Biochar + Soil: Uncovering the Driving Mechanisms

Biochar is promoted as a panacea for numerous soil deficiencies, encompassing improving low nutrient holding capacity, boosting soil carbon sequestration, enhancing plant growth and yield, acting as a liming agent, amplifying water holding capacity, to increasing agrochemical sorption capacities; to name a few. Ever since the first scanning electron microscope images of biochar, hypotheses of biochar’s effects have focused on its porous structure to function as microbial habitat to increasing surface area for chemical interactions. However, what has been missing is a complete understanding of the exact mechanisms responsible for these beneficial responses. This knowledge would allow us to customize feedstock selection and biochar production/post-production processing to fully optimize these positive impacts. More importantly, it would allow prediction of the duration of biochar’s impacts. This presentation will examine one aspect of this complex process, which is the soil weathering effect on biochar. The interactions of biochar with water and dissolved cations could be one factor behind the conflicting soil, plant, and microbial responses that have observed from biochar additions. 

Keywords: Biochar agingSoil exposureagrochemical sorption