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Karl Burkart

The Secret of El Dorado revealed

Amazonian jungles reveal the secret of El Dorado's wealth -- biochar.

Thu, Apr 09 2009 at 7:10 PM EST
 6

Image: Eco Preservation Society
When the Conquistador Francisco de Orellana entered the remote Rio Negro region of the Amazon basin in 1542, he was searching for one thing -- a city of gold. Though he never found gold, he did find what is now believed to be the lost city of El Dorado and something perhaps even more valuable.
 
Wide causeways running in perfectly straight lines for lengths of 50 miles or more across huge engineered agricultural landscapes, connecting cities with populations in the hundreds of thousands. This is what Orellana reported upon his return to Spain. But subsequent explorers could never find the legendary agrarian metropolis, and most dismissed his claims as fantasy.
 
Even modern anthropologists dismissed the El Dorado legend for one good reason -- soil fertility, or lack thereof. The Amazon basis is notorious for its highly eroded and infertile soils, and until very recently it was impossible to consider that this soil could support such a large and extensive population. 
 
But the Lost City also contained a lost secret. A discovery in 2002 by scientists at Duke University proved Orellana right, and the discovery is documented in a 45 minute BBC video called The Secret of El Dorado.
 
 
Thanks to the Replant the Rainforest campaign running this month, I came across this great video which locates the great complex of cities that spanned hundreds of miles and housed as many as a million people. And the secret?
 
Biochar. A method for burning agricultural waste under oxygen-deprived conditions. The result is solid, sequestered carbon called Terra Preta which enabled the inhabitants of the lost city to produce huge amounts of produce without depleting the surrounding rainforests.
 
The biochar is able to stimulate the growth of friendly fungi which increases soil volume, stability and fertility. It also sequesters carbon... permanently, making it a candidate for true, "save the world" technology.
 
Biochar has its critics, who fear that a modern version of the ancient technology could result in a new "biofuel craze" which would only serve to further erode precious rainforest lands (remember when palm oil plantations were considered a biofuel panacea?) But if engineered properly with strong conservation measures in place, biochar could at least turn out to be a part of the solution -- sequestering excess CO2 from the atmosphere while giving developing nations a method for sustainable agriculture that does not rely upon deforestation.
 
Though Orellana never found his treasure trove of gold, he did ultimately point us to something more valuable -- proof that biochar is a key to supporting dense human populations sustainably and for the long term.
 

 

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Related Topics: BioChar, Biotechnology, Carbon, CO2, Farming & Agriculture, Organic Farming

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anonymous
landboy09 12/21/2010 08:36 AM

I heard about biochar a few months ago from a friend of mine. I never thought that something as simple as charcoal could do so much for the soil and the environment.

I was amazed after reading "The Biochar Revolution" from http://biochar-books.com/The_Biochar_Revolution.

They have a great discount for Christmas on the book at the moment.

Check it out. It was a great help in opening my mind to issues that affect us

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anonymous
adam_kasten 12/20/2010 09:08 AM

Welcome friends
I have good news for you; I found the best book about biochar with a special holiday price http://biochar-books.com/TBRsale
http://biochar-books.com/
It is a truly biochar Bible.
I believe this is the most beautiful holiday gift for your loved ones.
A real deal at a great.... More

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anonymous
karina 05/07/2010 08:08 AM

I like your site its quite informative and i would like to come here again as i get some time from my studies. i would like to invite my other friends to this site, as you have done a great job. exam 70-271

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anonymous
Jacob 07/14/2009 01:33 AM

For it seems that the people of the real El Dorado possessed a secret with the power to transform our world and their secret in the soil could be the solution to solving famine in the thrid world and other nations once and for all. Helping you find the best cheap insurance, so you can live with better insurance. Get a car insurance quote today!

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anonymous
@TreeBanker 04/10/2009 11:05 AM

Thanks for the great post Karl and thank you Erich for the amazing follow-up.

In spite of inevitable and understandable concerns surrounding the use of biochar as a tool to sequester carbon at an industrial scale, biochar is emerging as a significant system for reducing excess CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

We are looking forward to watching, and participating in the growth and dissemination of this technology.

Dan Tefft
@TreeBanker

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anonymous
Erich J. Knight 04/10/2009 02:00 AM

Biochar Soil Technology.....Husbandry of whole new orders of life

Biotic Carbon, the carbon transformed by life, should never be combusted, oxidized and destroyed. It deserves more respect, reverence even, and understanding to use it back to the soil where 2/3 of excess atmospheric carbon originally came from.

We all know we are carbon-centered life, we seldom think about the complex web of recycled bio-carbon which is the true center of life. A cradle to cradle, mutually co-evolved.... More

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