The International Biochar Initiative 2010 Conference
IBI is pleased to announce the 3rd International Biochar Conference: IBI 2010 will be held in Rio de Janeiro, September 12 - 16, 2010. We expect the conference to be the largest international biochar conference to date and are building the agenda and the activities on the past two international conferences as well as the excellent regional and national biochar conferences of the past few years. We look forward to hosting this conference in Brazil, together with our parters and colleagues at EMBRAPA--a leading light in studies of biochar and Terra Preta. The conference will run over the course of four days and include both oral and poster presentations, ample networking opportunities, side meetings, discussion groups, display booths, and a field trip opportunity to see the famous Terra Preta sites in the Amazon (September 17 - 19, 2010).
The organizing and scientific committees are busy with a working agenda. We will have a website with registration up online in the next month and be issuing a call for abstracts in the next week. All abstracts will be considered for posters. Oral presentations and papers will be selected from abstracts received. Session topics will include: 
- Biochar production and new products. Biomass sources, residues and co-products recycling. Management of emissions, wastes, and byproducts from biochar production.
- Integrated biochar systems. Design and evaluation of small and large scale systems.
- Characterization of fresh and aged biochars. Physico-chemical characterization of structural recalcitrance and functionalities. IBI's biochar characterization effort.
- Biochar quantification in the environment.
- Biochar amendments to soils. Agronomic evaluations and effects on soil carbon dynamics.
- Terra Preta de Índios: state of the art.
- Climate change mitigation value and potential.
- Sustainability, certification and legislation.
- Commercializing biochar and large scale dissemination - economic, commercial, and industrial issues.
- Emissions trading and climate change policy.
Sponsorship Opportunities
With the increasing amount of press worldwide on biochar and the media focus on climate change, the 2010 IBI Conference will be at the forefront of the international spotlight. This venue will provide sponsors with exposure and access to an estimated 500 international delegates on site, with additional exposure via conference announcements, press, and the IBI website. This conference will also provide sponsors with the opportunity to demonstrate your support and commitment to climate change and sustainable land use practices.
In order to ensure that your organization achieves its objectives, a wide range of sponsorship opportunities are available. Please take a look at sponsorship document in English or in Portuguese for your options.
A History of Terra Preta de Indios in Brazil
The Terra Preta de Índios soils, found in the Amazon basin, differ markedly from adjacent soils with their higher fertility and greater carbon content. This high fertility of Terra Preta de Índios, and in particular the capacity of these soils to maintain high fertility despite their intensive and degradative use (resilience), is attributed to its high levels of soil organic matter of strong pyrogenic character. These special soils were formed by pre-Columbian Indigenous peoples, although it is unclear whether their formation was an intentional process for soil improvement, or a consequence of their agricultural and household activities. Such human activity in pre-Columbian past resulted in the accumulation of plant and animal residues as well as large amounts of ash and charcoal. The slow natural oxidation of these charred residues in the soil generated a recalcitrant (polycondensed aromatic structure) and reactive (rich in functionalities able to adsorb nutrients) material, giving rise to soils able to retain plant nutrients in an efficient form and thus reduce their leaching with the heavy rainfall of the Amazon environment.
All this knowledge allowed us to define a model to pursue the goal of improving soil fertility and promoting soil carbon sequestration. For this, biochar can be used, in its raw or improved form, as a soil amendment inspired by traditional indigenous pre-Columbian practices.
Reconciling food and energy production with of soil fertility and carbon sequestration.
It is important to highlight that the scientific approach is not to compete for energetic resources such as charcoal and sugarcane bagasse, but to optimize energy generation by using modern pyrolysis methods and recycling waste and by-products which often represent environmental liabilities. Biochar research and development was included in the 2008 United States Farm Bill and could be considered as official climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy, such as a voluntary C markets strategy, in the post-Kyoto climate agreement under the UNFCCC, representing an important advance, since it is the first proposal that does not penalise agricultural production.
As for Brazil, the agricultural use of biochar is included in Embrapa’s (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) strategic research agenda because:
- Brazil is the world’s largest producer of plant charcoal (38.5% of the production).
- Renewable energy accounts for 50% of its total energetic matrix, contrasting with the world average of 14%;
- Alcohol from sugarcane, the main feedstock in Brazil’s renewable energy matrix, generates a fantastic quantity of pyrolyzable residues. Additionally, emergent biofuels (biodiesel) industries potentially will produce tons of pyrolyzable residues;
- Our tradition in Terra Preta de Índios research has given us a distinct starting point regarding agricultural uses of biochar and modified charcoal as a soil amendment.