Location
Logan, UT
Event Website
http://restoringthewest.org/
Abstract
Society is faced with the significant challenge of meeting growing demands for food and energy while adapting to the impacts of climate change, loss of agricultural land, degraded soil quality and limited water supplies. Biochar is a critical path technology that addresses pressing food/water security needs while simultaneously mitigating the climate crisis by transferring existing atmospheric carbon stocks to a new soil carbon sink capable of gigaton scale carbon storage. Discovered in the late 19th century as a constituent of the 1000+ year old Amazonia Terra Preta soils, biochar was engineered by indigenous peoples as part of soil management practices. Biochar is a highly porous, soil amendment charcoal that is produced by heating organic material such as crop residues, forest residues, and manures in a low oxygen environment using a well established process called pyrolysis. In addition to generating biochar, pyrolysis produces heat, and gases that can be used to produce renewable heat or power. Biochar helps food producers improve the profitability of their enterprises and adapt to the impacts of climate change by conditioning soils, improving soil structure and chemistry while stimulating natural microbial activity that improves soil health. When applied to soil, biochar delivers increased crop yields and productivity, reduces risks of yield loss in adverse situations, reduces input costs, provides water savings, addresses pH amelioration and lowers nutrient losses. Because of it soil conditioning properties, biochar offers an important solution for increasing the area of cultivable land by recapitalizing degraded soils worldwide.
Biochar Basics
Logan, UT
Society is faced with the significant challenge of meeting growing demands for food and energy while adapting to the impacts of climate change, loss of agricultural land, degraded soil quality and limited water supplies. Biochar is a critical path technology that addresses pressing food/water security needs while simultaneously mitigating the climate crisis by transferring existing atmospheric carbon stocks to a new soil carbon sink capable of gigaton scale carbon storage. Discovered in the late 19th century as a constituent of the 1000+ year old Amazonia Terra Preta soils, biochar was engineered by indigenous peoples as part of soil management practices. Biochar is a highly porous, soil amendment charcoal that is produced by heating organic material such as crop residues, forest residues, and manures in a low oxygen environment using a well established process called pyrolysis. In addition to generating biochar, pyrolysis produces heat, and gases that can be used to produce renewable heat or power. Biochar helps food producers improve the profitability of their enterprises and adapt to the impacts of climate change by conditioning soils, improving soil structure and chemistry while stimulating natural microbial activity that improves soil health. When applied to soil, biochar delivers increased crop yields and productivity, reduces risks of yield loss in adverse situations, reduces input costs, provides water savings, addresses pH amelioration and lowers nutrient losses. Because of it soil conditioning properties, biochar offers an important solution for increasing the area of cultivable land by recapitalizing degraded soils worldwide.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/rtw/2011/Breakout5/1
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