History

• The biochar process was developed by the ancient inhabitants of modern day Brazil who burned plant vegetation to create "dark earth" or "terra preta," pockets of fertile soil commonly found in the rainforest. The people of Brazil may have developed the technique by accident, according to the International Biochar Initiative as they burned vegetation for fuel. The charcoal material was worked into the infertile soil of the Amazon allowing the people of the area to grow tree fruits and corn. The biochar process can also occur as a natural phenomenon as a result of forest and vegetation fires.
  
  

Charcoal

• During the biochar process, vegetation is burned until it resembles a fine particle charcoal, the biochar material is of a larger size than the ash that is left as a result of a fire that burns through to its end. The charcoal material of biochar retains compounds of carbon that form loose bonds with plant nutrients holding both in place against the problems caused by rain and irrigation techniques. Biochar materials do not have a positive effect on the growth of vegetation and soil nutrients if left in their natural form. When biochar is combined with composted soil before being worked into the ground the materials combine to form a natural aid to the soil.
  
  

Contents

• Biochar compost helps soil hold nutrients, including nitrogen, calcium, phosphorous, calcium and magnesium. The carbon that is held within biochar compost and soils does not degrade at a fast rate, instead it can take thousands of years to degrade and be released into the atmosphere. The ability of biochar materials to hold carbon helps delay climate change by storing carbon atoms that would instead be released into the atmosphere to damage the environment. The fine charcoal material of biochar compost is porous, allowing more water to be held within the soil to aid the production of plant and animal life in a region.
  
  

Use

• Biochar can be created in residential gardens by carefully burning organic materials in a trench, controlling the intensity and length of the burn by covering the trench in a light layer of soil, according to organic gardening expert Barbara Pleasant in the February/March 2008 issue of "Mother Earth News." The material in the trench smolders under the soil and becomes charcoal. Remnants of cook fires, campfires and these controlled burns can be mixed with compost and soil and will help the soil retain nutrients longer. The technique can aid both gardeners in developed countries as well as farmers and families struggling with depleted soil in developing nations around the world.