Abstract
Soil quality degradation is one of the most widespread phenomena for declining agricultural productivity throughout the world. It has been estimated that more than 40% of agricultural lands have been already become marginal due to mismanagement of soil. Biochar is a carbon rich product of a thermochemical conversion of biomass to be recognized as a beneficial soil amendment. It is not a novel soil amendment and history goes back to Mayan civilization called “Terra preta” soil. Due to the high fertility of these Amazon basin soils, many researchers in the world were interested in properties and application of biochar. This review gives an overview of agricultural benefits of biochar as a soil amendment. However, still there are many pros and cons of the application of biochar and this article will highlight the importance of further researches on the application of biochar as a soil amendment.
Highlights
Soil plays a crucial role in sustaining life on earth
Still there are contrasting data reported on the priming effects on soil C mineralization in the presence of biochar
A recent study revealed that the slow pyrolysis biochar with high surface area had a highest fungi colonization (Lecroy et al, 2013; Rillig et al, 2010)
Summary
Soil plays a crucial role in sustaining life on earth. in the last few decades, poor soil quality has become a frequent title leading to many discussions. The importance of maintaining soil quality for sustainable agriculture has been described by several authors in their studies (Arshad and Martin, 2002). Biochar is considered as one of the better options to restore soil properties in a sustainable manner due to its universal potential of being a material which can sequestrate carbon, act as a fertilizer and as an amendment for degraded soils. Among soils in central Amazonia, Terra Preta is the most fertile soil with higher nutrient levels and a better nutrient retention capacity than surrounding infertile soils due to the application of biochar Later, this discovery led many researchers to be interested in the study of biochar and its applications for soil quality improvement. It is important that we have an inclusive understanding of how biochar interacts with soil in the long term before the wide-scale application
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