Rapid decomposition of traditionally produced biochar in an Oxisol under savannah in Northeastern Brazil (original) (raw)

Biochar is widely recognized as an efficient tool for carbon sequestration and improves soil fertility. Biochar addition to soils potentially affects various soil properties, and these effects are dependent on biochars derived from different feedstock materials and pyrolysis processes. The study was conducted to compare the chemical composition of biochar from different materials and investigate the effects of amendment on soil carbon sequestration potential and on the growth and biomass yield of corn. A selection of agricultural waste materials with different characteristics (sawdust, dried banana leaves, cacao pods, tobacco stalks and coconut shells) were pyrolyzed at about 250 ◦ C in order to optimize the physicochemical properties of biochar as a soil amendment. An efficacy test of biochar at 5 tons ha -1 on corn for 60 days in a pot experiment was undertaken. The biochar have neutral to alkaline pH which range from 7.9 to 8.2, with NPK levels considerably low at 1.93 to 3.50 pe...

Soil respiration (Rs) is the largest flux of CO 2 emission from terrestrial ecosystems and an important component of global carbon balance. Small variations in Rs can promote large alterations on atmospheric CO 2 concentration, it is therefore necessary to find management practices that reduce Rs and increase total organic carbon (TOC). Biochar application has been proposed as an effective measure to reach this aim. Thus, several studies measured the effect of biochar on Rs in different ecosystems; however, none was made in sandy soils of Brazilian tropical dry forest, namely Caatinga biome. We assess Rs, TOC and soil water content (SWC) from a Regosol in Caatinga in response to biochar addition. A greenhouse pot experiment, quantifying the Rs, SWC and TOC, no (B0) and with 20 t ha -1 biochar (B20) and two hydric conditions of soil (dry and wet soil) was conducted. B20 had higher TOC and SWC. There was a seasonal variation of Rs, with wet soil having higher Rs than dry soil; however...

Due to its aromatic structure, biochar is highly stable form of carbon in the soil that contributes to improve physicochemical and biological properties of soil and increased productivity due to the improvement of soil attributes and nutrient-use efficiency. Biochar can also play a great role to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, like CO , N O and CH .This paper is briefly reviewed and synthesized recent findings and 2 2 4 discussions regarding the agronomic benefits of biochar and its effects on global climate change and particularly in relation to the agricultural environmental effect of biochar in soil. Therefore, suitable experimental trials combining biochar types and different pedoclimatic conditions are needed to determine the extent to which these reactions influence the potential of biochar as a soil amendment, crop responses for increasing yield and instrument for carbon sequestration.

The global exponential rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the last few decades has triggered an urgent need to contextualize low-cost and evergreen technologies for restraining GHG production and enhancing soil carbon sink. GHGs can be mitigated via incorporating biochar into soil matrix to sequestrate the mineralized carbon in a stable form upon organic matter decomposition in soil. However, the efficiency of using biochar to offset GHG emissions from soil and terrestrial ecosystems is still debatable. Moreover, in the literature, biochar shows high functionality in restraining GHG emissions in short-term laboratory studies, but it shows minimal or negative impacts in field-scale experiments, leading to conflicting results. This paper synthesizes information on the ability of biochar to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) emissions from soil and organic biomass, with an emphasis on cropland soils. The feedstock type, pyrolysis temperature,...