Role of Biochar in Sustainability

Biochar not only provides moisture to the soil, but its ability to buffer soil fertility makes it an ideal solution to support sustainable farming practices.

FREMONT, CA: A carbon-rich organic matter remains in a charcoal-like state after being super-heated, and agriculturalists use it as a fertilizer to enhance plant growth. Water is also better drained through the soil, resulting in less flooding and stagnant pools that prevent plants from getting the essential nutrients they need.

Scientists believe biochar's carbon sequestering properties can reduce the escape of harmful greenhouse gases from the soil, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide, and add to the arsenal of combating global warming.

More than three times as much carbon is found in soil as in the air, primarily from rotting leaves and trees, and most of it escapes to the atmosphere. The decay rate of biochar dramatically slows when burned under oxygen-free conditions.

Carbon trap: The super-heated plant material also retains xylem veins in stems and leaves. Microorganisms that act as carbon traps can grow in these tiny vessels and occupy them. Soil carbon is locked into the soil, and these processes dramatically slow GHG emissions.

It is estimated that integrating biochar will capture 10,000 tons of CO2 each year, equivalent to taking 6,250 cars off the road. Many factors determine the usefulness of biochar. There is a wide range of sequestration rates in different source materials, and growing the feedstock and heating it to make biochar also releases greenhouse gases.

The government and environmental organizations still believe that biochar can be efficiently and cheaply produced at scale using waste that would otherwise be composted or incinerated. Making it also produces heat energy that the community can utilize.

Soil fertility: Biochar boosts soil fertility, but its effectiveness is less well understood. Biochar does not release nutrients but helps plants grow in denser substrates by aerating the soil. The effectiveness of soil regeneration has not been thoroughly studied, but researchers believe it can help revive damaged soils. Farmers could expand the use of biochar if it proved beneficial in restoring lost farmland, increasing agricultural fertility, and revitalizing eroded soils.

Human activities have degraded 20 to 40 percent of global lands, according to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Consequently, biodiversity, which is key to human survival, has been destroyed in those regions.

It will not be enough for biochar to solve these problems independently. Carbon capture from the air will not reduce global temperatures on its own, and it must combine with other natural carbon capture projects such as reforestation and technological advancements.