A Brief Modern History of Terra Preta & Biochar. Austin Liu

Medium: In depth article on Biochar

Conclusions from above

Biochar: Concluding Thoughts

Even though it is not possible to conclusively determine the method by which terra preta was produced because we have no surviving record of the process used by the ancient indigenous civilizations of the Amazon, at this point in our history, it suffices that the mystery of terra preta has inspired the scientific study of biochar, along with widespread experimentation, which has yielded so many useful applications of charcoal.

With insights from soil science, we understand that terra preta is not the only soil that increases its topsoil humus/soil organic matter from plant residues (such forest litter) that accumulate upon it; this is the expected behavior of healthy soils that receive regular accumulations of plant residues. We also now understand how biochar can significantly modify the soil environment, and therefore, the conditions that favor and select for a different soil microbiome, which then propagates into organic residues that decompose upon it. With even just the agronomic benefits of co-composted biochar, produced by methods informed by these findings, we can significantly improve the fertility and resilience of our agricultural soils, and it would not matter whether or not our methods faithfully reproduced the original terra preta.

What is needed now is deployment and widespread application of what we know. Whereas the ancient indigenous people of the Amazon cultivated many thousands of hectares of poor tropical oxide soils into some of the most fertile agricultural soils in the world, we in the modern developed world are destroying ours with chemical fertilizers and conventional farming practices, and those who know about biochar, though having access to mechanized farm equipment have barely matched the acreage cultivated by the ancient Amazonians. The benefit of all of our scientific insights only come from putting them to practice.