Why Biochar? - Amending soil with biochar is modeled after a process begun thousands of
years ago in the Amazon Basin, where islands of rich, fertile soils called terra preta (dark
earth) were created by indigenous people.
Anthropologists speculate that...
More
Why Biochar? - Amending soil with biochar is modeled after a process begun thousands of
years ago in the Amazon Basin, where islands of rich, fertile soils called terra preta (dark
earth) were created by indigenous people.
Anthropologists speculate that cooking fires
and kitchen debris along with deliberate placing of charcoal in the ground resulted in
soils with high fertility and carbon content.
These soils continue to “hold” carbon today and remain so nutrient rich that they have been dug up and sold as potting soil in
Brazilian markets.
Soil’s Best Friend – Because of biochar’s physical and chemical nature, it has a unique ability for attracting and holding moisture, nutrients, and agrochemicals even retaining difficult to hold nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous.
Nitrogen tends to run-off regular soils, upsetting ecosystem balance in streams and riparian areas.
Biochar also holds
gasses; recent research has proven biochar-enriched soils reduce carbon dioxide (CO2)
and nit
Less
