Biochar for sustainable soil and environment: a comprehensive review
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S. I. BIOCHAR
Biochar for sustainable soil and environment: a comprehensive review Niaz Muhammad 1 & Mubashir Hussain 1 & Waheed Ullah 1 & Taj Ali Khan 1 & Shafaqat Ali 2 & Ali Akbar 3 & Rukhsanda Aziz 4 & Muhammad Khalid Rafiq 5,6 & Robert Thomas Bachmann 7 & Mohammad I. Al-Wabel 8 & Muhammad Rizwan 2 Received: 31 August 2018 / Accepted: 15 November 2018 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2018
Abstract Biochar prepared from organic waste through pyrolysis, thermal combustion in an inert environment, generates a stable form of carbon. The review of established literature reveals that conversion of organic matter into biochar and its addition to soil also reduces the negative effects of carbon aerosols on human health and greenhouse gas effects on environment through carbon sequestration. Physicochemical properties of biochar such as nutrient sorption capacity, pH, pore structure, particle size, surface area, and mineral content play a vital role in determining the soil structure and function. Biochar addition to soil exerts measurable changes in physicochemical soil properties such as bulk density, water-holding capacity, pH and cation exchange capacity, microbial community structure, and their interrelated functions in soil. However, addition of biochar to specific soil improves the soil fertility, and consequently improves the crop yield. It is concluded that optimized pyrolysis of organic waste for biochar production and its use for soils need diversified investigation in diverse environmental conditions. Keywords Agriculture climate change . Biochar . Soil fertility . Soil microbial community
Introduction Carbon produced by anthropogenic activities such as burning of fossil fuel and decomposition of organic waste in landfills has been designated a major environmental pollutant. The soot from diesel engines and landfill places is considered a pollution marker (Jansen et al. 2005) as it has longer life time as aerosols. The particulate carbon has higher deposition rate and it is chemically inert in nature (Hedges et al. 2000), and they contribute 5–10% of particulate matter pollution (PMP) (Putaud et al. 2004). The carbon particles have a significant
pollutant sorption capacity and are known to bind persistent organic pollutants (POPs) (Mattila and Verta 2008), xenobiotic, and naturally occurring organic pollutants from soils and sediments and reduce their bioavailability (Gustafsson and Gschwend 1997). The particulate carbon in the atmosphere is wet and dry and deposits on water surface and lands. These are carried to water bodies through precipitation, runoff, and sedimentation. Carbon particles emitted to the environment are health concern for humans depending on size and substances sorbed on these particles. Particles with larger size (≥ 4 μm) and below 0.002 μm have a higher tendency to
This article is part of the Topical Collection on Implications of Biochar Application to Soil Environment under Arid Conditions * Muhammad Rizwan [email protected]
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Rangeland Research Institute, National Agricultural R
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