My disagreement with Albert Bates at the Permaculture Convergence last year was his contention that biochar could be a solution to global warming if we just planted enough trees and cut them for biochar. That disagreement touched a range of … Continue reading
Yearly Archives: 2013
I’m not too sure about the title that the Nelson Mail came up with, but its great to see this article in the media. Lets hope its the start of many more. Thanks Don. “In the first of a two-part … Continue reading
This is the title of a masters thesis by Jake Northup from Iowa State University that has been getting kudos from the international biochar community… “… Many biochar-based substrates produced plants with shoot dry mass greater than or equal to … Continue reading
Switzerland has become the first country in Europe to officially approve the use of certified biochar in agriculture, with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture issuing its approval on 23 April 2013. In it, the Delinat Institute is given responsibility for … Continue reading
Thanks to Barry Batchelor for identifying this story on research under way by the South Australia No-Till Farmers Association. Note the much lower application rates that may better reflect the economics of biochar utilisation in broad acre applications. http://www.theland.com.au/news/agriculture/cropping/general-news/biochar-creates-options/2663817.aspx?storypage=0 … Continue reading
Erich Knight provides some great marketing for the upcoming USA biochar conference: “This article omits the concomitant benefits of biochars for soil Carbon sequestration, building soil biodiversity & nitrogen efficiency, in situ remediation of toxic agents, and how modern thermal … Continue reading
Barry Husk from www.blue-leaf.ca has posted to the biochar discussion groups as follows… “Just a quick note to give some preliminary results, 1st harvests, from our 2013 biochar field trials on small fruit: Blueberries Patriot Highbush variety 5 replicate plots … Continue reading
The Canadian Biochar Consortium have initiated a large-scale on-farm trial to determine the viability of different types of biochars for agriculture use. Another focus, less relevant to New Zealand under the present political climate, is the use of biochar as a tool … Continue reading
“Deep soils store up to five times more carbon than is commonly reported, a new study by Murdoch University and Cranfield University in the UK has found. Soil locks in greenhouse gases by storing carbon, making it a crucial player … Continue reading
Brian Cartwright on the “biochar multiplier factor”. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar-policy/message/4748 … Continue reading