Transcript How to make biochar - TERRA: The Earth Renewal and

Biochar Properties
Microbial
Microbial
Colonization
Science
A Brief History
1676 − Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch microscopist first saw bacteria
with a single-lens microscope he built. He published observations in letters
to the Royal Society of London. Bacteria were at the limit of his simple
lenses, and were his most remarkable microscopic discovery.
No one else saw them again for over a century.
One
tablespoon
of root
healthy
farm
soil"bacterium”
contains for rod1000 sq.
feet
of healthy
zone
soil
contains
1828 − Christian
Gottfried
Ehrenberg
first
used
•one
billion
assorted
microbes
70spore-forming
lbs
of dead
microbes
shaped microbes. In
1835,
rod-shaped “bacillus” were found.
•one mile7oflbs
fungal
filaments
of Nitrogen
•hundreds
of lbs
microfauna:
nematodes & arthropods, etc.
3.5
pf Phosphate
1859 − Louis Pasteur showed
thatofmicrobes
1.4 lbs
Calcium cause fermentation. Yeasts
and molds that cause fermentation
aren’t
bacteria, but fungi. Pasteur was
1.4 lbs of
Magnesium
an early advocate of the “germ”
of disease.
.28 theory
lb of Sulphate
Continuous release of these nutrients improves crop production
1905 − Robert Koch, pioneer in medical microbiology, worked on cholera,
anthrax and tuberculosis. His research on tuberculosis proved the “germ”
theory, which got him a Nobel Prize.
Dirt is inert,
but soil is alive
Men and microbes have been at war ever since.
PARADIGM SHIFT
Biochar Properties
Microbial
Microbial
Cooperation
Warfare
Antibiotic
A Brief History
chemical agriculture
Monocropping – low biodiversity
Tillage – bare, exposed soil = erosion
disturb microbe infrastructures
no ground covers, no exudates
no shade, hot temperatures, dry
Chemical fertilizers – harsh, soluble
toxic mineral imbalances
functional mineral deficiencies
trace element deficits
Herbicides
no exudate or ground cover
collateral disturbance to microbes
reduce biodiversity
Fungicides, Insecticides, etc.
no beneficial symbiotic fungi
less water & nutrient capacity
carbon & nitrogen losses
Probiotic
biological agriculture
Stewardship of Soil and Biodiversity
how to culture living organisms
not inert dirt or sterile chemicals
create & sustain habitat, not productivity
sustain microbe population explosion
not just to survive, but thrive
Physical environment: infrastructures
The
world’scool,
cultivated
soils lost
Temperature:
not hot
Oxygen:
breathes carbon,
50Airto& 70%
of living
theirsoiloriginal
Water:
not too dry, not too wet
much
of it oxidized into CO2.
Nutrients: microbe & plant food
Rattan
Lal, Director
Establish soil mineral
foundation
Balance major minerals
Ohio State University
Farming
Complete
trace elements
Carbon
Management
& Sequestration Center
Adjust Carbon/Nitrogen ratio
Recharge Soil Battery: boost CEC & AEC
Carbon-Accountable, Climate-Smart
Symbionts & Biodiversity
Inoculation with Microbes
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photons
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90%
20%
40-60%
60% ofC
ofthe
theC
energy
40%
energy
fixed by photosynthesis
is exuded by roots
to feed microbes
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Boron
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The Tree of Life
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3
2
1
If you’re not forest,
you’re against us
1 Roots are
serve
another communities
function:
intelligent
of cells
2
(sweetness)
searching for moist, fertile soil…
3 They
is made
in leaves by photosynthesis
grow,
Weight
of
Soil
Organisms
CO2 sense,
+ H2O = C6O6H12 = carbohydrate + O2
Bacteria
4 they
in top 7 inches of Soil
travels with Boron down into roots
Fungipounds/acre
organism
5 they
inquire,cover a quarter of the land.
Grasslands
−
Plant roots
2000
Archaea
6
they
acquire,
The
UN
Food
& Agriculture
Organization
distribute
sugar
to the whole
Fungi & Molds 2000
Actinomycetes
buildmoisten,
sugargrasslands
into structures
7 they
estimates
hold
Bacteria
1000
The
Sweet Spot
Sweet
Protozoa
storedissolve,
sugar
as complex
carbohydrates
Actinomycetes
1000
20%
of
Earth’s
soil carbon
stock.
8 they
sequester
carbon
as
biomass
growth
Earthworms
1000
Algae
Spot
they
absorb,
Much
of
these
grasslands
are
degraded −
9
leak
exude
sugar
sugar
into
into
soil
soil
secrete
sugar
into
soil
Protozoa
200
Nematodes
U.S. adsorb,
Great Plains
10they
Root Systems
Algae
100
Insects
Insects
100
Northern
Mexico
11they
feed share,
on this
sugar & other exudates
of
Earthworms
Nematodes
50
supply,
primary
food
for the Soil Food Web
Africa’s
Sahel
12they
Prairie Plants
proliferate
on & near roots
they
attract,
Mongolia
13 highest concentration is around roots
+ electrolytes −
feel their way thru soil,
14they
best soil is around roots
H
H
they change course in a moment,
O more carbon
Soil Soil
sequesters
15 of food production
is the
foundation
nutrients
a constant
quest
for water & nutrients.
than theSoil
atmosphere
and
plants
sequesters
twice
as muchincarbon
as the
atmosphere
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Microbial Colonization
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Biochar Properties
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PARADIGM SHIFT
Biochar Properties
Dr. Elaine Ingham
O C O
www.dyarrow.org/SoilFoodWeb
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40-60% of the energy
made by photosynthesis
is exuded by roots
to feed microbes
H
O
H
carbon trading
Soil is the foundation of food production
Soil sequesters twice as much carbon as the atmosphere
PARADIGM SHIFT
Biochar Properties
Bacteria-Fungi Balance
fungi
Average soil has 5,000 microbe species
25,000 is a healthy number
simple
RATIO
1:1
1 : 10
1 : 100
1 : 1,000
complex
1 : 10,000
into biology
Bacteria : primary consumers − transform geology
bacteria
− turn minerals into protoplasm
Fungi : secondary digesters − break down biomolecules
networks of mycelium scavenge nutrients,
distribute energy & share information
Most crops prefer fungal-dominant soil, except Brassicas
Fungi form spores the second of a two year life cycle
Soil tilled yearly can never be fungal-dominant
carbon trading
Feed the soil, not the plants
provide water, food & shelter for microbes
PHOTO: Josiah Hunt, Hawaii Biochar