04 May 2009
Biochar adds to food production in temperate climates
Biochar increases crop productivity in many tropical soils. The reasons probably include improved water retention, reduced leaching, and better availability of nutrients to plant roots. In temperate conditions, studies have been fewer in number and haven’t produced results that are as clear. A new study adds usefully to our knowledge.
Alfred Gathorne-Hardy and colleagues at Imperial College, London applied varying amounts of biochar and of nitrogen fertiliser to barley. Their research showed that biochar improved yields substantially but only in those trials when large amounts of artificial fertiliser were also applied. Adding 20 tonnes a hectare (2 kg a square metre) of biochar to a soil fertilised with 100 kg of nitrogen a hectare increased the crop yield by over 30%. Loosely put, biochar improves the effectiveness of the nitrogen. But for soils with no added fertiliser, increasingly heavy applications of biochar tended slightly to reduce the crop yield.
Carbon Commentary
Alfred Gathorne-Hardy and colleagues at Imperial College, London applied varying amounts of biochar and of nitrogen fertiliser to barley. Their research showed that biochar improved yields substantially but only in those trials when large amounts of artificial fertiliser were also applied. Adding 20 tonnes a hectare (2 kg a square metre) of biochar to a soil fertilised with 100 kg of nitrogen a hectare increased the crop yield by over 30%. Loosely put, biochar improves the effectiveness of the nitrogen. But for soils with no added fertiliser, increasingly heavy applications of biochar tended slightly to reduce the crop yield.
Carbon Commentary
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