Carbon sequestered may have more and more value over time because it has the possibility of replacing the carbon we have so zealously burned and released into the atmosphere. In my humble opinion, Mamma Earth is trying to sequester carbon herself, the only way she can, massive charred forests. We have had them in the U.S. as well but the black ash is a gold mine for soil formation. Nature will reclaim charred logs in hundreds to thousands of years, which leads to the reclaimed forest soils. I teach how to transform lifeless and sterile char into the best emulation of soil for your location. The process is not unlike making beer or saurkraut. to be brief, it requires a host of soil precursors and enough mpoisture so that biology can literally take root in th esoil emulating pores of the biochar.
Many use the term biochar to stand in for any charred woody biomass. I dosagree. That, I call char, as in charcoal. You wouldn't want to put it in your garden, that's for sure, unless you wanted to make paths of it, intentionally. However, when you spend about six weeks, enriching and adding many and varied foods for soil life, it completely transforms the char, enlivening it, creating colonies of healthy microbial community that can be spread over a large area. A 1% concentration in soil doubles crop production, reduces irrigation needs by half, makes nutrients available in soil twice as long, and increases CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) which helps feed pllants more appropriately. Doubling of plant biomass is a huge pay off, but the healing that is done to the soil itself will pay incalculable benefits, for generations if we treat it well.
To research further, check out Gabe Brown's work restoring cabon to his soil. Armoring the soil is essential. Guarding the surface from direct Sun exposure, raindrops and wind helps the biology of the soil to stabilize and diversify. The more broad and prolific the microbiome becomes, the more stable it is as well. In this time of climate destabilization, having any soil that is resistant to both flood and drought, which again, the 1% concentration of quality biochar can achieve.
Not tilling, a gentle opening of the soil with a braodfork, insertaed and leaned back on ten or fifteen degrees, just a bit to get air into tight soils, can be helpful, but keeping the majority of large and small structures in the soil intact is essential to soil health. That is why you armor as well, to protect the "little ones" in the soil profile who make it possible for both air and water to get in! When you till, the first thing to go is the large structures, and their carbon reserve in the soil gets lost. Next to go with continued tilling are the small structures and then, you just have dirt.
Just as I feel strongly about keeping the word char for sterile charcoal distinct from biochar which is alive and emulates healthy native soils. If you have ever seen dirt and know what soil is, you could not argue that those two words apply to different materials as well. I have been so dirty that I had soil on me, but the vast majority of it we prefer to leave in the garden beds. We have a preliminary hand wash prior to going in the house and that water gets used on plants often. Keeping your biochar at home becomes essential when you know how transformative it can be.
Keeping living roots in the soil because they are the large structures that also help get air, moisture and sugars, when they are healthy; into the soil to feed microbes.
Fostering diversity also helps to stabilize both microclimate and helps feed a thriving soil microbiome. If you apply these five principles, your soil will revive and you can do all of this with virtually no inputs. I have and I can guide anyone through the process.