Establishing effects of biochar on carbon dynamics in the field
- Key Staff:
- Dr. Saran P. Sohi
- Timescale:
- January 2009 (ongoing)
A joint initiative between UKBRC partners a field experiment was established at Woburn, on a research farm managed by Rothamsted Research. On part of the soil mine, part of a field that has been kept bare for several decades and thus declined to a particularly low level of soil carbon content, a replicated-plot experiment has been established. The purpose is to assess the effect of biochar, in the form of charcoal fines as a proxy for biochar from a bioenergy system, on the accumulation of soil organic matter following re-establishment of a crop. To minimise the indirect impact on increased plant growth from short-term modification of soil nutrient status and pH, the biochar was leached prior to application and the soil fertilised and limed. The experiment is now in its second year and analytical data from the first years’ work is being compiled.
Publications:
Prendergast-Miller M.T., Duvall, M., Sohi, S.P. (2011) Localisation of nitrate in the rhizosphere of biochar-amended soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 43: 2243-2246
Cross, A., Sohi, S.P. (2013) A method for screening the relative long-term stability of biochar, GCB Bioenergy, 5:215-220
Sohi, S.P. (2012) Carbon storage with benefits, Science, 338: 1034-1035