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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

BIG BIOCHAR EXPERIMENT IN UK

Profile: The Big Biochar Experiment; using widespread biochar trials for citizen-powered science in the UK
 
biochar plotThe Big Biochar Experiment is a UK-wide initiative and is the largest study on the use of biochar on British allotments to date. The Experiment aims to gather data to assess the effects of biochar on plant productivity and soil health of widely used fruit and vegetable varieties in the UK. The team is comprised of members of Oxford Biochar Ltd, Earthwatch, the Environmental Change Institute (Oxford University), and the UK Biochar Research Centre. Project partner Dr. Dan Bebber of Earthwatch said, “Biochar holds great potential for addressing some of our greatest challenges, including climate change and food security. This novel experiment will provide important insights on biochar's applicability to the UK farming industry, and allow people to get involved in real science."


Believing that biochar could be a solution to safely and permanently sequester carbon in the soil, the Big Biochar Experiment is looking for hundreds of UK residents to enroll in the program and participate in citizen-powered science. Biochar will be provided free of charge. The participants will investigate whether biochar will work for their gardens and plants, and receive instructions and support on how to record the data from their plots and send it in to the experiment. To read the remainder of this article, please see: http://www.biochar-international.org/profile/bigbiochar.

Photo: Plot pre-planting; courtesy of Dr. Cécile Girardin of Oxford Biochar Ltd

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have signed up and it is really fantastic to have the opportunity to take part in a people's experiment that could make a real difference. I have planted onions and will be documenting progress on my blog http://borageandbeans.wordpress.com/