Bamboo biochar research - regional cooperation

https://www.ugm.ac.id/en/news/17773-ugm.develops.bamboo.for.biochar

"Faculty of Agriculture UGM established a consortium with Universitas Syiah Kuala, Universitas Andalas, Universitas Udayana Ghent University, Belgium, to do research in using bamboo as biochar. Biochar is active charcoal use to improve soil and reduce agricultural environmental pollution. It is also potential to maintain soil fertility.

The cooperation that lasts for three years started this year with the Flemish Interuniversity Council Belgium and promoter Prof. Stefaan De Neve from Ghent University and Dr. Benito Heru Purwanto from UGM.

Heru Purwanto said the research had started since November 2018 by inviting representatives from five universities. In March a discussion, workshop and field visit were made at Sidorejo village in Ngablak, Magelang. “Alongside the event we held a discussion that was attended by an internal tim project and doctoral students conducting biochar research at UGM,” said Heru in a release sent on Wednesday (20/3).

Heru explained although still preliminary, the biochar research cooperated with researchers from research agencies in the country as well as biochar experts from Balai Penelitian Tanah Bogor and Balai Penelitian Tanaman Rawa South Kalimantan.

“We also invited farmer groups to do biochar making practices,” he said."

Three year study on biochar & bamboo in Indonesia

The following news was posted to the IBI February newsletter:

"A good deal of research on biochar comes from Indonesia, but much of it misses mainstream academic publications. A new three-year project is underway led by Ghent University, Belgium to help the Indonesian scientific community obtain better worldwide standing using their bamboo biochar industry as a sample case."

From the website:

"This networking project in essence addresses the problem of low soil fertility and related food security issues in Indonesia by harnessing the potential of bamboo derived biochar for soil improvement. Given the high scientific and societal impact of biochar research, notably in soil science, the production and use of bamboo biochar (in a limited number of field experiments) will allow us to address probably the main challenge in academic research in Indonesia, namely the limited international impact. Within this project, biochar will be used as a case study to very significantly increase the international impact of the participating universities, through the organisation of workshops on hypothesis testing, on experimental set-up and on scientific writing with impact, through bringing the Indonesian partners into contact with non-Indonesian research institutes with internationally successful biochar research, and through the sharing of experiences and the learning process over the entire project duration. The inclusion of diverse universities from Java, Bali, West Sumatra and Aceh will maximize the overall project impact.ic community obtain better worldwide standing using their bamboo biochar industry as a sample case."

 

Solutions from the Jungle: The Tengkawang Factory

IBI Webinar on B4SS (Indonesia, Vietnam)

https://biochar-international.org/webinars-list/

Upcoming Webinars

IBI Educational Webinar Series: Biochar for Sustainable Soils (B4SS)

11/29/2018Presented by Ruy Anaya de la Rosa
Biochar projects spanning multiple countries are still relatively few and far between. There is much to learn from these types of multinational projects. IBI has invited Ruy Anaya de la Rosa, the Project Director from the recently concluded Biochar for Sustainable Soils (B4SS) to discuss lessons learned, challenges and best practices from his experiences collaborating biochar projects teams in China, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Peru and Vietnam.
B4SS was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) under the Land Degradation Focal Area in the GEF-5 Strategies.  The objective of the B4SS was to demonstrate and promote the adoption of sustainable land management practices involving the use of innovative organic amendments, based on biochar, that improve the capture and efficient use of nutrients, and enhance productivity, improve climate resilience, support rural livelihoods, and contribute to watershed management. A key goal was to promote the diffusion and successful adoption of biochar techniques among B4SS partner countries and beyond.
The project was focused on collating knowledge generated through the implementation of the targeted biochar demonstration projects. Awareness and improved understanding amongst smallholders, including women’s groups, and resource managers about the most effective biochar formulations and application rates to improve soil functions and reduce land degradation, will be created and shared among stakeholders. This integrated global approach to advance the knowledge on the use of biochar for SLM also conveyed other messages to farming communities mainly interested in soil improvement.

Cost?
Free to IBI Members or $40 for non-members. (Not a member yet? Click here to join and get webinars free for a year, and lots of other benefits!)  Registration includes access to the slides and a recording of the webinar.

To Register:
Non-members may register here for a $40 fee.  If you are a member and are expecting to access the webinar for free, please log in first and return to this page for the members registration link and code to appear. 

For more information:
For more information or if you have any questions about registration please email Caroline Peat at cpeat@ttcorp.com.  Want to become an IBI member and have access to all recorded webinars?  Visit our membership page to help support IBI.

EFB biochar, composting in Indonesia

Formulation of Biochar-Compost and Phosphate Solubilizing Fungi from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch to Improve Growth of Maize in an Ultisol of Central Kalimantan

Gusti Irya Ichriani ^{1, 2},  Syehfani Syehfani ³,  Yulia Nuraini ³,  Eko Handayanto ⁴  

ABSTRACT:

The efficiency of phosphorus uptake by plants in an Ultisol soil is very low because most of soil phosphorus is precipitated by Al and Fe. Oil palm empty fruit bunches can be used as basic materials of biochar and compost, and as sources of isolates of phosphate solubilizing fungi. This study was aimed to elucidate the effect of application of phosphate solubilizing fungi with biochar and compost generated from oil palm empty fruit bunches on growth and yield of maize an Ultisol of Central Kalimantan. This study consisted of two experiments. The first experiment was inoculation of four isolates of phosphate solubilizing fungi isolated from of oil palm empty fruit bunches, i.e. Acremonium (TB1), Aspergillus (TM7), Hymenella (TM1) and Neosartorya (TM8) to 'biocom' media (mixture of biochar and compost generated from oil palm empty fruit bunches) to obtain phosphate solubilizing fungi that can adapt to the media. In the second experiment, the best results in the first experiment were applied to an Ultisol soil planted with maize. The results showed that isolates that were best adapted to biocom media were Aspergillus-TB7 with 60:40 proportion (60% biochar + 40% compost) and Neosartorya-TM8 with 70:30 proportions (60% biochar + 40% compost). The application of the first experiment results to the second experiment showed that the application of biocom plus Neosartorya-TM8 (BTM) on an Ultisol soil significantly improved growth and yield of maize, as well as phosphorus uptake and efficiency of phosphorus uptake by maize.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:

Eko Handayanto   

Research Centre for Management of Degraded and Mining Lands, Brawijaya University, Jl. Veteran, Malang 65145, Indonesia

B4SS at ANZBC18

Dr Ruy Anaya de la Rosa was at the recent ANZBC18 (previous post) and presented on Biochar 4 Sustainable Soils (B4SS) project. See tag below for previous posts.

Ruy's presentation starts at page 47.

https://www.agrifutures.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/18-039.pdf

EFB biochar for improved maize production - Indonesia

Formulation of Biochar-Compost and Phosphate Solubilizing Fungi from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch to Improve Growth of Maize in an Ultisol of Central Kalimantan

ABSTRACT:

The efficiency of phosphorus uptake by plants in an Ultisol soil is very low because most of soil phosphorus is precipitated by Al and Fe. Oil palm empty fruit bunches can be used as basic materials of biochar and compost, and as sources of isolates of phosphate solubilizing fungi. This study was aimed to elucidate the effect of application of phosphate solubilizing fungi with biochar and compost generated from oil palm empty fruit bunches on growth and yield of maize an Ultisol of Central Kalimantan. This study consisted of two experiments. The first experiment was inoculation of four isolates of phosphate solubilizing fungi isolated from of oil palm empty fruit bunches, i.e. Acremonium (TB1), Aspergillus (TM7), Hymenella (TM1) and Neosartorya (TM8) to 'biocom' media (mixture of biochar and compost generated from oil palm empty fruit bunches) to obtain phosphate solubilizing fungi that can adapt to the media. In the second experiment, the best results in the first experiment were applied to an Ultisol soil planted with maize. The results showed that isolates that were best adapted to biocom media were Aspergillus-TB7 with 60:40 proportion (60% biochar + 40% compost) and Neosartorya-TM8 with 70:30 proportions (60% biochar + 40% compost). The application of the first experiment results to the second experiment showed that the application of biocom plus Neosartorya-TM8 (BTM) on an Ultisol soil significantly improved growth and yield of maize, as well as phosphorus uptake and efficiency of phosphorus uptake by maize.

Research from Timor on biochar

Improving mungbean growth in a semiarid dryland system with agricultural waste biochars and cattle manure

Center for Dryland Studies, Universitas Timor, Indonesia 

Abstract

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) productivity in dryland decreased recently due to the soil fertility degradation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of biochar types and cattle manure rates on the growth of mungbean in semi-arid dark soil. The factorial completely randomized block design 3 x 5 with four replicates was set to arrange treatments for the field trial. Two biochars (rice husk and sawdust) at 10 t/ha in combination with four rates of cattle manure (1, 3, 5 and 10 t/ha) and control (without biochar and cattle manure) were applied to the soil, incubated for three weeks and then planted with mungbean cv. Fore Belu. The results revealed that additions of biochar and cattle manure increased soil moisture and soil electrical conductivity by 2-4% and 0.15-0.20, respectively; decreased soil temperature and bulk density by 1-2^oC and 0.2 g/cm³, respectively; increased plant height, stem diameter, root length, total, shoot and root dry weights by 4 cm, 0.1 cm, 5 cm, 7 g, 0.9 g and 6 g, respectively, compared to the control. The best growth of mungbean was obtained from the additions of sawdust biochar at 10 t/ha and cattle manure at 3 t/ha.

 

Social enterprise in Bali includes biochar

https://www.eastbalicashews.co/eco-friendly-energy/

"Believe it or not, cashew shells are an important part of our business. The circular journey of the cashew shells starts at our factory. To power the steaming and drying process of our cashews, we use an innovative gasifier furnace that runs on leftover cashew shells. We then use the resulting biochar as a super carbon-rich fertilizer for our cashew trees and rosella plantations.

Our excess cashew shells we pass on to other small businesses, such as commercial laundries, which use the shells to heat their boilers. While the shells may seem like a simple byproduct with little value compared to the cashews themselves, they’re actually integral to our operations and need to be managed with care.

In 2016, we started to take the “use the whole cashew” idea to the next level. We have ambitious plans to replant Bali’s – and eventually Indonesia’s – cashew trees within the next decade. Part of this plan involves buying old cashew trees from farmers to make space for the new seedlings. We are using the wood chips from these trees to fire our furnaces as well, leaving no part of the cashew – or its tree – unused."info@eastbalicashews.com

International Biochar Seminar, Indonesia

I received a late invite to "Biochar for Sustainable Soils", hosted by Bogor Agricultural University, about 60km south of Jakarta. The line up included quite a few international stars of the biochar world that I've met before at various conferences and workshops: Johannes Lehmann; Stephen Joseph; Annette Cowie; Lukas Van Zwieten; Gerard Cornelissen; Ruy Korscha.

You can click on the image adjacent for a better view of the program.

The event was based around the completion of Biochar for Sustainable Soils (B4SS), 4-year, a multi-million dollar international program (see B4SS label for other posts). It was attended by ~140, mainly from Indonesian agriculture and research community but included representatives from other participating B4SS countries and Malaysia.

The presentations should be available for download in the future... I'll post on this when they come available.

Research findings from Indonesia including biochar in rice growing

Dynamics of N-NH4 +, N-NO3 -, and total soil nitrogen in paddy field with azolla and biochar - IOPscience

I'm not really sure what to make of this... I could not find any description of the biochar or how it was prepared for the research.  I suggest that most biochar proponents would high-light issues around using raw biochars in short term trials. I'm not sure if this was the case here.

Willie Smits - Borneo update

Dr Thomas Goreau, a climate and coastal restoration scientist, has been to visit Dr Willie Smits in Borneo. I first covered Willie Smits work way back in 2010 (see WillieSmits label) and have had some positive dialogue since on biochar and related issues. Dr Goreau has come back with warm praise and the following report...

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/biochar/conversations/messages/22963

I've embedded the 2nd YouTube, as it focuses more on biochar production (Adams retort) but the first video is also great... focusing on sugar palm as a sustainable, community based tropical industry.

B4SS report from Indonesia

Training farmers to produce biochar in Indonesia (July 2017) - Biochar for Sustainable Soils

Ruy Anaya de la Rosa (B4SS), Gerard Cornelissen (Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, NGI), Erlend Sørmo (NGI), and Ludovica Silvani (NGI) conducted training workshops in biochar production in the two B4SS project areas in Indonesia in July 2017.

Biochar rice research in Indonesia

Biochar as a carrier for Nitrogen plant Nutrition: 3. Effect of EnrichedBiochar on Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Yield and Soil Qualities 

 W. H. Utomo 1) , T. Islami 2) and, E. Wisnubroto 3) and H. T. Soelistyari 3) 
1) International Research Centre for Management of Degraded and Mining Land, University Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia. 
2) Research Centre for Tubers and Root Crops, University Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia, 
3) University Tribhuwana Tunggadewi, Malang, Indonesia. 

Abstract 
"A lot of studies have proven that biochar is a good soil amendment. With its high Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), it was hypothesized that biochar can be used as the carrier of nitrogen plant nutrient. A study was conducted to investigated the effect of nitrogen enriched biochar on the growth of rice (Oriza sativa L.). The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse with the treatment of enriched biochar (2 enriched materials and 2 types of biochar feedstuffs), and the rice was planted on several soil acidity. There was 21 treatments combination which arranged in a Fully Randomized Design with 3 replications. Measurements were done for rice growth, rice yield, and some soil chemical properties, i.e. soil organic carbon and nitrogen content, soil pH, and Cation Exchange Capacity. The experimental results show that biochar was a good carrier for nitrogen plant nutrition. The growth and yield of rice planted in enriched biochar soil was as good as the rice growing in urea treated soil, even it had a higher yield. Nitrogen enriched biochar increased the fertilizer efficiency. Ammonium is a better enriched material for biochar than nitrate. "

B4SS have been active in Indonesia & Vietnam

Check out B4SS activities in Vietnam and Indonesia.

​

From: Ruy Korscha Anaya de la Rosa korscha@gmail.com [biochar] 
Date: 13 July 2017 at 16:17
Subject: [biochar] B4SS Adventure Experience in Peru
To: biochar@yahoogroups.com

Starfish's Biochar for Sustainable Soils (B4SS) project is entering its final year and things are getting really exciting. The results of the last 2-3 years of research are coming in and our focus is now shifting to sharing this practical and important knowledge. Check it out and you could win a trip to Peru!

http://biochar.international/peru-trip
Dr Ruy Anaya de la Rosa
Project Director | Biochar for Sustainable Soils
  a collaboration of Starfish Initiatives
/

__._,_.___

Biochar consultant assignment in Indonesia

Thanks to Tom Miles for posting this...
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/biochar/conversations/messages/21615