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 DPI steps up carbon sequestration 

DPI steps up carbon sequestration

17 Feb, 2009 10:27 AM
Up-to-date and informative web pages could boost the potential for carbon sequestration in Australian soils.

NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has launched two web pages which highlight work being done to assess and explore the potential for holding carbon in the soil long term, and the benefit this would have in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

One of the pages provides a comprehensive background to biochar, a carbon-rich material produced from the slow pyrolysis of biomass, which has great capacity to sequester carbon in the soil. This page also outlines the research being conducted by NSW DPI into the potential for this material.

It says the highest SOC sequestration potential in NSW exists in pasture land in the higher rainfall regions (>450 mm), both as permanent pastures or as ley pasture in the cropping zone.

"Considerable increases can be achieved by pasture improvement and improved management practices," the paper states.

"Significant SOC potential also exists in the low rainfall rangelands which comprises nearly 50 per cent of NSW.

"Promotion of conservation tillage practices (particularly no-tillage) is important to halt further carbon losses from cropping soils (emission avoidance).

"In addition, SOC can be sequestered by adopting new land conversion and soil amelioration options such as bioenergy crops from perennial vegetation, recycling organics including biochars, and by ameliorating sodic and acid soils."

Visit: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/research/areas /resources-research/soils-recycle d-organics/scientific-outputs/200 8/soil_organic

or www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/research/topic s/biochar

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Hopefully all the Biochar companies and academic efforts will coordinate with Dr. Jeff Novak's soils work at ARS; http://www.ars.usda.gov/pandp/peo ple/people.htm?personid=244 34 Biochar Soil Technology.....Husbandry of whole new orders of life

Biotic Carbon, the carbon transformed by life, should never be combusted, oxidized and destroyed. It deserves more respect, reverence even, and understanding to use it back to the soil where 2/3 of excess atmospheric carbon originally came from. We all know we are carbon-centered life, we seldom think about the complex web of recycled bio-carbon which is the true center of life. A cradle to cradle, mutually co-evolved biosphere reaching into every crack and crevice on Earth. It's hard for most to revere microbes and fungus, but from our toes to our gums (onward), their balanced ecology is our health. The greater earth and soils are just as dependent, at much longer time scales. Our farming for over 10,000 years has been responsible for 2/3rds of our excess greenhouse gases. This soil carbon, converted to carbon dioxide, Methane & Nitrous oxide began a slow stable warming that now accelerates with burning of fossil fuel. Wise Land management; Organic farming and afforestation can build back our soil carbon, Biochar allows the soil food web to build much more recalcitrant organic carbon, ( living biomass & Glomalins) in addition to the carbon in the biochar. Biochar, the modern version of an ancient Amazonian agricultural practice called Terra Preta (black earth), is gaining widespread credibility as a way to address world hunger, climate change, rural poverty, deforestation, and energy shortages… SIMULTANEOUSLY! Biochar viewed as soil Infrastructure; The old saw, "Feed the Soil Not the Plants" becomes "Feed, Cloth and House the Soil, utilities included !". Free Carbon Condominiums, build it and they will come. As one microbiologist said on the TP list; "Microbes like to sit down when they eat". By setting this table we expand husbandry to whole new orders of life.

Posted by erich, 17/02/2009 4:22:36 PM

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