x
  • Bookmark and ShareShare
  • Earn Points
    What's this?
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
 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.
 

 

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

You might also like:

Join the conversation

Comments: 6
Sign in with one of these accounts to add your comment.
anonymous
landboy09 Dec 21 2010 at 8:36 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 all.

|
anonymous
adam_kasten Dec 20 2010 at 9:08 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 price

|
anonymous
karina May 07 2010 at 8:08 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

|
anonymous
Jacob Jul 14 2009 at 1:33 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!

|
anonymous
@TreeBanker Apr 10 2009 at 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

|
anonymous
Erich J. Knight Apr 10 2009 at 2:00 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 biosphere reaching
.... More
into every crack and crevice on Earth. It's hard for most to revere microbes and fungus, but from our toes to our gums (onward), their balanced ecology is our health. The greater earth and soils are just as dependent, at much longer time scales. Our farming for over 10,000 years has been responsible for 2/3rds of our excess greenhouse gases. This soil carbon, converted to carbon dioxide, Methane & Nitrous oxide began a slow stable warming that now accelerates with burning of fossil fuel. Wise Land management; Organic farming and afforestation can build back our soil carbon, Biochar allows the soil food web to build much more recalcitrant organic carbon, ( living biomass & Glomalins) in addition to the carbon in the biochar. Biochar, the modern version of an ancient Amazonian agricultural practice called Terra Preta (black earth, TP), is gaining widespread credibility as a way to address world hunger, climate change, rural poverty, deforestation, and energy shortages… SIMULTANEOUSLY! Modern Pyrolysis of biomass is a process for Carbon Negative Bio fuels, massive Carbon sequestration,10X Lower Methane & N2O soil emissions, and 3X Fertility Too. Every 1 ton of Biomass yields 1/3 ton Charcoal for soil Sequestration, Bio-Gas & Bio-oil fuels, so is a totally virtuous, carbon negative energy cycle. Biochar viewed as soil Infrastructure; The old saw, "Feed the Soil Not the Plants" becomes "Feed, Cloth and House the Soil, utilities included !". Free Carbon Condominiums, build it and they will come. As one microbologist said on the TP list; "Microbes like to sit down when they eat". By setting this table we expand husbandry to whole new orders of life. Senator / Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar has done the most to nurse this biofuels system in his Biochar provisions in the 07 & 08 farm bill, http://www.biochar-international.org/newinformationevents/newlegislation... Charles Mann ("1491") in the Sept. National Geographic has a wonderful soils article which places Terra Preta / Biochar soils center stage. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/09/soil/mann-text Biochar data base; TP-REPP http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/?q=node NASA's Dr. James Hansen Global warming solutions paper and letter to the G-8 conference, placing Biochar / Land management the central technology for carbon negative energy systems. http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0804/0804.1126.pdf
|

EDITORS' PICKS

tease BBQ grills

line

tease bees

line

tease road trip

Earn 100 points for signing up for a free iMeet trial now.
JOIN NOW
Advertisement
From our sponsor

Follow us:

NEWSLETTER

Mother Nature. Delivered
Advertisement