Displaying items by tag: appachian state university

Community biochar production in Boone.  Appalachian State Energy Center

Appalachian State University research helps farmers and crop yield

This article was provided by Appalachian State University. Hei-Young Kim is laboratory manager and research assistant with the Appalachian Energy Center.

BOONE — The Appalachian State Nexus Project experiments continue to advance agricultural innovations with biochar to help local farmers. Biochar is a charcoal-like material produced from plant material such as grass, agricultural and forest residues that  produce carbon-rich material used for agriculture and horticulture purposes. 

Adding biochar to soil increases surface area, pH, plant nutrient availability, and enhances water-holding capacity, according to Appalachian State researchers. It also can sequester carbon in the ground for extended periods of time, which may otherwise find its way into the atmosphere as CO₂ or methane.

The qualities of biochar vary depending upon the material it comes from — timber slash, corn stalks or manure. 

Gray’s lily.  Courtesy Appalachian Voice/Ben Brewer

Rare plants flourish on Tater Hill

This story was originally published by Appalachian Voice.

BOONE — For Gray’s lily, 2021 was both the best of times and the worst of times.

The vulnerable lily, which grows only in North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, is a species of particular interest at the Tater Hill Plant Preserve in Watauga County, North Carolina. Here nearly 1,600 acres of land, including a rare mountain bog, are devoted to the study and protection of rare and endangered plants.