transect points: Grazing tool for managing riparian buffers

paleorthid — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 01:23:00 -0500

When grazed properly, forage plants in the riparian zone can be stimulated to re-grow and contribute greatly to the health of the ecosystem. Tagged by paleorthid under news, review, soil, crust, animal, information, riparian, management, tools, innovation, science, government, regulation,