"Char was used in potting mixes for generations and it never lasted long,breaking down rapidly, once air, water and N were in the mix. Just like compost it is rapid cycling carbon if conditions allow. The experiment in this video used a combination of Poultry Manure (rich in Nitrogen) combined with the Bio Char. So which can be attributed to the added growth, the N or the Carbon from the bio char? This is poorly done science and not the savior of soils!"

"I've just completed reading a technical paper sent to me by a Bio Char company promoting the concept. The paper summarizes many studies generated from Japan and all use very poor scientific method with poor or no controls. The statistics are even worse! I've studied in person and first hand the Terra Preta sites and all had anaerobic soils, which explains the long lasting nature of the char. Once made aerobic it breaks down fast."

"I know who he is. Basic soil chemistry, when you add oxygen to organic matter that contains calories, plus water and saprophytic microorganism, your going to get rapid decay and that includes char. There's no reason to study that, it's biochem 101. I've studied the Terra Preta sites long before Johannes and the first thing I noticed is that they resemble acid peat soils in bogs where the conditions are waterlogged and acidic which inhibits aerobic decomposition. Peat accumlates because of this."

"Char is not the answer to building healthy and sustainable soils. Only Humus (the Humic acids) are the answer. Chemically Humus has a half life measured in many decades and it won't decay as it has no calorie value. Nothing else in nature or science can do what Humus and the Mycorrhizae can do! Mycorrhizae are involved in the production of humus in a round about way because of Glomalin. We must Prime the Pedogenesis (soil creation) to save or make top soil."

Since this is the only opposing opinion I've have for biochar that supposedly comes from a primary source, according to his claims, I don't want to immediately brush off his scientific opinion due to emotional reasons or because "he probably is trying to sell something". What is the credibility of what he's saying? From an unbiased, objective perspective, what do you all think? My ignorance and youth is unable to determine fact from fiction at this point

'takadi' i am going to write a few words about this slash and burn tech' for my web page would you be interested in writting a couple paragraphs or so, maybe that i can use as well? i will credit your words back to you and your web site if you have one?

send me an e/mail from our web link if you are interested.

len

The item about plain soil and soil with chicken manure and char was certainly misleading. What would corn with just chicken manure look like?

There is an other soil amendment that is in the same high humic acid catagory - leonardite. For those interested you can do some research. Just so we are clear, I am not pushing this as a silver bullet. I don't think there are any silver bullets. Rather, I feel that many of these humic amendments will benefit poor soils but will have minimal impact on crops grown in soils with adequate organic material.

I didn't wrote those particular comments I posted, another user did. I personally don't know who is right, though for personal sake, I tend to lean towards the notion that biochar is a miraculous substance. However, I'm starting to go back towards the middle as I'm learning that significant research still needs to be done.

i have my thoughts on the idea in a paragraph or 2 on my permaculture essay.

enjoy

len

The skepticism here though is whether biochar in the form of charcoal itself and its addition to soil is what is responsible for the miracle of the Terra Preta. What's being questioned here is its actual half life and stability, whether the long lasting Terra Preta is the result of anerobic bog like conditions, etc,

What is needed, is to take into account and trap and measur EVRYTHING. You must order at least 10 000 laboratories around the world to do it. (I can mistake here, 100 000 is better, but I am not sure).

You'd better ask Chinese scientists to do that job. At least, there are many of them.

My understanding is that all ceramics is made from clay mixed with water with the following baking in oven. EM-ceramics is made also from clay but with addition of EM solution into the mix of clay and water. What is surprizing that after baking in oven certain kind of microbes (purple non sulfur bacteria PNSB) don’t die because they can live at the temp 1200 C. Taking into acount that ceramics is porous it is understandable that they can go out from ceramics into environment. Thus, small pieces of ceramics can serve as a centers of good fermentation in any media including soil. And really EM ceramics in the form of powder is on sale with different purposes: addition into the compost, into the soil, and into the aquarium.

Ceramic vessels could be used by amerindians in Amazonia to ferment food such as milk. Grains also can be fermented. Some non-alcoholic beverages were made from fermented rye and barley even in Egypt 3000 years ago. One of them is still made nowadays in Russia. It is called kwas. But it is made pretty the same as in ancient Egypt.

So, I think that broken piece of pottery in Terra Preta soils have still ancient ferment and spread out positive fermentation through charcoal and this is the secret of Terra Preta soils. They act pretty the same as EM-ceramics.

Sir Albert Howard when in India in the early 1900s found that broken potsherds mixed in the soil seemed to cause the soil to be very rich in nitrates and some other nutrients.

Interesting.

Very interesting stuff!

I am using ceramic balls [enclosed in plastic buoys] in my clothes wahing machine. It is to replace the detergent by making the water molecues smaller and more penetrating ...to release the dirt!!

I don't know of any EM qualities with these ceramic balls....they are activated by something...what?...I don't know. They seem to be useful for clothes washing.

All I know is that some people don't like it in potting mix because it makes the filled pots are so light that the wind blows them over.

I don't believe you and anyone who does believe you shouldn't be allowed to vote.

I have taken it from here:
http://www.emamerica.com/effective-microorganism-products/effective-microorganisms-ceramics/emxr-ceramics-powders-householdproductsmenu-181/14-microbial-ceramic-powder-fermentation-manure

It is official statement of EMAmerica. So, if you are not agree with it, you can take it into court.

The number 1200 degree C is from non-official report of Higa, when they found PNSB in ceramics even after firing at this temp when they made experiments.

DNA based lifeforms cannot survive temperatures that cause DNA to decompose, which I suspect is at least 200 deg. C.

Speaking of charcoal, that is what PNSBs become at 1,200 C.

Even if DNA decomposes at 200 deg.C I would assume that PNSB can make protective sheet against heat around. It is very possible taking into account that PNSB can transform broad width of EMW into broad width of EMW.
EMW - electro-magnetic waves.

Not even a perfect vacuum would insulate the PNSB because 1200 deg C materials are incandescent orange with plenty of infra-red light to penetrate such insulation.

Imagine grabbing an orange hot poker while wearing an insulative glove or coating the thickness of bacteria.

You should already know from experience that thermos bottles are practically effective for only 2 - 3 days. The most reflective materials known are less than 99% efficient. I bet 1% of the infrared light from a 1200 deg. C. surrounding will pasteurize all life inside a thermos bottle within a few minutes, even if the enclosure doesn't melt before then. And, that brings up another point. To survive 1200 deg. C., an organism must be simultaneously shielded from both conducted and irradiated heat. What kind of reflective material do you propose these PSNBs have that survives heat from conduction?

Rhodopseudomonas palustris

Vanadium has melting point 1910 C much less then 1200 C.

So, Vanadium can be a reflecting material which reflects infrared waves. It doesn't mean that PNSB must have a shell made from Vanadium. Electro-magnetic waves don't reflect inside the atom of vanadium (or any other metal) but at a certain distance from it's center dependind the length of the wave and kind of metal. So, even if vanadium is in the center of PNSB it can reflect infrared waves outside the cell of bacteria. Remember that we speak about very small things.

As for condacted heat it's more difficult to explain but it is not impossible. I think that PNSB just has no contacts with atoms of ceramics during firing. They are simply hanging in the vacuum and reflecting infrared waves with vanadium.
What makes them "hanging"?
It can be electromagnetic forces (taking into account that PNSB operate with electromagnetic waves, they are photosynthetics). It can be unknown yet forces close to gravity waves. It is just known (from Dr.Higa) that PNSB radiate ultra high frequency waves having ultra small energy. Some scientists suppose (yes, scientists don't know everything) that these waves are gravitational waves (or gravitational waves have this nature).

As for condacted heat it's more difficult to explain but it is not impossible. I think that PNSB just has no contacts with atoms of ceramics during firing. They are simply hanging in the vacuum and reflecting infrared waves with vanadium.
What makes them "hanging"?
It can be electromagnetic forces (taking into account that PNSB operate with electromagnetic waves, they are photosynthetics). It can be unknown yet forces close to gravity waves. It is just known (from Dr.Higa) that PNSB radiate ultra high frequency waves having ultra small energy. Some scientists suppose (yes, scientists don't know everything) that these waves are gravitational waves (or gravitational waves have this nature).

You overlooked the possibility that the PNSB levitate in a vacuum pocket but, instead of completely reflecting irradiated energy, are completely transparent to it. Again a completely reflective or transparent material is not known to exist.

Which has the least probability?:

1. Dr. Higa made a mistake.

2. Dr. Higa is a fraud or doesn't exist.

3. PSNR survive 1200 deg. c.

I have not heard in your answer deserving arguments.
Thus, you can go to circus and present your arguments there.

Beneficial microbes in ceramics spread out (extand) from pieces of ceramics in medium replacing native microbes. It is called cumulative effect. It is very difficult to replace native microbes in soil. But in the constant presence of ferment it is possible, though with low speed. Ferment living in ceramics gives this opportunity.