On 20/01/09 Julian Vincent wrote:
> But what's wrong with nature's way and composting the lot? Far less
> energy involved, far greater fertility produced.
Ah, not quite. There's a technique called Terra Preta, originally used
by South American civilisations and recently rediscovered. Yes, you want
some compost, but the practice of putting charcoal in the soil improves
it in many ways and acts as a formidable carbon sink.
Methane production is also largely eliminated. You end up with more
soil, and that soil has a greater ability to store nutrients.
A couple of refs for you:
http://futurismic.com/2007/10/19/ancient-amazonian-soil-enrichment-technique-may-provide-carbon-negative-fuel/
http://www.computare.org/Support documents/Publications/Reinventing
Terra Preta.htm
Vik :v)
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