Abstract
Biochar is most commonly considered for its use as a soil amendment, where it has gained attention for its potential to improve agricultural production and soil health. Twenty years of near exponential growth in investigation has demonstrated that biochar does not consistently deliver these benefits, due to variables in biochar, soil, climate, and cropping systems. While biochar can provide agronomic improvements in marginal soils, it is less likely to do so in temperate climates and fertile soils. Here, biochar and its coproducts may be better utilized for contaminant remediation or the substitution of nonrenewable or mining-intensive materials. The carbon sequestration function of biochar, via conversion of biomass to stable forms of carbon, does not depend on its incorporation into soil. To aid in the sustainable production and use of biochar, we offer two conceptual decision trees, and ask: What do we currently know about biochar? What are the critical gaps in knowledge? How should the scientific community move forward? Thoughtful answers to these questions can push biochar research towards more critical, mechanistic investigations, and guide the public in the smart, efficient use of biochar which extracts maximized benefits for variable uses, and optimizes its potential to enhance agricultural and environmental sustainability.
Highlights
The rise in popularity of biochar, or pyrolyzed biomass, can be traced through multiple sectors across the globe
Conducted an economic made even more specific recommendations based on the results of a literature review analysis which included payments for C that sequestration, to determine an optimal rate of 15 and from greenhouse trials, concluding biochar should be applied at a concentration
Mixed results emphasize the need for a prescribed approach to amending agricultural soils with biochar, in which the right biochar is added, at the right rate, in the right form, in the right context to increase the probability of tangible benefits
Summary
The rise in popularity of biochar, or pyrolyzed biomass, can be traced through multiple sectors across the globe. Articles mentioning the word biochar are published at a near exponential rate [1], and in the private industry, United States patent applications mentioning biochar increase nearly every year [2] (Figure 1). The decision tree that accompanies the production and use of biochar use of biochar can generate a myriad of possible outcomes, which will not deliver can generateecological, a myriad of possible outcomes, which will not benefits This poses ecological, environmental, or climate change mitigation benefits. This numerous challenges to making comparisons between biochar studies, poses and tonumerous creating challenges to making comparisons between biochar studies, to creating unified unified recommendations for the effective and sustainable use of and biochar. We can assist in the evaluation of biochars for benefits they are likely to deliver, those they are unlikely to, and the production and use parameters which optimize intended benefits for specific conditions
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