A Letter from IBI Board Vice Chair, Marta Camps
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Earthsoul India
Dec 31, 2012, 9:08:20 AM12/31/12
to biocharindia
Greetings to all BiocharIndians..... !!
I have enclosed a newsletter from my collegue at IBI Advisory Committee which is extremely encouraging !!
Please do carry on the brilliant work, which I hope to build on once I am free of my current burdens.....
Good Luck !!
Good Luck !!
Best wishes,
Perses Bilimoria
The Society of Biochar Initiatives-India
"Sealand", 4th Flr,
41, Cuffe Parade,
Mumbai 400 005
Tel : +91 (22) 22150374
Fax : +91 (22) 2215 2065
Mobile : +91 98210 50328
Email : bili...@vsnl.com
Website : www.earthsoulindia.com
Dear Perses,
As we bring 2012 to a close, I am reminded of the critical importance of IBI in my daily work as a co-director of the New Zealand Biochar Research Centre and would like to reflect on the worldwide effort that has been done on biochar during 2012 as well as on the challenging tasks that we face ahead. It is clear that the science on biochar has kept growing exponentially and that there is an increasing recognition of the potential role that biochar technology systems have on mitigating climate change if used sustainably. The stability of biochar, as per definition of the IBI Standards, is now better understood. This has allowed the development of a method to estimate the climate change mitigation potential and the value of biochar to facilitate the access to carbon markets. This methodology is grounded on extrapolations from mid-term incubation to long-term decay models, based on current available science. As biochar science continues to improve, this methodology will be updated to include the influence of specific biochar-soil type interactions, as well as the effect of biochar amendments on the decomposition/stabilization of native organic carbon.
Under the current economic situation and without being able to monetize carbon stabilized in biochar, growers are unlikely to utilize biochar unless a greater predictable return on benefits to crop production is demonstrated. Research on the effects of biochar on crop productivity and soil functions has grown greatly, but it is not yet possible to draw conclusions on the agronomic benefits of biochar in temperate soils (as opposed to tropical soils) for this to be broadly applied. This is partly caused by a poor understanding of the potential benefits that a specific biochar may have on a specific soil type. For this I encourage researchers to carefully target their experiments after a thorough characterization of biochar and a deep understanding of soil’s needs so that the best-suited biochar is selected and any soil deficiency balanced. I also urge researchers to formulate new experimental approaches based on an on-going dialogue between modellers and experimentalists and raise an overall awareness of the urgent need for collaboration among the biochar research community. It is only through a comprehensive understanding of the present and future characteristics of biochar-amended soils, that we can optimize the use of biochar in a sustainable manner.
The considerable benefits of biochar can be the basis of a robust new industry. Our goal is to develop this biochar industry as a way to reduce climate change and improve food security and the soil resource. We are focusing on policy change, and the foundations for policy change, to achieve commercialization of the biochar industry by 2015.
Please join IBI in supporting biochar – you can make a difference and we need you now, more than ever. If you are already a paying member, please consider making an end of the year donation to further support our work.
Best regards,
Marta Camps,
IBI Board, Vice Chair
International Biochar Initiative
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"Sealand", 4th Flr,
41, Cuffe Parade,
Mumbai 400 005
Tel : +91 (22) 22150374
Fax : +91 (22) 2215 2065
Mobile : +91 98210 50328
Email : bili...@vsnl.com
Website : www.earthsoulindia.com
Dear Perses,
As we bring 2012 to a close, I am reminded of the critical importance of IBI in my daily work as a co-director of the New Zealand Biochar Research Centre and would like to reflect on the worldwide effort that has been done on biochar during 2012 as well as on the challenging tasks that we face ahead. It is clear that the science on biochar has kept growing exponentially and that there is an increasing recognition of the potential role that biochar technology systems have on mitigating climate change if used sustainably. The stability of biochar, as per definition of the IBI Standards, is now better understood. This has allowed the development of a method to estimate the climate change mitigation potential and the value of biochar to facilitate the access to carbon markets. This methodology is grounded on extrapolations from mid-term incubation to long-term decay models, based on current available science. As biochar science continues to improve, this methodology will be updated to include the influence of specific biochar-soil type interactions, as well as the effect of biochar amendments on the decomposition/stabilization of native organic carbon.
Under the current economic situation and without being able to monetize carbon stabilized in biochar, growers are unlikely to utilize biochar unless a greater predictable return on benefits to crop production is demonstrated. Research on the effects of biochar on crop productivity and soil functions has grown greatly, but it is not yet possible to draw conclusions on the agronomic benefits of biochar in temperate soils (as opposed to tropical soils) for this to be broadly applied. This is partly caused by a poor understanding of the potential benefits that a specific biochar may have on a specific soil type. For this I encourage researchers to carefully target their experiments after a thorough characterization of biochar and a deep understanding of soil’s needs so that the best-suited biochar is selected and any soil deficiency balanced. I also urge researchers to formulate new experimental approaches based on an on-going dialogue between modellers and experimentalists and raise an overall awareness of the urgent need for collaboration among the biochar research community. It is only through a comprehensive understanding of the present and future characteristics of biochar-amended soils, that we can optimize the use of biochar in a sustainable manner.
The considerable benefits of biochar can be the basis of a robust new industry. Our goal is to develop this biochar industry as a way to reduce climate change and improve food security and the soil resource. We are focusing on policy change, and the foundations for policy change, to achieve commercialization of the biochar industry by 2015.
Please join IBI in supporting biochar – you can make a difference and we need you now, more than ever. If you are already a paying member, please consider making an end of the year donation to further support our work.
Best regards,
Marta Camps,
IBI Board, Vice Chair
International Biochar Initiative
As a reminder, your email address needed to log in is: earthso...@hotmail.com. Additional information you will need is as follows:
Username: PBILIMORIA
Password: 32189VLKG
*IBI is a 501 (c)3 organization (registered in the United States). Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowed by the law. No goods or services were provided in exchange for this donation.
This email was sent to earthso...@hotmail.com by in...@biochar-international.org
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