Biochar
Biochar is charcoal used as a soil amendment. Like most charcoal, biochar is made from biomass via pyrolysis. Biochar is under investigation as an approach to carbon sequestration to produce negative carbon dioxide emissions. Biochar thus has the potential to help mitigate climate change via carbon sequestration. (Source: Wikipedia)
- An estimated 80 percent of soil carbon in heavily farmed areas has been lost due to destructive plowing, overgrazing and the use of carbon-depleting chemical fertilizers and pesticides
- By adding more carbon back into the soil and preventing carbon losses, we can address many of today’s most pressing problems, including dwindling water reserves, soil degeneration, and poor nutrition
- Carbon sequestration can reduce the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere, and once sequestered in the soil, the carbon actively nourishes soil health and improves water retention
- Carbon is stored in soil by exclusively binding to specific soil structures, and the soil’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide is directly related to its health
- One way to increase carbon in your soil is to add biochar, which is created by slowly heating biomass in an oxygen-starved environment (such as a kiln) until everything but the carbon is burned off.
Source: Documentary Film “Dirt Rich”
Additional Videos About Biochar
International Biochar Conference discussing municipal waste infrastructure 2012
Impacts of Biochar Additions on Soil Microbial Processes and Nitrogen Cycling