Calibrating a method to compare biochar carbon stability
- Key Staff:
- Dr. Saran P. Sohi, Dr. Andrew Cross , Dr. Clare Peters
- Timescale:
- Dec 2012 - Nov 2013
- Funding:
- External
The functional assays embodied in the "screening toolkit" discriminate different biochar materials according to contrasting behaviour in soil. One of these assays (tool B) addresses the resilience of carbon stored in biochar to biotic and abiotic attack.
This is critical to determining the carbon-equivalent gain available through deployment of pyrolysis–biochar systems (PBS). The stability assay therefore provides, in essence, an ‘accelerated ageing’ for which an 'alpha' calibration was established (see published methods paper).
In this new work, the 'beta' calibration is being undertaken with reference to the processing of ageing experienced by charcoal over increasing periods of time in the natural environment.