Abstract
Agricultural activities face several challenges due to the intensive increase in population growth and environmental issues. It has been established that biochar can be assigned a useful role in agriculture. Its agronomic application has therefore received increasing attention recently. The literature shows different applications, e.g., biochar serves as a soil ameliorant to optimize soil structure and composition, and it increases the availability of nutrients and the water retention capacity in the soil. If the biochar is buried in the soil, it decomposes very slowly and thus serves as a long-term store of carbon. Limiting the availability of pesticides and heavy metals increases soil health. Biochar addition also affects soil microbiology and enzyme activity and contributes to the improvement of plant growth and crop production. Biochar can be used as a compost additive and animal feed and simultaneously provides a contribution to minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. Several parameters, including biochar origin, pyrolysis temperature, soil type when biochar is used as soil amendment, and application rate, control biochar’s efficiency in different agricultural applications. Thus, special care should be given when using a specific biochar for a specific application to prevent any negative effects on the agricultural environment.
Highlights
Agricultural activities face several challenges due to the intensive increase in population growth and environmental issues
This review deals with the beneficial role of biochar in different agricultural applications
Biochar’sphysico-chemical properties, which depend on many variables such as biomass source, pyrolysis conditions, biochar ageing, determine its various agronomic functions
Summary
The high increase in world population has resulted in a rise in agricultural activities of more than three-fold in the last five years [1]. The worldwide challenges related to climate change, biodiversity loss, increased demand for raw materials, waste production and pollution are pushing organizations to shift their activities from a linear to a circular economy. In this context, several applications in many areas such as dairy products [10], agri-food [11], the use of fertilizers [12,13] and biochar [14,15] have been presented. This review highlights the risks and key limitations of biochar with respect to soils and agricultural ecosystems
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