Biochar can enrich soils!

Rediscovery of BioChar

The first inkling - to modern man - that putting charcoal in the ground might improve soil quality came over a century ago, when an explorer named Herbert Smith noticed that there were patches of unusually rich soils in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Most of the forest’s soil is heavily weathered and of poor quality. But the so-called “terra preta”, or “black earth”, is much more fertile.

This soil is found at the sites of ancient settlements, but it does not appear to be an accidental consequence of settlement. Rather, it looks as though the remains of burned plants have been mixed into it deliberately. And recently, some modern farmers—inspired by Wim Sombroek, a Dutch soil researcher who died in 2003—have begun to do likewise.

The use of Biochar to enhance soils was one of the main subjects discussed at the 1st North American Biochar Conference. And the results are impressive, it was concluded.

According to Julie Major, of the International Biochar Initiative, a lobby group based in Maine, infusing savannah in Colombia with biochar made from corn stover (the waste left over when maize is harvested) caused crops there to tower over their char-less peers.

Christoph Steiner, of the University of Georgia, reported that biochar produced from chicken litter could do the same in the sandy soil of Tifton in that state.

And David Laird, of America’s Department of Agriculture, showed that biochar even helped the rich soil of America’s Midwest by reducing the leaching from it of a number of nutrients, including nitrate, phosphate and potassium.

Most agricultural soils around the globe have been depleted of their natural nutrients and carbon contents due to intensive growing practices. Biochar holds the promise of restoring out soils, and provide us with bigger, healthier and more nutritious foods.