Abstract
In recent years, plants in sandy soils have been impacted by increased climate variability due to weak water holding and temperature buffering capacities of the parent material. The projected impact spreads all over the world, including New England, USA. Many regions of the world may experience an increase in frequency and severity of drought, which can be attributed to an increased variability in precipitation and enhanced water loss due to warming. The overall benefits of biochar in environmental management have been extensively investigated. This review aims to discuss the water holding capacity of biochar from the points of view of fluid mechanics and propose several prioritized future research topics. To understand the impacts of biochar on sandy soils in-depth, sandy soil properties (surface area, pore size, water properties, and characteristics) and how biochar could improve the soil quality as well as plant growth, development, and yield are reviewed. Incorporating biochar into sandy soils could result in a net increase in the surface area, a stronger hydrophobicity at a lower temperature, and an increase in the micropores to maximize gap spaces. The capability of biochar in reducing fertilizer drainage through increasing water retention can improve crop productivity and reduce the nutrient leaching rate in agricultural practices. To advance research in biochar products and address the impacts of increasing climate variability, future research may focus on the role of biochar in enhancing soil water retention, plant water use efficiency, crop resistance to drought, and crop productivity.
Highlights
The projected increase in climate variability [1,2] poses an enormous threat to agricultural systems [3,4,5,6]
Biochar has been investigated for four major applications: soil improvement, waste management, climate change mitigation, and energy production
The findings have shown that biochar has great potential as a soil amendment for socioeconomic and environmental benefits
Summary
The projected increase in climate variability [1,2] poses an enormous threat to agricultural systems [3,4,5,6]. For agricultural systems with sandy soils, the impacts will be exacerbated due to their low water retention and capacity to buffer increasing variability in rainfall. Biochar in modifying the water and nutrition retention of sandy soils from the points of view. (3) summarize effective management practices in the literature regarding the application of biochar for the effective management practices in the literature regarding the application of biochar for enhancing the water and nutrient retention of sandy soils and crop growth, and (4). Enhancing the water and nutrient retention of sandy soils and crop growth, and (4) identify identify current knowledge gaps, research problems, and priorities. Adding biochar would bring a net increase in surface area of the sandy soil.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
