BIOCHAR: REALITY AND POTENCIAL USE IN FORESTRY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5902/1980509832128Keywords:
plant growth, pyrogenic carbon, soil fertility.Abstract
The use of carbonized plant biomass has been recovered and evaluated as an alternative of improving soil fertility. The material generated, called biochar, is the product formed by pyrolysis, which is the thermal decomposition of biomass in a closed container under limited supply of oxygen and at relatively low temperatures. The chemical and structural composition of biochar is highly heterogeneous, with the exception of pH, which is usually higher than seven. Some properties are present in all kinds of biochar, including high carbon content and degree of aromaticity, which explains its high level of recalcitrance. However, its exact chemical composition and structure depends on the combination of raw material and pyrolysis conditions. When applied to soil, biochar can increase pH, cation exchange capacity and organic carbon and nutrient availability, raises in the abundance and functioning of mycorrhizal fungi, providing refuge for micro-organisms in the biochar micropores and improving soil structure and water availability. All these features in the soil interaction make its use in the agriculture normally to have positive effects on plant growth. It is believed that the use of biochar can contribute to carbon sequestration, it is considered by many as "carbon negative" due to its ability to promote plant growth and its stability in the soil. Studies with biochar have reached worldwide proportions involving different areas, and have grown a lot in recent years. However, there are still many uncertainties about its use in agriculture, mainly because the published papers have given more focus to biochar ability to maintain and improve soil fertility and increase agricultural productivity than to clarify the possible risks involved in biochar utilization.
Downloads
References
ALBURQUERQUE, J. A. et al. Enhanced wheat yield by biochar addition under different mineral fertilization levels. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, Paris, v. 33, p. 475-484, 2013.
ATKINSON, C. J. et al. Potential mechanisms for achieving agricultural benefits from biochar application to temperate soils: a review. Plant and Soil, Amsterdam, v. 337, p. 1-18, 2010.
BLACKWELL, P. et al. Biochar application to soil. In: LEHMANN, J.; JOSEPH, S. (Ed.). Biochar for environmental management: science and technology. London: Earthscan, 2009. p. 207-226.
BLACKWELL, P. et al. Effect of banded biochar on dryland wheat production and fertiliser use in south-western Australia: an agronomic and economic perspective. Australian Journal of Soil Research, Canberra, v. 48, p. 531-545, 2010.
BRACMORT, K. Biochar: examination of an emerging concept to mitigate climate change. [s. l.]: Congressional Research Service Report, 2010.
BRASIL. Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento. Plano setorial de mitigação e de adaptação às mudanças climáticas para a consolidação de uma economia de baixa emissão de carbono na agricultura: plano ABC (Agricultura de Baixa Emissão de Carbono). Brasília: MAPA/ACS, 2012. 173 p. disponível em:
<http://www.agricultura.gov.br/arq_editor/download.pdf>. Acesso em: 10 out. 2014.
BREWER, C. E. et al. Criteria to select biochars for field studies based on biochar chemical properties. Bioenergy Research, New York, v. 4, p. 312-323, 2011.
BROWN, R. Biochar production technology. In: LEHMANN, J.; JOSEPH, S. (Ed.). Biochar for environmental management: science and technology. London: Earthscan, 2009. p. 127-148.
BROWNSORT, P. A. Biomass pyrolisis processes: review of scope, control and variability. United Kingdom Biochar Research Centre, London, v. 1, p. 1-39, 2009.
BURNS, C. et al. The economics of biochar production: a review. Nevada: University of Nevada, 2014.
CHAN, K. Y. et al. Agronomic values of greenwaste biochar as a soil amendment. Australian Journal of Soil Research. Canberra, v. 45, p. 629-634, 2007.
CHIDUMAYO, E. N. Effects of wood carbonization on soil and initial development of seedlings in miombo woodland, Zambia. Forest Ecology and Management, Amsterdam, v. 70, p. 353-357, 1994.
DE GRYZE, S. et al. Evaluation of the opportunities for generating carbon offsets from soil sequestration of biochar. San Francisco: Terra Global Capital, 2010.
DEVEREUX, R. C. et al. The effects of biochar on soil physical properties and winter wheat growth. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, v. 103, p. 13-18, 2012.
DOWNIE, A. et al. Physical Properties of Biochar. In: LEHMANN, J.; JOSEPH, S. Biochar for environmental management: science and Technology. London: Earthscan, 2009. p. 13-32.
ERNSTING, A. Biochar – a climate smart solution? Bischöfl iches Hilfswerk MISEREOR, Aachen, v. 1, p. 1-24, 2011.
ERNSTING, A.; SMOLKER, R. Biochar for climate change mitigation: fact or fiction? 2009. 10 p. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 10 out. 2014.
GARCIA-PEREZ, M. The Formation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons and dioxins during pyrolysis. Washington: Washington State University, 2008. 63 p.
GAUNT, J.; COWIE A. Biochar, greenhouse gas accounting and emissions trading. In: LEHMANN, J.; JOSEPH, S. (Ed.). Biochar for environmental management: science and Technology. London: Earthscan, 2009. p. 317-340.
GHANI, W. A. W. A. K. et al. Biochar production from waste rubber-wood-sawdust and its potential use in C sequestration: chemical and physical characterization. Industrial Crops and Products, Amsterdam, v. 44, p. 18-24, 2013.
GLASER, B. et al. The “Terra Preta” Phenomenon: a model for sustainable agriculture in the humid tropics’. Naturwissenschaften, Berlin, v. 88, p. 37-41, 2001.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE. Summary for Policymakers. In: INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE. Climate Change 2014: mitigation of climate change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 2108 p. Disponível em: <http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg3/>. Acesso em: 10 out. 2014.
IPPOLITO, J. A. et al. Environmental benefits of biochar. Journal of Environmental Quality, Madison, v. 41, p. 967-972, 2012.
JEFFERY, S. et al. A quantitative review of the effects of biochar application to soils on crop productivity using meta-analysis. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, Zurich, v. 144, p. 175-187, 2011.
JOSEPH, S. et al. An investigation into the reactions of biochar in soil. Australian Journal of Soil Research, Canberra, v. 48, p. 501-515, 2010.
KLOSS, S. et al. Biochar application to temperate soils: effects on soil fertility and crop growth under greenhouse conditions. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Berlin, v. 177, p. 3-15, 2014.
KOOKANA, R. S. et al. Biochar application to soil: agronomic and environment benefits and unintended consequences. Advances in Agronomy, Madison, n. 112, p. 103-143, 2011.
LEHMANN, J. A handful of carbon. Nature, London, v. 447, p. 143-144, 2007a.
LEHMANN, J. Bio-energy in the black. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, New York, v. 5, p. 381-387, 2007b.
LEHMANN, J. et al. Biochar effects on soil biota – A review. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, London, v. 43, p. 1812-1836, 2011.
LEHMANN, J. et al. Biochar sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems – a review. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Berlin, v. 11. p. 395-419, 2006.
LEHMANN, J.; JOSEPH, S. Biochar for Environmental Management: an Introduction. In: LEHMANN, J.; JOSEPH, S. (Ed.). Biochar for environmental management: science and Technology. London: Earthscan, 2009. p. 1-12.
LIANG, B. et al. Black carbon increases cation exchange capacity in soils. Soil Science Society of American Journal, Madison, v. 70, p. 1719-1730, 2006.
LIANG, F. et al. Crop yield and soil properties in the first 3 years after biochar application to a calcareous soil. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Beijing, v. 13, p. 525-532, 2014.
MAJOR, J. et al. Maize yield and nutrition during 4 years after biochar application to a Colombian savanna Oxisol. Plant and Soil, Amsterdam, v. 333, p. 117-128, 2010.
MCCARL, B. A. et al. Economics of biochar production, utilization and gas offsets. In: LEHMANN, J.; JOSEPH, S. (Ed). Biochar for Environmental Management: science and Technology. London: Earthscan, 2009. p. 341-356.
MUKHERJEE, A. et al. Effects of biochar and other amendments on the physical properties and greenhouse gas emissions of an artificially degraded soil. Science of the Total Environment, Barcelona, v. 487, p. 26-36, 2014.
MUKHERJEE, A.; LAL, R. The biochar dilemma. Soil Research, Camberra, v. 52, p. 217-230, 2014.
NGUYEN, B. T. et al. Long-term black carbon dynamics in cultivated soil. Biogeochemistry, New York, v. 89, p. 295-308, 2008.
NOVAK, J. M. et al. Designing relevant biochars as soil amendments using lignocellulosic-based and manure-based feedstocks. Journal of Soils and Sediments, Berlin, v. 14, p. 330-343, 2014.
NOVAK, J. M. et al. Impact of biochar amendment on fertility of a southeastern coastal plain soil. Soil Science, Berlin, v. 174, p. 105-112, 2009.
NOVOTNY, E. et al. Biochar: pyrogenic carbon for agriculture use – a critical review. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, Piracicaba, v. 39, p. 321-344, 2015.
NOVOTNY, E. et al. Lessons from the Terra Preta de Índios of the Amazon Region for the utilization of charcoal for soil amendment. Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society, São Paulo, v. 20, n. 6, p. 1003-1010, 2009.
OMIL, B. et al. Soil and tree responses to the application of wood ash containing charcoal in two soils with contrasting properties. Forest Ecology and Management, Amsterdam, v. 295, p. 199-212, 2013.
PETTER, F. A. et al. Soil fertility and upland rice yield after biochar application in the Cerrado. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, Brasília, v. 47, n. 5, p. 699-706, 2012.
PLUCHON, N. et al. Stimulation of boreal tree seedling growth by wood-derived charcoal: effects of charcoal properties, seedling species and soil fertility. Functional Ecology, London, v. 28, p. 766-775, 2014.
RONDON, M. A. et al. Biological nitrogen fixation by common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) increases with bio-char additions. Biology Fertility Soils, Amsterdam, v. 43, p. 699-708, 2007.
SANTALLA, M. et al. Effectiveness of wood ash containing charcoal as a fertilizer for a forest plantation in a temperate region. Plant and Soil, Amsterdam, v. 346, p. 63-78, 2011.
SOHI, S. P. et al. Biochar, climate change and soil: a review to guide future research. Camberra: CSIRO Land and Water Science Report, 2009. 64 p.
SOHI, S. P. et al. Review of biochar and its use and function in soil. In: SPARKS, D. L. (Ed.). Advances in Agronomy. Burlington: Academic Press, 2010. p. 47-82.
SOLLA-GULLON, F. et al. Nutritional status and growth of a young Pseudotsuga menziesii plantation in a temperate region after application of wood-bark ash. Forest Ecology and Management, Amsterdam, v. 237, p. 312-321, 2006.
SPOKAS, K. A. et al. Impacts of woodchip biochar additions on greenhouse gas production and sorption/degradation of two herbicides in a Minnesota soil. Chemosphere, Amsterdam, v. 77, p. 574-658, 2009.
THIES, J. E.; RILLIG, M. C. Characteristics of Biochar: biological Properties. In: LEHMANN, J.; JOSEPH, S. (Ed.). Biochar for environmental management: science and Technology. London: Earthscan, 2009. p. 85-106.
VAN ZWIETEN, L. et al. Effects of biochar from slow pyrolysis of papermill waste on agronomic performance and soil fertility. Plant and Soil, Amsterdam, v. 327, p. 235-246, 2010.
VERHEIJEN, F. G. A. et al. Biochar application to soils: a critical scientific review of effects on soil properties, processes and functions. Luxembourg: EUR 24099 EN, Office for the Official Publications of the European Communities, 2009. 149 p.
WARDLE, D. A.; NILSSON, M. C.; ZACKRISSON, O. Fire-derived charcoal causes loss of forest humus. Science, New York, v. 320, p. 629, 2008.
WARNOCK, D. D. et al. Mycorrhizal responses to biochar in soil – concepts and mechanisms. Plant and Soil, Amsterdam, v. 300, p. 9-20, 2007.
WEB OF SCIENCE. “Biochar”. [2017]. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 17 mar. 2017.
WINSLEY, P. Biochar and bioenergy production for climate change mitigation. New Zealand Science Review, Wellington, v. 64, p. 5-10, 2007.
YU, X. Y.; YING, G. G.; KOOKANA, R. S. Reduced plant uptake of pesticides with biochar additions to soil. Chemosphere, Amsterdam, v. 76, p. 665-671, 2009.
ZHANG, A. et al. Effect of biochar amendment on maize yield and greenhouse gas emissions from a soil organic carbon poor calcareous loamy soil from Central China Plain. Plant and Soil, Amsterdam, v. 351, p. 263-275, 2012.
ZHAO, X. et al. Successive straw biochar application as a strategy to sequester carbon and improve fertility: A pot experiment with two rice/wheat rotations in paddy soil. Plant and Soil, Amsterdam, v. 378, p. 279-294, 2014.
