Maintaining and sustaining soil health
7 comments
·January 15, 2025KaiserPro
I was a touch surprised at coal. I can see how it would work, its highly carboniferous and really porous.
Thinking back to the clinker paths (perhaps clinker isn't coal-y enough though) that have been ripped up and re-planted, they did seem to be moister than the rest. Whenever I came across coal in the soil, the soil was moist.
However the thing I'd be worried about is the accumulation of heavy metals.
jmward01
I think the article hints at coal's ability to capture those heavy metals and not release them since biochar has that ability. Basically, since you aren't burning it it won't accumulate. At least that is what I get from the article.
bluGill
This is very one sides - not necessarily wrong, but in general simple solutions to complex problems are wrong and this pushing of biochar/coal is likely to be another one. Maybe part of the solution but not enough alone.
Empact
At scale, we can restore the soil the same way it was built up in the first place, through rotational grazing of ruminants. I keep chickens to that effect and am planning on sheep. Very low-effort, highly productive animals, each, even apart from their soil building.
franktankbank
What's the complaint? This is one ingredient that can be added all on its own (apparently) and have good results.
daveguy
I'm surprised there was no comparison between biochar and good old fashioned composting. The cost $1-$2 / pound of biochar (organic matter pressurized or burned under low oxygen) seems high compared to a natural composting process. Anyone know how they compare?
With ~2/3 (and growing) of Earth’s land area being arid, you’d expect there to be a lot more interest in reverse-desertification. It’s pretty well established by now that it’s almost entirely a labor allocation issue given that there’s success stories all over the world [1] (including in the US [2]) to just create earthworks that slow and divert water. Water seems to be the biggest single issue and so many deserts actually get enough of it during flash floods. With how much Elon is interested in terraforming Mars why not just start here?
[1] https://youtu.be/UAmai36XJDk?list=PLoU8oWWwU-06BGLH5y7AMbybv... [2] https://youtu.be/3JyEHdJS94s?list=PLoU8oWWwU-06BGLH5y7AMbybv...