Since I received no suggestions in my journal, I'm going to try here. I'm attempting to do a report for a geology class on Volcanic ash, in particular it's use in soils. What sparked my interest is the Hawaiian cannabis that seems to thrive in these soils. Now in no way will I be able to test anything ( I have a weeks time), nor will I be able to give much report on only cannabiss' benefit from using ash. I can change my topic within the next two days for those who may suggest something easier, or more confined and concrete. When I tend to do reports I find myself reporting on a grand scheme of things instead of things in particular. Then again, I have minimal chemistry experience and intermediate biology experience. All of which contribute to reading and experimentation done at home, not in school. So far from my understanding of it: 1. Volcanic ash is often very acidic and not many plants thrive in these conditions. It often takes at LEAST a year for the ash to become amended into the soil. Pulled from the nps.gov site. "That depends on several factors: rainfall, type of lava (or ash), and proximity to the caldera (a source of sulfur that makes acid rain). Sword ferns can be found on flows after about one year. Pahoehoe lava from the 1973 fissure eruption near Mauna Ulu has several species of native plants (most are a few feet tall). Lava from the 1955 eruption on the lower East Rift Zone has abundant tall (20-30 feet, 6-10 m) `ohi`a trees." 2. Some organisms such as acidophiles can live in high PH soils. This may prove beneficial in speeding soil recovery. Lithotrophs can break down minerals in soil quick. mycorrhizae-which many people around here attempting to get into, are fungi that assist in nutrient uptake, either by binding to the cells or near the cells drawing these nutrients closer. It's also been mentioned that they can live in very acidic soil. 3. Script I pulled from some sites: The lava is basalt. Hawaiian basalts contain about 50% silica, 10% each of iron, magnesium, calcium, about 15% aluminum, 2% titanium and 2% sodium. Frequently Asked Questions - Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park such as olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and feldspar (the essential ingredients of volcanic ash and lava) which releases iron, magnesium, potassium etc to the soil. Volcano Expedition I'd particularly like to write about the acceleration of creating fertile soil and how it's possible. I wish I had time to experiment using ash and mycorrhizae
Some plants will also exude organic acids into the soil to acidify the zone around their roots to help solubilize metal nutrients that are insoluble at neutral pH, such as iron (Fe). This won't happen in acidic soils already because there iron is plentiful. Found this to be interesting though and wonder if there are plants that can create an organic alkaline for the opposite effect. I knew this topic wouldn't go anywhere fast..However it'd be great to get some knowledgeable people, or people who just generally want to know more about PH, Soil, volcanic ash.
uscalus, Volcanic ash varies greatly in content depending on the region of the volcanic activity. In just a couple of short statements, though past your deadline for reporting, i will offer a few thought provoking chirps. On its own volcanic ash lacks soil organic matter - humus, humic type substances, etc. In fact, the majority of volcanic ash is comprised of amphorus particles and as such can create an Anion Exchange Capacity (AEC) which is the exact opposite of Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) resulting in required plant nutrient minerals repelling from the ash material because the anion is a negative charge. Any mineral that carries a negative charge will be repelled from the amphorous particles of volcanic ash. Converse this with a postive charge of the cation capacity of soils containing a high CEC (high in organic matter) will attract negative charged plant nutrient minerals thus binding them to the soil organic matter. This prevents leaching and washing away of minerals, and a soil with a high CEC will hold more plant minerals through this "opposites attract" part of physics thus making the minerals potentially available for plant root absorption. A characteristic of andisols (one of four types of volcanic ash) is that with the right pH it will form a bond with phosphorus. As most are aware P is a required plant mineral and is also one of the most challenging to manage well and without great environmental impact whether in the garden or on the farm. However, using volcanic ash as a soil ammendment in lieu of better alternatives is not wise. What has made portions of the HI islands very fertile took millenia to achieve through the process of weathering. As the wind blows and rains come, microscopic particles of organic matter have accumulated and become bound to the amphorous andisol ash. That's why they are fertile - soil organic matter. Consider that ash, no unlike the sands of the deserts, will not support plant life without soil organic matter. Sand, like volcanic ash, can be used as a soil ammendment but like sand, volcanic ash should be used sparingly and ONLY if there already exists a good amount of soil organic matter. Plain sand, unlike volcanic ash, has neither a CEC value or a AEC value that offers value to a growing plant. HI is but one example of geographic volcano activity and not every area in HI that is high in volcanic ash content is fertile ground. It takes millenia to correct itself naturally or it requires many tonnes of organic material to turn the soil around quickly. No one would be well adviced to consider using volcanic ash as an ammendment to a container garden. FWIW the areas surround Mt. St. Helens are being closely monitered and studied by a wide range of science disciplines to understand this exact concept of how biological life recovers from volcanic eruption. HTH.
Hey bud! Thanks for the reply. It's not too late as I'm still writing/researching. Regardless I did want to mention a few things. The overall purpose of mentioning using ash here was because I had wanted to add this as an amendment to my soil to replicate something similar from HI. Many have already used volcanic ash in their soils and have benefited. I cant recall the amount used but I can't imagine it being more than 1-3tbsp. I can even use it my vermicompost bin before hand for break down. I've actually came across sites that claim only after 1 year of an explosion do they see replenishment in their vegetation of hawaii. I know most of the soil has taken that long but we aren't seeing huge amounts of ash like there was millions of years ago. 6 inches of ash fell onto the soil and all it took was the farmers to dig below it about a foot and plants survived, but may have had yielding or deficiency issues. Because most of the island is already very fertile, tilling the ash into the soil while using techniques to combat acidity may prove worthy. The humus is already there. When I started the project I assumed there were many options to use to speed the process of creating fertile soil. Rather than a million years we have the tools to make things happen. (tilling and amendments). We just dont know at what rate to mix, what to add, and how long it'll take. Below are the suggested options. Adding even more humus type material Adding amendments to neutralize soil Adding bacteria/fungi that thrive in acidic soils Adding bacteria/fungi contribute to neutralizing soils Using mycorrhizal activity to reduce plant stress from the acidity and find other beneficial things they do Increase CEC exchange (like u mentioned) I'll check on that FWIW research.
Someone fix my thinking if It's flawed. But a basic understanding without looking any of my insecurities up right now would be this: Plants in an organic growing medium will consume whatever nutrient they need when they need it as long as PH is at an equal level based on what that plant favors. As long as there is aerobic activity and not anaerobic all should work fine. I'm by far no biologist but i thrive on this information. Problem is I have about 60 windows open on my computer and not enough time to read it all! So disorganized..
Overall gal is to produce a higher PH. Ammonnia has a higher pH. What about this? Plants require nitrogen for uptake right? This can only happen in the form of ammonia or nitrates. To produce ammonia we can break down urea CO(NH2)2 + H2O → 2 NH3 + CO2. To break down urea we need urease. Actually this is where I just spent 20minutes reading even more. With no chemistry experience, I'm stuck. Microorganisms can create urease or it can come from plants. If PH is measured by amounts of Hydrogen atoms, then adding materials with these atoms proves worthless. So we need something to break down and create ammonia from all of the hydrogen atoms in the ashy soil. Right? Soyabean actually has urease in it's leaves. What if we were to spread this among the freshly layered soils of volcanic ash?
Kesey, can I ask how you came across the idea of using it? Just curious My confusion comes from urease needing Urea ( (NH2)2CO ) to break down into ammonia and CO2. But urea isn't produced naturally in this environment, right? Adding urea would prove pointless cause were still adding positively charged atoms. I wish i took chemistry.. I'm starting to get lost. Reading up on CEC makes me think that the only way to increase PH by adding base (Ca, Mg, K and Na) materials. None of these are created by the above mentioned solution. Increasing CEC would allow more +ions to be present in the soil reducing leaching. So by creating ammonia from hydrogen, were actually increasing the CEC exchange by 2/3rds? And this in turn neutralizing PH to some degree?
Or we can screw all of that and say Phosphorous can be created by allowing urine to dry, be heated, and capture the vapor (Phos). This then could be added I guess?
