USDA
Submitted by Tom Miles on Sun, 2008-04-13 23:22.
The Charcoal Vision: A Win–Win–Win Scenario for Simultaneously Producing Bioenergy, Permanently Sequestering Carbon, while Improving Soil and Water Quality
David Laird, USDAi, ARS, National Soil Tilth Laboratoryi, April 12,2008
In, Agronomy Journal • Volume 100, Issue 1 • 2008
ABSTRACT
Processing biomass through a distributed network of fast pyrolyzers may be a sustainable platform for producing energy from biomass. Fast pyrolyzers thermally transform biomass into bio-oil, syngas, and charcoal. The syngas could provide the energy needs of the pyrolyzer. Bio-oil is an energy raw material (∼17 MJ kg−1) that can be burned to generate heat or shipped to a refinery for processing into transportation fuels. Charcoal could also be used to generate energy; however, application of the charcoal co-product to soils may be key to sustainability. Application of charcoal to soils is hypothesized to increase bio-available water, build soil organic matter, enhance nutrient cycling, lower bulk density, act as a liming agent, and reduce leaching of pesticides and nutrients to surface and ground water. Th e half-life of C in soil charcoal is in excess of 1000 yr. Hence, soil-applied charcoal will make both a lasting contribution to soil quality and C in the charcoal will be removed from the atmosphere and sequestered for millennia. Assuming the United States can annually produce 1.1 × 109 Mg of biomass from harvestable forest and crop lands, national implementation of Th e Charcoal Vision would generate enough bio-oil to displace 1.91 billion barrels
of fossil fuel oil per year or about 25% of the current U.S. annual oil consumption. Th e combined C credit for fossil fuel displacement and permanent sequestration, 363 Tg per year, is 10% of the average annual U.S. emissions of CO2–C.
Submitted by Tom Miles on Wed, 2008-01-02 04:48.
Bioenergy Activities at Ames, IA
Research Project: Ecologically-Based Soil Management for Sustainable Agriculture and Resource Conservation (3625-12000-012-00D) (D.L. Karlen, LS)
Objective: To develop innovative, ecologically-based crop and soil nutrient management practices for enhanced productivity and negligible off-site agricultural impacts.
Hypotheses:
1. Long-term average crop yield from chisel-plowed Clarion-Nicollet-Webster soils will decrease significantly by removing crop residues for biofuels production.
2. With no-tillage, at least 2 t/ac of the surface crop residue can be harvested from Clarion-Nicollet-Webster soils for biofuels production without significantly decreasing long-term average yield.
3. With intensive crop management (i.e. increased plant population, fertilizer rates, and narrow row spacing) more than 2 t/ac of biomass can be harvested from Clarion-Nicollet-Webster soils for biofuels production without significantly decreasing long-term average no-till yield.
4. With cover crops more than 2 t/ac of biomass can be harvested from Clarion-Nicollet-Webster soils for biofuels production without significantly decreasing long-term average no-till yield.
5. Applying charcoal (biochar) will significantly increase the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) rating for Clarion-Nicollet-Webster soils where crop residues are harvested for biofuels production.
Research Project: Biogeochemical processes influencing formation and stabilization of soil organic matter and soil structure (3625-11120-011-00D) (D.L. Laird, LS, David.Laird@ars.usda.gov)
Objective: Determine the role of clay minerals and charcoal in the formation and stabilization of soil organic matter and soil structure
Hypotheses:
1. Charcoal additions to soil will have a positive impact on crop productivity in a Midwestern corn-soybean cropping system.
2. Charcoal additions to soils will stimulate formation of clay-humic complexes and the formation and stabilization of new biogenic soil organic matter.
3. Charcoal additions to soils will reduce nitrogen and pesticide leaching by increased adsorption.
Submitted by Tom Miles on Wed, 2008-01-02 03:53.
Knowing when plants capture phosphorus
Luis Pons, USDAi Agricultural Research, Jan, 2003
ARS research into how and when plants use the phosphorus in manure may aid farmers as they try to stem nutrient runoff into waterways.
"A future challenge," says soil scientist Thomas J. Sauer, "will be not only to avoid over-application of phosphorus to soil, but also to ensure that in doing so a farmer does not make the land phosphorus deficient."
Sauer and soil scientist John L. Kovar focus on phosphorus as they study nutrient management of animal manure at ARS' National Soil Tilth Laboratoryi in Ames, Iowa.
This research is part of Water and Quality Management, an ARS National Program (#201) described on the World Wide Web at http://www.nps.ars.usda.gov.
Thomas J. Sauer and John L. Kovar are with the USDA-ARS National Soil Tilth Laboratory, 2150 Pammel Drive, Ames, IA 50011-4420; phone (515)294-3416 [Sauer], (515)294-3419 [Kovar], fax (515) 294-8125, e-mail sauer@nstl.gov.kovar@nstl.gov.
Submitted by Tom Miles on Sun, 2007-12-02 18:20.
True Value of Carbon in Agricultural Soils
Hatfield, J.L. 2007. True Value of Carbon in Agricultural Soils [CD-ROM]. South Dakota No Till Association Annual Conference.
Technical Abstract:
Carbon (CO2) in the soil plays a critical role in the development of a stable soil aggregate and contributes to the formation of soil particles that are resistant to the destructive forces from wind and water. The dynamics of carbon in the soil are complex because the amount of carbon is affected by the cycling of CO2 from the atmosphere into carbohydrates and ultimately into plant components of leaves, grain, stalks, and roots. Over the course of a year the constant exchange of CO2 between the soil and atmosphere is dependent upon the dynamics of the cropping system. There is a linkage between the CO2 uptake and water vapor release by the crop through the transpiration process. Carbon that is extracted from the atmosphere and incorporated into plant components is released through respiration. Crop growth is dependent upon the soil water availability during the growing season and in the Midwest there is a direct correlation between available water during the grain-filling period and grain yield. Crop residue on the surface mediates the water vapor and energy exchanges between the soil and atmosphere and provides an immediate impact on crop water use rates through a reduction in soil water evaporation. In the longer term, the increase in soil organic matter content leads to an increase in soil water availability and increases the aggregate stability that allows for more effective gas and water exchange between the soil and the atmosphere. The value of carbon in the soil has a positive effect on plant growth and yield through the effect on water availability, short¿term water stress, and more effective gas exchange that benefits the root and biological systems in the soil volume.
Submitted by Tom Miles on Sun, 2007-12-02 17:28.
Research Project: Biogeochemical Processes Influencing Formation and Stabilization of Soil Organic Matter and Soil Structure
National Soil Tilth Laboratoryi, USDAi Agricultural Research Service, Ames, IA
Location: Soil and Water Quality Research
Project Number: 3625-11120-003-00
Project Type: Appropriated
Start Date: Apr 25, 2006
End Date: Apr 24, 2011
Objective:
1)Develop a mechanistic understanding of processes controlling the formation and stabilization of organic matter in soils that enhance stabilization of soil structure. a) Determine the relative contributions of biochemical compounds to aggregation and C sequestration. b) Determine the role of clay minerals and charcoal in the formation and stabilization of soil organic matter and soil structure. c) Determine the nature of reactions between smectites and pesticides. d) Determine the effects of anaerobic soil conditions on biochemical processes that influence soil nutrient cycling. e) Develop integrative methods for fractionating SOM into meaningful pools. 2) Develop tools for in situ assessment of soil organic carbon and soil structure. a) Develop a multi-function probe (electrical and thermal properties) to evaluate soil structure. b) Develop and evaluate a field mobile NIRS tool for sensing soil carbon and various soil properties.
Approach:
Field plot and column leaching studies will be used to quantify the impact of adding charcoal to soils on nutrient cycling, soil productivity, C sequestration, pesticide leaching, and on the formation and stabilization of clay-humic complexes. Interactions between selected pesticides and reference clays will be investigated to elucidate bonding mechanisms between organic molecules and clay surfaces. Seasonal patterns for cycling of phenolic and organic nitrogen compounds will be compared for routinely flooded and non-flooded soils. Anticipated products will include more accurate predictions of how crop and soil management effect nutrient cycling and soil organic matter stabilization. We will develop and test electrical and thermal soil probes to characterize soil structure. A regional non-linear multivariate calibration model for a recently developed on-the-go in situ near infrared diffuse reflectance soil probe will be evaluated to determine if the system can accurately map the spatial distribution of numerous soil properties (organic C, total N, CECi, moisture, buffer pH, and extractable nutrients) at the field scale.
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