Agrichar - Soil Productivity Magic Bullet?
The huge potential of agricultural soils to reduce greenhouse gases and increase production at the same time has been reinforced by new research findings at NSW Department of Primary Industries’ (DPI) Wollongbar Agricultural Institute.
Trials of agrichar - a product hailed as a saviour of Australia’s carbon-depleted soils and the environment - have doubled and, in one case, tripled crop growth when applied at the rate of 10 tonnes per hectare.
Agrichar is a black carbon byproduct of a process called pyrolysis, which involves heating green waste or other biomass without oxygen to generate renewable energy.
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/research/updates/issues/may-2007/soils-offer-new-hope
http://www.abc.net.au/science/broadband/catalyst/asx/Agrichar_hi.asx
Professionally, I'm an IT Engineer (Executive Level) and Electronics Tech. Philosophically, I'm a Green Conservative, and probably would have been a hippie in the 60's if I had been old enough. I live off grid, with Solar (PV), Wind, and veggie oil fueled diesel generator power, and have been teaching and living sustainable technology for over 10 years.
