RE: [biochar] Papers on biochar

To Ken and all,

I am a retired professor of Geography, living in Illinois, and very familiar with the tropical world. I would have liked to see a map of the locations of those many many studies. The articles said:

A. “But many temperate zone soils are higher in nutrients and more moderate in pH.”

Yes, but that also means that there are temperate soils that are not so great, and putting biochar into weak soil areas should be like bringing them up to the desired levels. Remediation of abused soils.

B. “And if, on top of that, farmers add nutrients through fertilizers, there isn’t much room for biochar to increase yield.”

Well, fertilizers have negative issues of cost and or killing microbes and being NON-organic farming and leaching of fertilizers into waterways and groundwater, and Co2e emissions at fertilizer factories, and on and on. The authors of the meta-study give no attention to the prospects that fertilizer applications to temperate soils might be reduced someday.

C. Thanks for the link to see the Summary Information graphs. Very useful.

Unfortunately, the first 11 graphs were for all of the studies lumped together. With sample sizes (number of articles reviewed) always over 500 and mostly in the 900s, why not have EACH of those graphs for the articles about studies of tropical and temperate soils. That split is done for several of the other topics. Why not for the first 11? Is that available somewhere? Can someone reach the authors to comment about that.

Let’s hope that “peer reviewed and published” does not mean that such questions cannot be asked and answered now.

Personally, the review article has not altered my thinking about biochar. I already knew that when soils are great, the addition of biochar does not greatly improve yields.

Paul

Doc / Dr TLUD / Paul S. Anderson, PhD
Exec. Dir. of Juntos Energy Solutions NFP
Email: psanders@ilstu.edu<mailto:psanders@ilstu.edu> Skype: paultlud
Phone: Office: 309-452-7072 Mobile: 309-531-4434
Website: www.drtlud.com<www.drtlud.com>

From: biochar@yahoogroups.com <biochar@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, June 17, 2019 11:53 AM
To: biochar@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [biochar] Papers on biochar