basalt powder restores soil fertility and greatly accelerates tree growth on impoverished tropical...

Remineralize the Earth is a nonprofit organization assisting the worldwide movement of remineralizing soils with finely ground rock dust, sea minerals and other natural and sustainable means to increase the growth, health, and nutrient value of all plant life.

Adding minerals and trace elements is vital to the creation of fertile soils, healthy crops and forests, and is a key strategy to stabilize the climate.

http://remineralize.org

Costa Rica Agroforestry Project 2008

• Designed by John Todd of Ocean Arks International

• Over 20 species of trees, intercropped to provide food (fruit and nut trees), fuel (jatropha) and income (native hardwoods) to sustain local communities

• Remineralization significantly increased plant growth, health and carbon sequestration

Remineralized Jatropha produces a higher yield of oil-bearing seeds

Symposium on Soil Ecology and Restoration

August 22 2011

Basalt Powder Restores Soil Fertility and Greatly Accelerates Tree Growth on Impoverished Tropical

Soils in Panama

Thomas J. Goreau, Marina Goreau, Felix Lufkin,

Carlos A. Arango, Gabriel Despaigne-Matchett,

Gabriel Despaigne-Ceballos, Roque Solis, & Joanna Campe

THE SITE: PANAMA

• Mitigation for clearance of basalt quarry

• Geology: Pleistocene pyroclastic ashes, volcanic tuffs, with basalt lava outcrop

• Agricultural Soil Capacity: Highly infertile, not arable with severe nutrient limitations

• Vegetation: Secondary pioneer scrub following deforestation for pasture

• Precipitation: 2500 mm/yr

• Elevation: 600 m

THE TREE: ACACIA MANGIUM

• Planted in basalt quarry rock powder (H), local soil (L), and transition zone (M)

• No fertilizer added

• Nitrogen fixing tree

• Height measured by video after 19 and 59 months

• Soil samples analyzed

LOCAL SOILS

19 months 59 months

TRANSITION SOILS19 months

59 months

BASALT POWDER19 months 59 months

TREE HEIGHT VS TIME

TREE SURVIVAL VS HEIGHT

TREE HEIGHT VS SOIL

BIOMASS VS TREE HEIGHT

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 350

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

f(x) = 0.0301187022772692 x³ − 0.269901144237345 x² + 1.60771099590231 xR² = 0.967137539834497

ACACIA MANGIUMD. Torres & J. I. del Valle, 2007

HEIGHT (m)

BIO

MA

SS

(K

g)

BIOMASS PER TREE VS SOIL

PHOSPHORUS

IRON

ZINC

MANGANESE

POTASSIUM

MAGNESIUM

CALCIUM

ORGANIC MATTER

COPPER

pH

ALUMINUM

CONCLUSIONS

• Rock powders alone greatly increase plant biomass and survival

• They provide a wide range of essential minerals as slow release fertilizers

• Rock weathering by roots provides a sink of atmospheric CO2

• The effects could be greatly increased by addition of Biochar

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Rock powders could be widely used as natural slow release fertilizers

• They can greatly aid restoration of forest and agricultural productivity in poor soils if matched to plant needs

• They can contribute to removal of CO2

• Research is needed to optimize use of various rock powders, plants, soil types, climate regimes, and management practices

NEXT STEPS• Bring together a group of scientists

• Propose and initiate a large-scale research project

• Systematically research and demonstrate the potential of remineralization combined with biochar and other natural means to:

• regenerate forests

• sequester carbon

• stabilize the climate

For more information visit:

http://remineralize.org