Article Index
Composting and the carbon cycle
A brief introduction to Carbon
The Carbon Cycle
The Greenhouse Effect
How plants get carbon
What happens to plant Carbon?
Humus is the key to organic soil management
Stewardship of the soil
Composting and the return of soil carbon
A Sense of Humus
Composting inside?
How to make Bokashi
Compost as a soil conditioner
Benefits of Compost
Glossary
All Pages

Glossary

Biosphere: The thin zone in which living organisms thrive, at the margins of the earth.

Calcium Carbonate CaCO3: Limestone, marble, chalk, and oyster shells all contain calcium carbonate.  The can be used to neutralize acid soils and amend the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soil. Pure calcium carbonate 56% lime (CaO) and 44% carbon dioxide (CO2)

Carbohydrates: Compounds containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, such as glucose (C6H12O2)

Carbon Dioxide CO2:  A gas formed by oxidation of carbon or burning of coal or other carbon containing material.

Carbonic Acid: A weak acid formed when carbon dioxide combines with water.

Carbon-Nitrogen ratio: the ratio of the weight of organic carbon to the weight of organic nitrogen in soil or organic material

Humic Acid: Alkali soluble components of humus

Humification: The process of decay in which plant and animal remains are decomposed to extent that their original structure can no longer be determined.

Humus: the completely or near completely broken down, more or less stable components of organic matter in soil

Hydrocarbons: Compounds made from only carbon and hydrogen.  The simplest hydrocarbon is methane (CH4). More complex hydrocarbons are built from chains of carbon atoms.  The bonds between carbon and carbon or carbon and hydrogen are not easily broken, but the hydrocarbons will burn if heated in the present of oxygen, to yield carbon dioxide and water.  Most liquid fuel (petrol, diesel, paraffin) are hydrocarbons.

Respiration:  A process in which oxygen is taken into an organism and carbon dioxide is given out.  Internal respiration of cells provides energy, when glucose is oxidised to carbon dioxide and water.