Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

The biochar dilemma

The biochar dilemma Any strategy towards widespread adoption of biochar as a soil amendment is constrained by the scarcity of field-scale data on crop response, soil quality and environmental footprint. Impacts of biochar as a soil amendment over a short period based on laboratory and greenhouse studies are often inconclusive and contradictory. Yet biochar is widely advocated as a promising tool to improve soil quality, enhance C sequestration, and increase agronomic yield. While substantial reviews exist on positive aspects of biochar research, almost no review to date has compiled negative aspects of it. Although biochar science is advancing, available data indicate several areas of uncertainty. This article reviews a range of negative impacts of biochar on soil quality, crop yield, and associated financial risk. This review is important because advances in biochar research demand identification of the risks (if any) of using biochar as a soil amendment before any large-scale field application is recommended. It is the first attempt to acknowledge such issues with biochar application in soil. Thus, the aims of this review are to assess the uncertainties of using biochar as a soil amendment, and to clarify ambiguity regarding interpretation of research results. Along with several unfavourable changes in soil chemical, physical and biological properties, reduction in crop yield has been reported. Relative to controls, the yield for biochar-amended soil (application rate 0.220% w/w) has been reduced by 27, 11, 36, 74, and 2% for rice (Oryza sativa L.) (control 3.0Mgha1), wheat (Triticum spp. L.) (control 4.6Mgha1), maize (Zea mays L.) (control 4.7Mgha1), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) (control 5.4Mgha1), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) (control 265Mgha1), respectively. Additionally, compared with unamended soils, gaseous emissions from biochar-amended soils (application rate 0.00510% w/w) have been enhanced up to 61, 152 and 14% for CO2 (control 9.7Mgha1 year1), CH4 (control 222kg ha1 year1), and N2O (control 4.3kg ha1 year1), respectively. Although biochar has the potential to mitigate several environmental problems, the data collated herein indicate that a systematic road-map for manufacturing classification of biochars, and costbenefit analysis, must be developed before implementation of field-scale application. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Soil Research CSIRO Publishing

The biochar dilemma

Mukherjee, A.; Lal, R.
Soil Research , Volume 52 (3): 14 – Mar 31, 2014
Download PDF
14 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/csiro-publishing/the-biochar-dilemma-lnHDW6STyR

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
CSIRO Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s). Published by CSIRO Publishing
ISSN
1838-675X
eISSN
1838-6768
DOI
10.1071/SR13359
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Any strategy towards widespread adoption of biochar as a soil amendment is constrained by the scarcity of field-scale data on crop response, soil quality and environmental footprint. Impacts of biochar as a soil amendment over a short period based on laboratory and greenhouse studies are often inconclusive and contradictory. Yet biochar is widely advocated as a promising tool to improve soil quality, enhance C sequestration, and increase agronomic yield. While substantial reviews exist on positive aspects of biochar research, almost no review to date has compiled negative aspects of it. Although biochar science is advancing, available data indicate several areas of uncertainty. This article reviews a range of negative impacts of biochar on soil quality, crop yield, and associated financial risk. This review is important because advances in biochar research demand identification of the risks (if any) of using biochar as a soil amendment before any large-scale field application is recommended. It is the first attempt to acknowledge such issues with biochar application in soil. Thus, the aims of this review are to assess the uncertainties of using biochar as a soil amendment, and to clarify ambiguity regarding interpretation of research results. Along with several unfavourable changes in soil chemical, physical and biological properties, reduction in crop yield has been reported. Relative to controls, the yield for biochar-amended soil (application rate 0.220% w/w) has been reduced by 27, 11, 36, 74, and 2% for rice (Oryza sativa L.) (control 3.0Mgha1), wheat (Triticum spp. L.) (control 4.6Mgha1), maize (Zea mays L.) (control 4.7Mgha1), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) (control 5.4Mgha1), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) (control 265Mgha1), respectively. Additionally, compared with unamended soils, gaseous emissions from biochar-amended soils (application rate 0.00510% w/w) have been enhanced up to 61, 152 and 14% for CO2 (control 9.7Mgha1 year1), CH4 (control 222kg ha1 year1), and N2O (control 4.3kg ha1 year1), respectively. Although biochar has the potential to mitigate several environmental problems, the data collated herein indicate that a systematic road-map for manufacturing classification of biochars, and costbenefit analysis, must be developed before implementation of field-scale application.

Journal

Soil Research – CSIRO Publishing

Published: Mar 31, 2014

References

  • Greenhouse gas emissions from a wastewater sludge-amended soil cultivated with wheat ( Triticum spp. L.) as affected by different application rates of charcoal.
    Aguilar-Chávez A Díaz-Rojas M Cárdenas-Aquino MD Dendooven L Luna-Guido M
  • Biochar induced soil microbial community change: Implications for biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus.
    Anderson CR Condron LM Clough TJ Fiers M Stewart A Hill RA Sherlock RR
  • The art, science, and technology of charcoal production.
    Antal MJ Gronli M
  • Biochar amendment techniques for upland rice production in Northern Laos 1. Soil physical properties, leaf SPAD and grain yield.
    Asai H Samson BK Stephan HM Songyikhangsuthor K Homma K Kiyono Y Inoue Y Shiraiwa T Horie T
  • Potential mechanisms for achieving agricultural benefits from biochar application to temperate soils: a review.
    Atkinson CJ Fitzgerald JD Hipps NA
  • Wildfire and charcoal enhance nitrification and ammonium-oxidizing bacterial abundance in dry montane forest soils.
    Ball PN MacKenzie MD DeLuca TH Holben WE
  • Carbon and trace element fluxes in the pore water of an urban soil following greenwaste compost, woody and biochar amendments, inoculated with the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris .
    Beesley L Dickinson N
  • A review of biochars’ potential role in the remediation, revegetation and restoration of contaminated soils.
    Beesley L Moreno-Jimenez E Gomez-Eyles JL Harris E Robinson B Sizmur T
  • Biochar and its effects on plant productivity and nutrient cycling: a meta-analysis.
    Biederman LA Harpole WS
  • Mechanisms of real and apparent priming effects and their dependence on soil microbial biomass and community structure: critical review.
    Blagodatskaya E Kuzyakov Y
  • Biochar pyrolyzed at two temperatures affects Escherichia coli transport through a sandy soil.
    Bolster CH Abit SM
  • Criteria to select biochars for field studies based on biochar chemical properties.
    Brewer CE Unger R Schmidt-Rohr K Brown RC
  • Physical and chemical properties of Pinus ponderosa charcoal: implications for soil modification.
    Briggs C Breiner JM Graham RC
  • Effects of slow and fast pyrolysis biochar on soil C and N turnover dynamics.
    Bruun EW Ambus P Egsgaard H Hauggaard-Nielsen H
  • Nitrogen and carbon leaching in repacked sandy soil with added fine particulate biochar.
    Bruun EW Petersen C Strobel BW Hauggaard-Nielsen H
  • Influence of pecan biochar on physical properties of a Norfolk loamy sand.
    Busscher WJ Novak JM Evans DE Watts DW Niandou MAS Ahmedna M
  • Physical effects of organic matter amendment of a Southeastern US coastal loamy sand.
    Busscher WJ Novak JM Ahmedna M
  • Simultaneous immobilization of lead and atrazine in contaminated soils using dairy-manure biochar.
    Cao XD Ma LN Liang Y Gao B Harris W
  • The effect of biochar addition on N 2 O and CO 2 emissions from a sandy loam soil—The role of soil aeration.
    Case SDC McNamara NP Reay DS Whitaker J
  • Impact of biochar application to a Mediterranean wheat crop on soil microbial activity and greenhouse gas fluxes.
    Castaldi S Riondino M Baronti S Esposito FR Marzaioli R Rutigliano FA Vaccari FP Miglietta F
  • Agronomic values of greenwaste biochar as a soil amendment.
    Chan KY Van Zwieten L Meszaros I Downie A Joseph S
  • Using poultry litter biochars as soil amendments.
    Chan KY Van Zwieten L Meszaros I Downie A Joseph S
  • Ageing of black carbon along a temperature gradient.
    Cheng CH Lehmann J
  • Oxidation of black carbon by biotic and abiotic processes.
    Cheng CH Lehmann J Thies JE Burton SD Engelhard MH
  • Natural oxidation of black carbon in soils: Changes in molecular form and surface charge along a climosequence.
    Cheng CH Lehmann J Engelhard MH
  • Biochar effect on maize yield and soil characteristics in five conservation farming sites in Zambia.
    Cornelissen G Martinsen V Shitumbanuma V Alling V Breedveld G Rutherford D Sparrevik M Hale S Obia A Mulder J
  • Sorption and genotoxicity of sediment-associated pentachlorophenol and pyrene influenced by crop residue ash.
    Cui XY Wang HL Lou LP Chen YX Yu YL Shi JY Xu L Khan MI
  • Charcoal volatile matter content influences plant growth and soil nitrogen transformations.
    Deenik JL McClellan T Uehara G Antal MJ Campbell S
  • Wildfire-produced charcoal directly influences nitrogen cycling in ponderosa pine forests.
    DeLuca TH MacKenzie MD Gundale MJ Holben WE
  • Soil type-dependent responses to phenanthrene as revealed by determining the diversity and abundance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase genes by using a novel PCR detection system.
    Ding GC Heuer H Zuhlke S Spiteller M Pronk GJ Heister K Kogel-Knabner I Smalla K
  • The effects of temperature, water-filled pore space and land use on N 2 O emissions from an imperfectly drained gleysol.
    Dobbie KE Smith KA
  • Biochar as a geoengineering climate solution: Hazard identification and risk management.
    Downie A Munroe P Cowie A Van Zwieten L Lau DMS
  • Black carbon sequestration as an alternative to bioenergy.
    Fowles M
  • Environmental contextualisation of potential toxic elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in biochar.
    Freddo A Cai C Reid BJ
  • The economic value of biochar in crop production and carbon sequestration.
    Galinato SP Yoder JK Granatstein D
  • Effect of peanut hull and pine chip biochar on soil nutrients, corn nutrient status, and yield.
    Gaskin JW Speir RA Harris K Das KC Lee RD Morris LA Fisher DS
  • Biochar, greenhouse gas accounting and emissions trading.
    Gaunt J Cowie A
  • Effects of the particle size of soil-less substrates upon AM fungus inoculum production.
    Gaur A Adholeya A
  • Ameliorating physical and chemical properties of highly weathered soils in the tropics with charcoal—a review.
    Glaser B Lehmann J Zech W
  • Effects of biochar and the earthworm Eisenia fetida on the bioavailability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and potentially toxic elements.
    Gomez-Eyles JL Sizmur T Collins CD Hodson ME
  • Nitrogen dynamics following field application of biochar in a temperate North American maize-based production system.
    Güereña D Lehmann J Hanley K Enders A Hyland C Riha S
  • Temperature and source material influence ecological attributes of ponderosa pine and douglas-fir charcoal.
    Gundale MJ DeLuca TH
  • A systematic review of biochar research, with a focus on its stability in situ and its promise as a climate mitigation strategy.
    Gurwick NP Moore LA Kelly C Elias P
  • Effects and fate of biochar from rice residues in rice-based systems.
    Haefele SM Konboon Y Wongboon W Amarante S Maarifat AA Pfeiffer EM Knoblauch C
  • Effects of chemical, biological, and physical aging as well as soil addition on the sorption of pyrene to activated carbon and biochar.
    Hale SE Hanley K Lehmann J Zimmerman AR Cornelissen G
  • Activated carbon amendment to sequester PAHs in contaminated soil: A lysimeter field trial.
    Hale SE Elmquist M Brandli R Hartnik T Jakob L Henriksen T Werner D Cornelissen G
  • Effect of biochar on soil physical properties in two contrasting soils: An Alfisol and an Andisol.
    Herath H Camps-Arbestain M Hedley M
  • Global charcoal mobilization from soils via dissolution and riverine transport to the oceans.
    Jaffé R Ding Y Niggemann J Vähätalo AV Stubbins A Spencer RGM Campbell J Dittmar T
  • A quantitative review of the effects of biochar application to soils on crop productivity using meta-analysis.
    Jeffery S Verheijen FGA van der Velde M Bastos AC
  • Biochar in agriculture—prospects and related implications.
    Jha P Biswas AK Lakaria BL Rao AS
  • Effect of amendment of bauxite processing sand with organic materials on its chemical, physical and microbial properties.
    Jones BEH Haynes RJ Phillips IR
  • Short-term biochar-induced increase in soil CO 2 release is both biotically and abiotically mediated.
    Jones DL Murphy DV Khalid M Ahmad W Edwards-Jones G DeLuca TH
  • Influence of biochar on drought tolerance of Chenopodium quinoa Willd and on soil–plant relations.
    Kammann C Linsel S Gößling J Koyro H-W
  • Biochar addition to agricultural soil increased CH 4 uptake and water holding capacity—Results from a short-term pilot field study.
    Karhu K Mattila T Bergström I Regina K
  • CH 4 oxidation and N 2 O emissions at varied soil water-filled pore spaces and headspace CH 4 concentrations.
    Khalil MI Baggs EM
  • A physiological determination of the impact of environmental stress on the activity of microbial biomass.
    Killham K
  • Salt stress-control of intracellular solutes in streptomycetes indigenous to saline soils.
    Killham K Firestone MK
  • Charcoal as a soil conditioner.
    Kishimoto S Sugiura G
  • Nutrient supply, nutrient demand and plant response to mycorrhizal infection.
    Koide RT
  • Competition between roots and microorganisms for nitrogen: mechanisms and ecological relevance.
    Kuzyakov Y Xu XL
  • Biochar impact on nutrient leaching from a Midwestern agricultural soil.
    Laird D Fleming P Wang BQ Horton R Karlen D
  • Impact of biochar amendments on the quality of a typical Midwestern agricultural soil.
    Laird DA Fleming P Davis DD Horton R Wang BQ Karlen DL
  • Pesticide leaching from two Swedish topsoils of contrasting texture amended with biochar.
    Larsbo M Lofstrand E de Veer DA Ulen B
  • Characterization of biochars produced from cornstovers for soil amendment.
    Lee JW Kidder M Evans BR Paik S Buchanan AC Garten CT Brown RC
  • Bio-energy in the black.
    Lehmann J
  • Nutrient availability and leaching in an archaeological Anthrosol and a Ferralsol of the Central Amazon basin: fertilizer, manure and charcoal amendments.
    Lehmann J da Silva JP Steiner C Nehls T Zech W Glaser B
  • Bio-char sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems—a review.
    Lehmann J Gaunt J Rondon M
  • Biochar effects on soil biota – A review.
    Lehmann J Rillig MC Thies J Masiello CA Hockaday WC Crowley D
  • Black carbon increases cation exchange capacity in soils.
    Liang B Lehmann J Solomon D Kinyangi J Grossman J O’Neill B Skjemstad JO Thies J Luizao FJ Petersen J Neves EG
  • Impact of two different biochars on earthworm growth and survival.
    Liesch AM Weyers SL Gaskin JW Das K
  • Combustion-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the environment – A review.
    Lima ALC Farrington JW Reddy CM
  • Nanoscale organo-mineral reactions of biochars in ferrosol: an investigation using microscopy.
    Lin Y Munroe P Joseph S Kimber S Van Zwieten L
  • Maize yield and nutrition during 4 years after biochar application to a Colombian savanna oxisol.
    Major J Rondon M Molina D Riha SJ Lehmann J
  • Economics of biochar production, utilization and greenhouse gas offsets.
    McCarl BA Peacocke C Chrisman R Kung C-C Sands RD
  • Physicochemical and agronomic properties of biochar from sewage sludge pyrolysed at different temperatures.
    Méndez A Terradillos M Gascó G
  • Altered forest composition and soil properties of historic charcoal hearths in southeastern Pennsylvania.
    Mikan CJ Abrams MD
  • Biochar impacts on soil physical properties and greenhouse gas emissions.
    Mukherjee A Lal R
  • Organic carbon and nutrient release from a range of laboratory-produced biochars and biochar–soil mixtures.
    Mukherjee A Zimmerman AR
  • Physicochemical changes in pyrogenic organic
    Mukherjee A Zimmerman A Cooper B Rasha H
  • Surface chemistry variations among a series of laboratory-produced biochars.
    Mukherjee A Zimmerman AR Harris WG
  • Maize biochars accelerate short-term soil nitrogen dynamics in a loamy sand soil.
    Nelissen V Rutting T Huygens D Staelens J Ruysschaert G Boeckx P
  • Temperature sensitivity of black carbon decomposition and oxidation.
    Nguyen BT Lehmann J Hockaday WC Joseph S Masiello CA
  • Impact of biochar amendment on fertility of a southeastern Coastal Plain soil.
    Novak JM Busscher WJ Laird DL Ahmedna M Watts DW Niandou MAS
  • Characterization of designer biochar produced at different temperatures and their effects on a loamy sand.
    Novak JM Lima I Xing B Gaskin JW Steiner C Das KC Ahmedna M Rehrah D Watts DW Busscher WJ Schomberg H
  • Biochars impact on soil-moisture storage in an Ultisol and two Aridisols.
    Novak JM Busscher WJ Watts DW Amonette JE Ippolito JA Lima IM Gaskin J Das KC Steiner C Ahmedna M Rehrah D Schomberg H
  • Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculation and biochar amendment on growth and yield of tomato.
    Nzanza B Marais D Soundy P
  • Impact of biochar on organic contaminants in soil: A tool for mitigating risk?
    Ogbonnaya U Semple K
  • Transformations of carbon and nitrogen during composting of animal manure and shredded paper.
    Paré T Dinel H Schnitzer M Dumontet S
  • Temperature- and duration-dependent rice straw-derived biochar: Characteristics and its effects on soil properties of an Ultisol in southern China.
    Peng X Ye LL Wang CH Zhou H Sun B
  • Nutrient dynamics, microbial growth and weed emergence in biochar amended soil are influenced by time since application and reapplication rate.
    Quilliam RS Marsden KA Gertler C Rousk J DeLuca TH Jones DL
  • Is biochar a source or sink for polycyclic aromatic
    Quilliam RS Rangecroft S Emmett BA Deluca TH Jones DL
  • Corn growth and nitrogen nutrition after additions of biochars with varying properties to a temperate soil.
    Rajkovich S Enders A Hanley K Hyland C Zimmerman AR Lehmann J
  • Impact of biochar on manure carbon stabilization and greenhouse gas emissions.
    Rogovska N Laird D Cruse R Fleming P Parkin T Meek D
  • Effect of biochar amendment on the soil-atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases from an intensive subtropical pasture in northern New South Wales, Australia.
    Scheer C Grace PR Rowlings DW Kimber S Van Zwieten L
  • Characterisation and evaluation of biochars for their application as a soil amendment.
    Singh B Singh BP Cowie AL
  • Influence of biochars on nitrous oxide emission and nitrogen leaching from two contrasting soils.
    Singh BP Hatton BJ Singh B Cowie AL Kathuria A
  • The effect of young biochar on soil respiration.
    Smith JL Collins HP Bailey VL
  • Impacts of sixteen different biochars on soil greenhouse gas production.
    Spokas KA Reicosky DC
  • Impacts of woodchip biochar additions on greenhouse gas production and sorption/degradation of two herbicides in a Minnesota soil.
    Spokas KA Koskinen WC Baker JM Reicosky DC
  • Qualitative analysis of volatile organic compounds on biochar.
    Spokas KA Novak JM Stewart CE Cantrell KB Uchimiya M DuSaire MG Ro KS
  • Biochar: A synthesis of its agronomic impact beyond carbon sequestration.
    Spokas KA Cantrell KB Novak JM Archer DW Ippolito JA Collins HP Boateng AA Lima IM Lamb MC McAloon AJ Lentz RD Nichols KA
  • Effect of biochar amendment on soil carbon balance and soil microbial activity.
    Steinbeiss S Gleixner G Antonietti M
  • Long term effects of manure, charcoal and mineral fertilization on crop production and fertility on a highly weathered Central Amazonian upland soil.
    Steiner C Teixeira WG Lehmann J Nehls T de Macedo JLV Blum WEH Zech W
  • Burrowing activity of the geophagous earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Oligochaeta: Glossoscolecidae) in the presence of charcoal.
    Topoliantz S Ponge JF
  • Burrowing activity of the geophagous earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Oligochaeta: Glossoscolecidae) in the presence of charcoal.
    Topoliantz S Ponge JF
  • Charcoal consumption and casting activity by Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscolecidae).
    Topoliantz S Ponge JF
  • Charcoal consumption and casting activity by Pontoscolex corethrurus (Glossoscolecidae).
    Topoliantz S Ponge JF
  • Manioc peel and charcoal: a potential organic amendment for sustainable soil fertility in the tropics.
    Topoliantz S Ponge JF Ballof S
  • Impact of biochar addition to soil on greenhouse gas emissions following pig manure application.
    Troy SM Lawlor PG O’Flynn CJ Healy MG
  • Effect of charcoal on certain physical, chemical, and biological properties of forest soils.
    Tryon EH
  • Effects of biochar from slow pyrolysis of papermill waste on agronomic performance and soil fertility.
    Van Zwieten L Kimber S Morris S Chan KY Downie A Rust J Joseph S Cowie A
  • Influence of biochars on flux of N 2 O and CO 2 from Ferrosol.
    van Zwieten L Kimber S Morris S Downie A Berger E Rust J Scheer C
  • Chemical and bioassay characterisation of nitrogen availability in biochar produced from dairy manure and biosolids.
    Wang T Arbestain MC Hedley M Bishop P
  • Fire-derived charcoal causes loss of forest humus.
    Wardle DA Nilsson MC Zackrisson O
  • Mycorrhizal responses to biochar in soil—concepts and mechanisms.
    Warnock DD Lehmann J Kuyper TW Rillig MC
  • Impact of biochar on earthworm populations: A review.
    Weyers SL Spokas KA
  • Recent advances in biochar applications in agricultural soils: Benefits and environmental implications.
    Xu G Lv YC Sun JN Shao HB Wei LL
  • Effects of charcoal addition on N 2 O emissions from soil resulting from rewetting air-dried soil in short-term laboratory experiments.
    Yanai Y Toyota K Okazaki M
  • Effect of biochar amendment on yield and methane and nitrous oxide emissions from a rice paddy from Tai Lake plain, China.
    Zhang A Cui L Pan G Li L Hussain Q Zhang X Zheng J Crowley D
  • Effects of biochar amendment on soil quality, crop yield and greenhouse gas emission in a Chinese rice paddy: A field study of 2 consecutive rice growing cycles.
    Zhang AF Bian RJ Pan GX Cui LQ Hussain Q Li LQ Zheng JW Zheng JF Zhang XH Han XJ Yu XY
  • Biochars immobilize soil cadmium, but do not improve growth of emergent wetland species Juncus subsecundus in cadmium-contaminated soil.
    Zhang ZH Solaiman ZM Meney K Murphy DV Rengel Z
  • Mineral constituents profile of biochar derived from diversified waste biomasses: Implications for agricultural applications.
    Zhao L Cao XD Wang Q Yang F Xu S
  • The effects of biochars from rice residue on the formation of iron plaque and the accumulation of Cd, Zn, Pb, As in rice ( Oryza sativa L.) seedlings.
    Zheng RL Cai C Liang JH Huang Q Chen Z Huang YZ Arp HPH Sun GX
  • Abiotic and microbial oxidation of laboratory-produced black
    Zimmerman AR
  • Positive and negative carbon mineralization priming effects among a variety of biochar-amended soils.
    Zimmerman AR Gao B Ahn MY