Abstract
Mediterranean ecosystems are threatened by water and nutrient scarcity and continuous loss of soil organic carbon. Urban agglomerations and rural ecosystems in the Mediterranean region and globally are interlinked through the flows of resources/nutrients and wastes. Contributing to balancing these cycles, the present study advocates standardized biochar as a soil amendment, produced from Mediterranean suitable biowaste, for closing the nutrient loop in agriculture, with parallel greenhouse gas reduction, enhancing air quality in urban agglomerations, mitigating climate change. The study’s scope is the contextualization of pyrolytic conditions and biowaste type effects on the yield and properties of biochar and to shed light on biochar’s role in soil fertility and climate change mitigation. Mediterranean-type suitable feedstocks (biowaste) to produce biochar, in accordance with biomass feedstocks approved for use in producing biochar by the European Biochar Certificate, are screened. Data form large-scale and long-period field experiments are considered. The findings advocate the following: (a) pyrolytic biochar application in soils contributes to the retention of important nutrients for agricultural production, thereby reducing the use of fertilizers; (b) pyrolysis does not release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, contributing positively to the balance of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, with carbon uptake by plant photosynthesis; (c) biochar stores carbon in soils, counterbalancing the effect of climate change by sequestering carbon; (d) there is an imperative need to identify the suitable feedstock for the production of sustainable and safe biochar from a range of biowaste, according to the European Biochar Certificate, for safe crop production.
Highlights
The increasing rates of human population in urban agglomerations of Mediterranean regions and the unbalanced urban-rural interlinks create ecological cross-boundary challenges and negative resource/climate change outcomes
The findings advocate the following: (a) pyrolytic biochar application in soils contributes to the retention of important nutrients for agricultural production, thereby reducing the use of fertilizers; (b) pyrolysis does not release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, contributing positively to the balance of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, with carbon uptake by plant photosynthesis; (c) biochar stores carbon in soils, counterbalancing the effect of climate change by sequestering carbon; (d) there is an imperative need to identify the suitable feedstock for the production of sustainable and safe biochar from a range of biowaste, according to the European Biochar Certificate, for safe crop production
30.92% and did not affect CH4 fluxes. They have concluded that biochar application may significantly impact global warming potential (GWP) of total soil greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) flows due to the large stimulation of CO2 flows
Summary
The increasing rates of human population in urban agglomerations of Mediterranean regions and the unbalanced urban-rural interlinks create ecological cross-boundary challenges and negative resource/climate change outcomes. The same goes for the results of a study that proved the incorporation of a combination of biochar and rice straw in paddy soil to increase the yield of rice grains, compared to unamended soil This is relevant because of rice production in many Mediterranean countries, European and African [11]. A pyrolysis-biochar system for Mediterranean olive farm residues in symbiosis with a two-phase olive mill was proposed as a circular economy scenario for the olive oil production supply chain’s waste management, with simultaneous carbon sequestration and soil improvement coupled with bio-energy generation by a Mediterranean research team. Four categories of biomass are selected for generating biochar at varied pyrolysis conditions, governing the biochar properties This categorization is essential to rank suitable feedstocks to produce biochar in Mediterranean countries, assuming its safe use in crops and food production. To produce pyrolytic biochar for complementary sustainable agriculture practices and climate change mitigation alternatives
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