CSIRO: Biochar Fact Sheet

CSIRO Biochar Fact Sheet – From the CSIRO Website

Adding biochar (bio char) to agricultural soils has been getting a lot of attention due to the apparent benefits to soil quality and enhanced crop yields, as well as the potential to gain carbon credits by active carbon sequestration.  Studies have shown that biochar can aid in:

• nutrient retention and cation

• exchange capacity

• decreasing soil acidity

• decreased uptake of soil toxins

• improving soil structure

• nutrient use efficiency

• water-holding capacity

• decreased release of non-CO2

• greenhouse gases (CH4, N2O)

Another point of interest involves biochar and greenhouse gas emissions.  Producing biochar and bioenergy via pyrolysis is a carbon-negative process.  The organic materials that are being burnt are naturally part of the photosynthesis cycle, so taking the carbon out of the cycle and locking it in biochar and bio-gases means that there is a net decrease of carbon in the atmosphere.  Due to its high chemical stability, high carbon content and its potential to reside in soil over decades, centuries, and even up to millennia, biochar applications have the potential to turn into a long-term carbon sink. Thus, biochar could play an
important role in helping to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and partially offset greenhouse gas emissions produced by the burning of fossil fuels.

Outback Biochar for Biochar News, Information and Research

For new information on biochar visit Outback Biochar for all the latest news, breaking stories and cutting edge research.  Outback Biochar also offers wholesale biochar sales to nurseries and garden supply stores.