Biochar: Building Pathways to Better Soil | Mark Shipperlee

Learn more about Biochar and how it builds pathways to improve soil health from Mark Shipperlee!
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One of the challenges in woodland management is what to do with the waste from harvesting. Making biochar on a small scale allows carbon to lock into the soils for thousands of years. Its also good at retaining moisture and the micro-pores are a great place for biology to hang out. We will look in detail at a medium-sized commercial production, as well as results from trials on a small-holding.
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The Soil Food Web School’s mission is to empower individuals and organizations to regenerate the soils in their communities. The Soil Food Web Approach can dramatically accelerate soil regeneration projects by focussing on the soil biome. This can boost the productivity of farms, provide super-nutritious foods, protect and purify waterways, and reduce the effects of Climate Change. No background in farming or biology is required for our Foundation Courses. Classes are online & self-paced, and students are supported by highly-trained Soil Food Web School mentors.
Over the last four decades, Dr. Elaine Ingham has advanced our knowledge of the Soil Food Web. An internationally-recognized leader in soil microbiology, Dr. Ingham has collaborated with other scientists and with farmers around the world to further our understanding of how soil organisms work together and with plants. Dr. Ingham is an author of the USDA's Soil Biology Primer and a founder of the Soil Food Web School.
00:00 Farmer’s Story: Edward N. From Malawi
03:08 Introduction to Mark Shipperlee
05:15 Meet Mark Shipperlee
09:12 The history of Biochar: Terra Preta
13:39 Biochar in the 21st century
16:14 My beginnings with Biochar: A Carbon Catcher
18:58 First trials with Biochar
20:22 Marketing biochar
21:38 What is Biochar?
23:34 Is Biochar the same as charcoal?
28:26 What does Biochar do?
31:48 How is Biochar made?
40:49 How we used Biochar
43:58 Benefits of Biochar
44:42 Biochar Research
46:00 Current status of Biochar
50:19 The future of Biochar
51:22 Special thanks, Contact Mark Shipperlee
#SoilFoodWeb #Biochar #SoilImprover

[@soilfoodwebschool]

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[@thomasvanacore4134]

Mark, Thanks for the video. A good overview of biochar. Regarding the Terra Preta, historical us of char in building humus, those soils were found with a very large amount of ceramic shards, essentially terra cotta remnants of pottery, cooking vessels or chamber pots etc. These shards were generally high in mineral including manganese iron and magnetite, calcium etc. These high carbon soils are rich in humic substances, microbiology, biofilms covering every surface of the charcoal particles. Carbon, minerals and microbes. Add water holding capacity and this is a good basis for building high humic soils, living soils.

[@saraskamnes3762]

Though I agree that there are some uses for biochar, I found some statements to be incorrect and possibly short sighted. The comment that the wood chips placed on the surface of the soil don't stay forever and just go into the air is incorrect. The wood chips get consumed by the fungi and turn into organic matter and humus, feeding the fungi. This points out the fact that we need active carbon in the system to feed the fungi, carbon that still has its ligneous component. There has been great research done on the fact that carbon sequestration is not actually what a living planet needs. See Tim LaSalle's work at Chico State. We need a more liquid active carbon cycle that feeds the microbes in the soil. Though I think there is a role of biochar in certain situations, in all situations we need active carbon feeding the microbes and building active organic matter for a living soil. I think biochar's biggest benefit is helping to mitigate drought, but then again that is also the role of active carbon and fungi in the soil. As for the forests, I would rather see the fallen trees be chipped and blanketed and left in place to hold water and feed the soil. It would certainly be much more cost effective and efficient than biochar. I'm not trying to sound like we don't need biochar. Given the state of our soils, I believe this is a yes and situation. Yes biochar can be useful AND we need living active carbon feeding our fungi and soils. Great episode. Thank you Soil Food Web School and Mark Shipperlee.

[@soilfoodwebschool]

Thanks for your well informed input, Sara!

[@ObjectiveMedia]

You want to “chip the Forrests to hold more water” 😂😂😂

[@Utopicfarmer]

Does Arbuscular Mycorrhiza work with Biochar ?? Many say that with the presence of Biochar, the AM turns from being a symbiote to being a parasite, sucking carbs from plants, without giving anything back in return. Biochar and AM leads to about 42% decrement in biomass above surface, thereby affecting production. I want to know if this is real or not. Terra Preta from Amazon must have Mycorrhiza fungi also (with Biochar) - that's my assumption.

[@floriebrown2089]

Hi Mark, quite excited to see another of our fellow Brits studying the soil food web I am doing the course and enjoying it. The change and simplicity of using compost tea on my plants are very exciting. At the moment I am trying to cure my plum tree of silver leaf with compost tea. I do not make a bon fires in my garden any more but I am making use of the fungi infested bit of chard woods from my old bonfire. Great video on biochar thank you.

[@KelpieWilson]

Well done Mark. The branch logger is a revelation! Very exciting. I have to get one somehow. I have never heard of it before and I have been looking for low cost "chunker" for years. So thanks!

[@soilfoodwebschool]

Thanks, Kelpie! We hope to get you on one of our webinars soon!

[@dertythegrower]

Utilized biochar in my hugelbeds this week, it is totally a great addition and helps soil greatly, as well as fungi growth in the beds..

[@curiousbystander9193]

it does not enable fungal growth.... whoever put this idea out there should be spanked.

[@Utopicfarmer]

Does Arbuscular Mycorrhiza work with Biochar ?? Many say that with the presence of Biochar, the AM turns from being a symbiote to being a parasite, sucking carbs from plants, without giving anything back in return. Biochar and AM leads to about 42% decrement in biomass above surface, thereby affecting production. I want to know if this is real or not. Terra Preta from Amazon must have Mycorrhiza fungi also (with Biochar) - that's my assumption.

[@tinkerbell503]

Thank you for this amazing resource and critical knowledge!

[@timantrim1751]

Haven’t tried using biochar raw on my farm. I had a bad experience with it when I first started, and assumed that I had not seasoned it enough. My kiln is the simplest out there. It’s a 55 gallon drum with a panel cut out of one side. I hadn’t heard of the branch logger before your presentation, but am curious whether or not it could be run without the bags. Looks like a good tool for biochar, but also for building small heugel beds. Thank you for your presentation. And, yes, it did bring up more questions. God knows I love a puzzle/challenge. Keep it up. If you answer a small fraction of your questions, you will have succeeded magnificently.

[@StayPrimal]

very interesting video, thank you to all the team.

[@Zword316]

Freaking excellent mate!

[@sumakwelvictoria5635]

Thank you for more info on biochar! I can't see much about this. Is it being suppressed? I am looking for info on biochar used in Chinampas systems. The Mexico City chinampas soil is very dark when wet and gray when the top soil is dried.

[@soilfoodwebschool]

@sumakwei Victoria Please reach out to us at [e-mail] with your questions.

[@ternikablackman536]

This makes me smile 😁

[@dadsfarmbiochar258]

Great stuff Mark we produce biochar products here in Wales trying to tell farmers the benefits of using biochar as a soil amendment, feed additive, bedding etc would be interested in the soil food web course.

[@casiegarrett9651]

Thank you this was great! I have looked in to Biochar extensively and this was a very good overview. I like the flower vs bread mix analogy!

[@Utopicfarmer]

Does Arbuscular Mycorrhiza work with Biochar ?? Many say that with the presence of Biochar, the AM turns from being a symbiote to being a parasite, sucking carbs from plants, without giving anything back in return. Biochar and AM leads to about 42% decrement in biomass above surface, thereby affecting production. I want to know if this is real or not. Terra Preta from Amazon must have Mycorrhiza fungi also (with Biochar) - that's my assumption.

[@matsnjp1033]

I suggest strongly that all have a look at the Stockholm Model. Cheers!

[@moe42o]

Cheers from N.E. Oregon!

[@goosebumpproductions]

Have you perhaps done any tests to see which is the best way to add biochar? Is it effective if just added to the top of the soil or should one mix it into the soil - and to what depth?

[@cuznclive2236]

Char versus biochar. Thinking I would use char to draw, and to use biochar as a substrate, for example in a mix of soil. Where being, char would draw most everything and lock it until conditions appreciated the store of whatever, and biochar would make-available for use based on the inoculation. I see char as a root cellar, and biochar as the result of having a root cellar. Hopefully, I made enough sense for y'all to respond.

[@downfall642]

just a thought on your bag problem. what if your chip into the metal crates from water tote. easy to move store stack

[@sweetengland99]

waiting 🥰👍🏻

[@rubiccube8953]

Good video I thought of this 10 years ago I just use a metal dustbin and burn from the top . I crush the resulting charcoal using a acro . Add urine and concentrated comfrey and leave to soak . My plants on the allotment are twice the size of everyone else’s. The added bonus it takes nitrogen out of the atmosphere. It could reforest the deserts using this and regenerative grazing .

[@debravictoria7452]

What is a acro? Google just goes to acrobat or acronym 🤦‍♀️

[@rubiccube8953]

@@debravictoria7452 arrow prop - used for support of buildings works. I find them good for flattening any thing.

[@cliftonwhitchurch5309]

I have Eastern Red Cedar here in Missouri; actually a Juniper. Large logs, lots of slash, hard reddish wood. I wonder if it is suitable or maybe good for making biochar. The tree is an invasive weed that needs to be cleared, as it inhibits ALL other growth; full age range; mostly only used for posts. Maybe biochar?

[@guifrakss]

yes, good idea

[@didgeridooblue]

I'm located in NE Nebraska and using Eastern Redcedar to make biochar. One year old branches left to dry out works best. Most of the water has left the branch, but most of the cedar oil remains to heat up the fire. I cut the branches into small chunks so the oil is easily released and positively fuel the fire.

[@racebiketuner]

Cover the hard, flat surfaces in your room with egg crate, sound damping panels or moving blankets. Then get a decent mic. You don't need to spend a fortune. There's plenty of good ones for less than $200.

[@katiez5660]

Do you charge bio char? I took mine and charged with compost tea so the bio char wouldn’t pull the nutrition from the soil.

[@Utopicfarmer]

When charcoal is charged with nutrients and microbes, only then it becomes "BIO CHAR". Biochar doesn't suck anything. Charcoal does.

[@RicoRodriguezGrows]

Like & comment 👍 good show.

[@NSBarnett]

(25:25) One of the chimneys is what, Mark?

[@nathandelossantos760]

OMG those earphones 😂

[@restorationhomestead9203]

Thanks for Mark's presentation. At the 35 minutes Mark claims that wood chips in garden pathways release all its carbon back into the atmosphere. My understanding of composting helps to lock carbon into the ground. Could someone please expand upon Mark's idea?

[@tyee.5023]

He is talking about the breakdown organic matter if it is not used as biochar, such as firewood, wood chip mulch, and any other way wood is unpreserved. Once the wood is decomposing, the breakdown of its internal compounds will eventually return to the atmosphere- aka rot or burned to dust (in the case of firewood). It's the natural process, nothing lasts forever. So if the wood is burned in the process of pyrolysis to make biochar, the internal carbon is held in structure while all other atoms are forced out as gas. When he talks about the Dragon pyrolysis machine at the Green Power House in the movie he referred to, that machine was feeding the off-gas from the char into a pyramid which was growing algae and inoculating the biochar with the biproducts. I highly recommend watching that movie- it can explain A LOT about this, and it's very moving. It's actually the movie that inspired me to go into sustainable agriculture in the first place =)

[@naturalmystic311]

@@tyee.5023what is the name of the movie? Thank you 🙏

[@gardengypsy70]

Great video!!! Any suggestions for where to purchase biochar?

[@guifrakss]

try making it

[@gardengypsy70]

@@guifrakss I believe I may have, but I’m not certain I did it correctly. Looking for a reliable source to make myself, there’s so much info out there!

[@soilfoodwebschool]

It depends where you live, Gabrielle. Ideally, you would purchase from a local producer. May I ask where you are located?

[@mking3219]

We have Japanese honeysuckle perfect size big piles of cut saplings, it's like gods sign to do my part or something

[@nazrilhakim6773]

👍👍

[@andresamplonius315]

Los incas probablemente no tenían conocimiento acerca de la Terra Preta pues no dominaron la Amazonía. De hecho, Orellana fue testigo de la población de la zona pero no tenía idea de el como se sustentaba. Va a ser en tiempos modernos que la Terra Preta va a ser descubierta en zonas de la Amazonía Brasileña.

[@siddheshpatil4011]

If we charge biochar with slurry, it will show very excellent results because microbes build their colony in spores of biochar.

[@Utopicfarmer]

Does Arbuscular Mycorrhiza work with Biochar ?? Many say that with the presence of Biochar, the AM turns from being a symbiote to being a parasite, sucking carbs from plants, without giving anything back in return. Biochar and AM leads to about 42% decrement in biomass above surface, thereby affecting production. I want to know if this is real or not. Terra Preta from Amazon must have Mycorrhiza fungi also (with Biochar) - that's my assumption.

[@charlescoker7752]

How many tons of Biochar were the Amazonians producing a year? How much was being spread on their soils? Did they mix it into the soil, or just spread it on top?

[@SARJENT.]

5 AM!?

[@sandponics]

Click the picture to the left to find a displayed website address, then you can learn how to save soil, return agricultural land to natural forests and save the earth. It is not rocket science, although it does involve some work.

[@letmegro4968]

If you really want a good laugh, look up to what the algorithm has to say about this video 😂. On a serious note, I'd like to know if its absolutely necessary to hose down the biochar at the end. Im using the double barrel method and its quite a messy affair. My logic tells me that it maybe less efficient but since Ill be breaking them into small pieces then inoculation afterwards, it should be OK. Opinions? THANK YOU for a great episode.

[@tyee.5023]

I think he said it's to rinse it off, basically. That may have been another video? The purpose was to get any debris out that wasn't solely carbon, but I haven't actually finished watching this yet, so I'll keep an ear out for anything he says on it. At 36 minutes he's talking about large branches vs. wood chips, and makes a statement about too much air will convert it to too much ash (defeating the point of a pyrolysis machine lol), so maybe that debris is some of the ash that is inevitably converted as you burn, because you really only want the black stuff, not the grey/white stuff. 37:45 he explains preventing ash 40:15 you extinguish it because not only does it clean it, it also keeps from catching anything on fire because it is a fire hazard.

[@letmegro4968]

@@tyee.5023 thats why I use the double barrel, i dont get any ash this way. I was wondering if water was necessary for structural reasons. I suspect that the sudden temp change causes a structural change

[@adrianfielder4675]

NO MENTION OF INNOCULATING IT?

[@goosebumpproductions]

Thanks for sharing all this info. I have heard many positives about biochar, but something that bothers me and I have not found much talk of: Surely if you are burning wood then this is releasing a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, even if it is only a percentage of the total carbon of the tree - it is still not great. So for the long term yes you are sequesting carbon, but for the short term you are adding to the carbon dioxide problem. Or am I missing something?

[@debravictoria7452]

I wouldn't think that anybody would want to be called an *expert* after the past few years. 🤣 just sayin 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@Elementtreecompany]

I'm really confused by what you mean by this statement and I am hoping you can help me understand what is wrong with the concept of an expert? I do understand there is a difference between the concept of an 'authority' versus the concept of an 'expert' and that people often confuse the two. Broadly speaking, what qualifies an expert is extensive experiential knowledge and research in a specific area of study that provides them with specialization, so what is wrong with that? --asking candidly. Thank you.

[@debravictoria7452]

@@Elementtreecompany I think that you may have answered your own question; the confusion between authority and expertise. Might be a good reason for the confusion though; verbiage by the MSM and others. My comment was meant as what is called 'tongue in cheek'. 😉

[@Elementtreecompany]

@@debravictoria7452 Okay, that makes sense to me. I'm grateful for your comments and taking the time to explain that--I appreciate your honest response. Thank you, Debra.

[@iwenive3390]

Why don’t we just harvest biochar from the endless forest fires and forth of July barbecues?

[@kmc6506]

1. If you live close to a forest that has burned, go ahead and harvest some biochar. But most of us don't live near a recently burned forest. 2. As a general rule, biochar in the forest should stay in the forest to build forest soil. 3. Many of us have excess brush, tree branches, woody invasive species, etc on our property that we need to dispose of and making char is a solution. 4. If you have extra brush and branches on your property, making your own char is more efficient than walking around on rugged terrain carrying a bucket picking up bits of char and burning gallons of gas driving to haul it back home.

[@curiousbystander9193]

using biochar in soil will be proven wrong for soil and crops, and wasteful of time...... better off taking that biomass and composting it down.

[@mikewurlitzer5217]

So adding removing some carbon from the carbon cycle and sequestering it in soil is wrong? So adding something which retains more water for the soil and reducing runoff is wrong? So combining Biochar and compost tea to give a slow release of nutrients to the soil and crops is wrong? I'm willing to be those farmers being put out of business in Norway by the green nazis in their government would benefit from locking up that evil Nitrogen with Biochar.

[@curiousbystander9193]

@@mikewurlitzer5217 Glad you replied...... I have some tests planned this summer..... hope you do too...... my statement was sort of meant as a hypothesis to be tested...... so glad you added this input.... I just put some biochar through a rinse process.... and I can tell you this, there's clearly some volatile compounds in the char and fine stuff that I suspect needs to be screened out or aged out.... anyhow... fyi, tests are hardood char test 1-2 mm size........ coffee biochar .5-1 mm size, and hardwood and coffee biochar mixed......all at 2.5 % of soil... all biochar is charged with bug frass and vermicompost for 4 months. things is, does biochar hold nitrogen and other solubles ? if biochar can capture nutrients moving through the soil, it is valuable.... from what I see, it's not necessarily a holder of microbial life... as a matter of fact, microbes avoid it to a large degree (let me show you the big stump I burned 15 years ago, and the one I didn;t right next to it, if I can find that one)... I suspect it's value may be in soil hydrolics, with some nutrient capture, hopefully... and these soil qualities support microbial life and soil health... clearly biochar changes soil texture to some degree, and the water, soil, air interactions. there are environmental considerations in the production, multiple dimensions from dust to voc's to water pollution.... anyhow.

[@Utopicfarmer]

Does Arbuscular Mycorrhiza work with Biochar ?? Many say that with the presence of Biochar, the AM turns from being a symbiote to being a parasite, sucking carbs from plants, without giving anything back in return. Biochar and AM leads to about 42% decrement in biomass above surface, thereby affecting production. I want to know if this is real or not. Terra Preta from Amazon must have Mycorrhiza fungi also (with Biochar) - that's my assumption.