Revamping highly weathered soils in the tropics with biochar application: What we know and what is needed

Basak, B. B.; Sarkar, Binoy; Saha, Ajoy; Sarkar, Abhijit; Mandal, Sanchita; Wang, Hailong; Bolan, Nanthi

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153461

Cited by 42 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 171 publications

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“…There is still a clear need to explore the value of biochar across various conditions and settings in the tropics. Biochar may not be always a win-win technology for sustainable water resource management if not well synchronized with agro-ecological conditions of the application location and socio-economic status of the end-users [36]. Specifical, since there are several variables at play around how biochar is made and implemented in agricultural and water management practices, we see a need to align social and environmental benefits of biochar technology with policy decisions (e.g., [36]).…”

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Biochar may not be always a win-win technology for sustainable water resource management if not well synchronized with agro-ecological conditions of the application location and socio-economic status of the end-users [36]. Specifical, since there are several variables at play around how biochar is made and implemented in agricultural and water management practices, we see a need to align social and environmental benefits of biochar technology with policy decisions (e.g., [36]). Through such alignment, with an appropriate understanding of long-term impacts and designing of biochar for conditions, biochar can begin to fulfill its potential to achieve sustainable water management.…”

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further biochar has been found to improve crop productivity and soil quality consistently through liming and fertilization effects in low pH and infertile soils under low-input conditions typical of weathered tropical soils [36]. There is a need for the reduction of costs of biochar production and application to increase the material's use efficiency need future development.…”

Section: On the Potential For Stacked Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a need for the reduction of costs of biochar production and application to increase the material's use efficiency need future development. A recent review by Basak et al [36] highlights the need to link economic benefits with social and environmental issues for the successful implementation of biochar technology in weathered tropical soils. Further, they recommend that the identification of biochar properties suitable for tropical soils is important to obtain the maximum benefit of biochar application.…”

Section: On the Potential For Stacked Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further, they recommend that the identification of biochar properties suitable for tropical soils is important to obtain the maximum benefit of biochar application. Basak et al [36] pointed out that suitable application strategies and the co-deployment of biochar with other suitable additives provide a promising area for improving the efficiency of biochar for agricultural application.…”

Section: On the Potential For Stacked Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the Potential of Biochar Soil Amendments as a Sustainable Water Management Strategy

et al. 2022

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Biochar has been put forward as a potential technology that could help achieve sustainable water management in agriculture through its ability to increase water holding capacity in soils. Despite this opportunity, there are still a limited number of studies, especially in vulnerable regions like the tropics, quantifying the impacts of biochar on soil water storage and characterizing the impacts of biochar additions on plant water composition. To address this critical gap, we present a case study using stable water isotopes and hydrometric data from melon production in tropical agriculture to explore the hydrological impacts of biochar as a soil amendment. Results from our 10-week growing season experiment in Costa Rica under drip irrigation demonstrated an average increase in volumetric soil moisture content of about 10% with an average moisture content of 25.4 cm3 cm−3 versus 23.1 cm3 cm−3, respectively, for biochar amended plots compared with control plots. Further, there was a reduction in the variability of soil matric potential for biochar amended plots compared with control plots. Our isotopic investigation demonstrated that for both biochar and control plots, there was a consistent increase (or enrichment) in isotopic composition for plant materials moving from the roots, where the average δ18O was −8.1‰ and the average δ2H was −58.5‰ across all plots and samples, up through the leaves, where the average δ18O was 4.3‰ and the average δ2H was 0.1‰ across all plots and samples. However, as there was no discernible difference in isotopic composition for plant water samples when comparing across biochar and control plots, we find that biochar did not alter the composition of water found in the melon plant material, indicating that biochar and plants are not competing for the same water sources. In addition, and through the holistic lens of sustainability, biochar additions allowed locally sourced feedstock carbon to be directly sequestered into the soil while improving soil water availability without jeopardizing production for the melon crop. Given that most of the expansion and intensification of global agricultural production over the next several decades will take place in the tropics and that the variability of tropical water cycling is expected to increase due to climate change, biochar amendments could offer a pathway forward towards sustainable tropical agricultural water management.

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Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: On the Potential For Stacked Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: On the Potential For Stacked Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: On the Potential For Stacked Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the Potential of Biochar Soil Amendments as a Sustainable Water Management Strategy

et al. 2022

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Response of soil microbial glycoside hydrolase family 6 cellulolytic population to lignocellulosic biochar reveals biochar stability toward microbial degradation

Halmi,

Simarani

2024

J of Env Quality

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Biochar produced from lignocellulosic biomass offers an opportunity to recycle waste into a valuable soil amendment. The application of biochar has been proposed to mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon in the soil. However, the field impact of biochar treatment on the cellulolytic microbial populations involved in the earlier steps of cellulose degradation is poorly understood. A field trial spanning three consecutive crop cycles of Zea mays was conducted in a degraded tropical Ultisol of Peninsular Malaysia. The soil was amended with two contrasting biochar made from oil palm kernel shells (pyrolyzed at 400°C) and rice husks (gasified at 800°C) with or without fertilizer supplementation. Soil samples were taken at each harvesting stage and analyzed for total organic carbon, labile active organic carbon, total cellulase, and β‐glucosidase. Microbial glycoside hydrolase family 6 (GH6) cellulase genes and transcripts, involved in the early steps of cellulose degradation, were quantified from the extracted soil deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), respectively. Total organic carbon, labile active organic carbon, and β‐glucosidase activity were significantly increased, while no effect on total cellulase activity was found. Both biochars stimulated the total population (DNA‐derived) abundance of soil microorganisms harboring the GH6 cellulase genes. The biochar amendment did not affect the active population (RNA‐derived) of the GH6 cellulolytic community, showing no significant changes in transcript expression. This indirectly corroborates the role of biochar as a potential carbon sequester in the soil.

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Microbial inocula enhance effects of biochar amendments on crop productivity, soil health, and microbial communities: A meta‐analysis

Ross,

Emery

2024

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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Biochar as a soil amendment can increase soil carbon sequestration, soil microbial diversity, overall yields, and general soil functioning. To accelerate these effects, biochar is often activated with beneficial soil microbes such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi or plant growth promoting bacteria via microbial inocula. However, there has been no comprehensive review of the effects of microbial inoculum additions for biochar amendments. We conducted a meta‐analysis to quantify the crop and soil effects of adding biochar alone compared to adding biochar with a microbial inoculum. The meta‐analysis included 56 studies and examined whether the effects depended on the source of inoculum, inoculum type, or experiment type. We found that microbial inocula increased soil N and soil organic carbon concentrations and crop productivity compared to adding biochar alone. However, these effects were limited to locally sourced and research‐grade inocula, while commercial inoculum products only slightly increased soil P. Fungal inocula had stronger effects than bacterial inocula. Inoculum effects were the strongest in greenhouse studies, increasing N, plant productivity, and fungal abundance, while field studies only increased plant productivity, suggesting that biochar activation with inoculum in on‐farm settings may not provide intended positive effects, and thus alternative methods for biochar activation may be needed.

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Revamping highly weathered soils in the tropics with biochar application: What we know and what is needed

Cited by 42 publications

References 171 publications

On the Potential of Biochar Soil Amendments as a Sustainable Water Management Strategy

On the Potential of Biochar Soil Amendments as a Sustainable Water Management Strategy

Response of soil microbial glycoside hydrolase family 6 cellulolytic population to lignocellulosic biochar reveals biochar stability toward microbial degradation

Microbial inocula enhance effects of biochar amendments on crop productivity, soil health, and microbial communities: A meta‐analysis

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