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Biochar, climate change and soil: A review to guide future researchBiochar - Technical ReportAuthor: Saran Sohi, Elisa Lopez-Capel, Evelyn Krull, and Roland Bol Description: Biochar is the charred by-product of biomass pyrolysis, the heating of plant-derived material in the absence of oxygen in order to capture combustible gases. The objective of this report was to review and evaluate published studies with regard to what evidence and arguments currently exist that assess the application of biochar to soil to a) sequester carbon and b) produce secondary agronomic benefits. Current analyses suggest that there is global potential for annual sequestration of atmospheric CO2 at the billion-tonne scale (109 t yr-1) within 30 years. So far, however, the underlying published evidence arises mainly from small-scale studies that do not currently support generalisation to all locations and all types of biochar. From the available published and peer-reviewed literature the following general findings can be made for eight key questions. It is noted that for each of these key questions there remains major research questions that require the attention of researchers. This summary provides these outstanding research issues along side the major findings: 1) Is all biochar the same? 2) How stable is it? 3) Is it safe to use? 4) What are the agronomic benefits? 5) Is it economically viable? 6) What are the environmental and societal benefits? 7) Are the benefits of biochar in mitigating greenhouse gases widely accepted? 8) What are the research gaps and future challenges? Login to post comments Printer friendly version |
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