Biochar function
- Thematic Strategy:
- Soils
- Key Staff:
- Dr. Saran P. Sohi, Prof. Ondřej Mašek, Tom Maxfield, Dr. Andrew Cross , Teri Angst , Gary McClean , Maria Borlinghaus
We aim to develop a mechanistic understanding of biochar-soil interactions through lab experiments, pot trials, field experiments and field trials. We are also developing screening procedures to rapidly characterise the functional characterstics of different biochars. Factors under consideration include carbon stability, priming potential, pore size and distribution, sorption, ionic exchange capacity, agronomic benefits (including nutrient availability and effects on soil structure) and toxicology.
Relevant Projects:
- A biological perspective: Impacts of biochar on the health of cereal crops
- Advanced Carbon Materials from Biowaste - GreenCarbon-ETN
- BIOMAC project (EU Horizon 2020)
- Biochar and plant-soil interactions
- Biochar in Forestry
- Biochar in growing media: A sustainability and feasibility assessment
- Biochar screening toolkit
- Biochar: Socio-economic and biophysical “fit”
- C-Sink project (EU Horizon Europe)
- Calibrating a method to compare biochar carbon stability
- Carbo-BioCrop: Carbon balance under perennial bioenergy crops
- CarboPlex - Development of C-rich biochar-mineral complexes for soil amendment, C sequestration and beyond
- DAC and other GGR technologies (Phase 2) - Biochar Platform
- EU COST Action
- Establishing effects of biochar on carbon dynamics in the field
- Leverhulme UK-Canada network
- MSc / BSc Module: Novel Strategies for Soil Carbon Storage
- NEWS India-UK network
- Scottish Biofuel Programme
- Soils research to deliver greenhouse gas removals and abatement technologies (Soils-R-GGREAT)
- Taking commercial apple production to Net Zero
- The biochar-soil-plant interface: unlocking the potential for a sustainable phosphorus fertiliser
- Use of biochar in management of organic amendments in grassland agriculture
- Use of biochar in phosphorus recycling and recovery
- Use of mineral additives to boost biochar yield and properties
Publications:
Harnessing green tide Ulva biomass for carbon dioxide sequestration. Park, Jihae; Lee, Hojun; De saeger, Jonas et al.
In: Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology, 02.09.2024.Latawiec AE, Peake L, Baxter H, Cornelissen G, Grotkiewicz K, Hale S, Królczyk JB, Kubon M, Łopatka A, Medynska-Juraszek A, Reid BJ, Siebielec G, Sohi SP, Spiak Z and Strassburg BBN. 2017. A reconnaissance-scale GIS-based multicriteria decision analysis to support sustainable biochar use: Poland as a case study. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management 25: 208-222.
Shepherd JG, Buss W, Sohi SP and Heal KV. 2017. Bioavailability of phosphorus, other nutrients and potentially toxic elements from marginal biomass-derived biochar assessed in barley (Hordeum vulgare) growth experiments. Science of the Total Environment 584/5:448–457
Shepherd JG, Joseph S, Sohi SP and Heal KV. 2017. Biochar and enhanced phosphate capture: Mapping mechanisms to functional properties. Chemosphere 179:57–74
Sohi SP and Kuppens T. 2016. Systems integration for biochar in European forestry: drivers and strategies. In: VJ Bruckman, EA Varol, BB Uzun, J Liu (Eds) Biochar: A regional Supply Chain Approach in View of Climate Change Mitigation. Cambridge University Press, pp 70-95
Bachmann HJ, Bucheli TD, Dieguez-Alonso A, Fabbri D, Knicker HE, Schmidt H-P, Ulbricht A, Becker R, Buscaroli A, Buerge D, Cross A, Dickinson D [...] Masek O, Mumme J, Carmona M, Calvelo R, Rees F, Rombolà AG, de la Rosa JM, Sakrabani R, Sohi SP, Soja G, Valagussa M, Verheijen FGA, Franz F. 2016. Toward the standardization of biochar analysis: The COST Action TD1107 interlaboratory comparison. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 64: 513–527
Shepherd JG, Sohi SP and Heal KV. 2016. Optimising the recovery and re-use of phosphorus from wastewater effluent for sustainable fertiliser development. Water Research 94:155–165
Han Y, Cao X, Ouyang X, Sohi SP, Chen J. 2015. Adsorption kinetics of magnetic biochar derived from peanut hull on removal of Cr (VI) from aqueous solution: Effects of production conditions and particle size. Chemosphere 145: 336–341
Reza MT, Rottler E, Tölle R, Werner M, Ramm P, Mumme J. 2015. Production, characterization, and biogas application of magnetic hydrochar from cellulose. Bioresource Technology 186:34-43
Dicke C, Lühr C, Ellerbrock R, Mumme J, Kern J. 2015. Effect of hydrothermally carbonized hemp dust on the soil emissions of CO2 and N2O. BioResources 10:3210-3223
Andert J, Mumme J. 2015. Impact of pyrolysis and hydrothermal biochar on gas-emitting activity of soil microorganisms and bacterial and archaeal community composition. Applied Soil Ecology 96:225-239
Kern J, Tammeorg P, Shanskiy M, Sakrabani R, Knicker H, Kammann C, Tuhkanen E-M, Smidt G, Prasad M, Tiilikkala K , Sohi SP, Gascó G, Steiner C, Glaser B. 2017. Synergistic use of peat and charred material in growing media – an option to reduce the pressure on peatlands? Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management 25: 160-174.
Melia PM, Cundy AB, Sohi SP, Hooda PS and Busquets R. 2017. Trends in the recovery of phosphorus in bioavailable forms from wastewater. Chemosphere 186:381–395
Cabeza I, Waterhouse T, Sohi SP and Rooke JA. 2018. Effect of biochar produced from different biomass sources and at different process temperatures on methane production and ammonia concentrations in vitro. Animal Feed Science and Technology 237: 1–7
Borges BMMN, Strauss M, Camelo PA, Sohi SP & Franco HCJ. 2020. Re-use of sugarcane residue as a novel biochar fertiliser - Increased phosphorus use efficiency and plant yield. Journal of Cleaner Production https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121406
Sykes AJ, Macleod M, Eory V, Rees RM, Payen F, Myrgiotis V, William M, Sohi SP, Hillier J, Moran D, Manning DAC, Goglio P, Seghetta M, Williams A, Harris J, Dondini M, Walton J, House J and Smith P. 2020. Characterising the biophysical, economic and social impacts of soil carbon sequestration as a greenhouse gas removal technology. Global Change Biology 26: 1085-1108.
Sohi SP. 2019. Book Review: 'Biochar from Biomass and Waste: Fundamentals and Applications, Edited by Y.S. Ok, D. Tsang, N. Bolan & Novak, J. eds.' European Journal of Soil Science https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12873
Chang R, Sohi SP, Jing F, Liu Y and Chen J. 2019. A comparative study on biochar properties and Cd adsorption behavior under effects of ageing processes of leaching, acidification and oxidation. Environmental Pollution 254B: 113123.
Melia PM, Busquets R, Hooda P, Cundy AB and Sohi SP. 2019. Driving forces and barriers in the removal of phosphorus from water using crop residue, wood and sewage sludge derived biochars. Science of the Total Environment 675: 623–631.
Ma S, Jing F, Sohi SP and Chen J. 2019. New insights into contrasting mechanisms for PAE adsorption on millimeter, micro- and nanoscale biochar. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 26: 18636–18650.
Liu Y, Sohi SP, Jing F and Chen J. 2019. Oxidative ageing induces change in the functionality of biochar and hydrochar: Mechanistic insights from sorption of atrazine. Environmental Pollution https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.03.035
Liu Y, Sohi SP, Liu S, Guan J, Zhou J and Chen J. 2019. Adsorption and reductive degradation of Cr(VI) and TCE by a simply synthesized zero valent iron magnetic biochar. Journal of Environmental Management 235: 276-281
Buss W, Assavavittayanon K, Shepherd J, Heal K and Sohi SP. 2018. Biochar phosphorus release is limited by high pH and excess calcium. 2018. Journal of Environmental Quality 47:1298-1303
Jing F, Sohi SP, Liu Y and Chen J. 2018. Insight into mechanism of aged biochar for adsorption of PAEs: Reciprocal effects of ageing and coexisting Cd2+. Environmental Pollution 242:1098-1107
McClean GJ, Meredith W, Cross A, Heal KV, Bending GD, Sohi SP. 2015. The priming potential of environmentally weathered pyrogenic carbon during land-use transition. GCB Bioenergy doi:10.1111/gcbb.12293
Crombie, K., Mašek, O., Cross, A., Sohi, S.P.. 2014. Biochar–synergies and trade‐offs between soil enhancing properties and C sequestration potential. GCB Bioenergy 7:1161–1175
Sohi SP, McDonagh J, Novak J, Wu W and Miu L. Biochar systems and system fit. 2015. In: J Lehmann, S Joseph (Eds) Biochar for Environmental Management, 2nd Edition. Routledge, Abingdon, UK, pp 737-761
Shackley, S., Carter, S., Knowles, T., Middelink, E., Haefele, S., Haszeldine, S. (2012), Sustainable gasification-biochar systems? A case-study of rice-husk gasification in Cambodia, Part II: Field trial results, carbon abatement, economic assessment and conclusions, Energy Policy, 41:618-623
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. (2011) The priming potential of biochar products in relation to labile carbon contents and soil
organic matter status, Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 43: 2127-2134Iliffe R 2009. Is the biochar produced by an Anila stove likely to be a beneficial soil additive?. MSc Diss. UKBRC Working Paper 4
Sohi SP, Lopez-Capel E, Bol R & Krull E. 2010. A review of biochar and its use and function in soil. Advances in Agronomy 105: 47-82
Shackley SJ and Sohi SP (eds) 2010. An assessment of the benefits and issues associated with the application of biochar to soil. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London, UK.
Liang B, Lehmann J, Solomon D, Sohi SP, Thies JE, Skjemstad JO, Luizao FJ, Engelhard MH, Neves EG & Wirick S. 2008. Stability of biomass-derived black carbon in soils. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72:6069–6078
Lehmann J, Czimczik CI, Laird D & Sohi SP. 2009. Stability of biochar in soil ecosystems. In: CJ Lehmann and S Joseph (Eds), Biochar for Environmental Management: Science and Technology, Earthscan, London pp183-205
Liang B, Lehmann J, Sohi SP, Thies JE, O’Neill B, Trujillo L, Gaunt JL, Solomon D, Grossman J, Neves EG, & Luizão FJ. 2010. Black carbon affects the cycling of non-black carbon in soil. Organic Geochemistry 41: 206–213
Sohi SP, Shackley SJ, Haszeldine RS, Manning D and Mašek O 2009. Biochar, reducing and removing CO2 while improving soils:A significant and sustainable response to climate change. Evidence submitted to the Royal Society Geo-engineering Climate Enquiry, UKBRC Working Paper 2
Mašek, O., Brownsort, P., Cross, A., & Sohi, S. (2011). Influence of production conditions on the yield and environmental stability of biochar. Fuel. doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2011.08.044
Angst, T.E., Sohi, S.P. (2013) Establishing release dynamics for plant nutrients from biochar, GCB Bioenergy, 5:221-226
Sohi, S.P. (2012) Carbon storage with benefits, Science, 338: 1034-1035
Shackley, S., Sohi, S.P., Ibarrola, R.E., Hammond, J., Masek, O., Brownsort, P., Cross, A., Prendergast-Miller, M., Haszeldine, S. 2012, Biochar, Tool for Climate Change Mitigation and Soil Management. In: R Meyers (ed.), Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology, Springer Verlag, New York, pp. 913-961 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5770-1_6
Angst, T.E., Six, J., Reay, D.S., Sohi, S.P. (2014) Impact of pine chip biochar on trace greenhouse gas emissions and soil nutrient dynamics in an annual ryegrass system in California. Agroecosystems and the Environment 191:17-26
Verheijen, F.G.A., Graber, E.R., Ameloot, N., Bastos, A.C., Sohi, S.P., Knicker, H. (2014) Biochars in soils: new insights and emerging research needs. European Journal of Soil Science 65:22–27
Jeffery, S., Bezemer, T.M., Cornellisen, G., Kuyper, T.W. Lehmann, J., Mommer, L., Sohi, S.P., Van De Voorde, T.F.J., Wardle, D.A., Van Groenigen, J.W. (2013) The way forward in biochar research: targeting trade-offs between the potential wins. GCB Bioenergy 7:1161–1175
Prendergast-Miller, M., Duvall, M., Sohi, S.P. (2013) Biochar−root interactions are mediated by biochar nutrient content and biochar impacts on soil nutrient availability. European Journal of Soil Science 65:173-185
Sohi, S.P., Gaunt J.L., Atwood, J. (2013) Biochar in growing media: A sustainability and feasibility assessment. A project commissioned for the Sustainable Growing Media Task Force. Defra project SP1213. Defra, London, 84pp
Angst, T.E., Patterson, C.J., Reay, D.S., Anderson, P., Peshkur, T.A., Sohi, S.P. (2013) Biochar diminishes nitrous oxide and nitrate leaching from diverse nutrient sources. Journal of Environmental Quality 42:672-82
Sohi, S.P. (2013) Pyrolysis bioenergy with biochar production – greater carbon abatement and benefits to soil, GCB Bioenergy, 5:i-iii
Cross, A., Sohi, S.P. (2013) A method for screening the relative long-term stability of biochar, GCB Bioenergy, 5:215-220
Crombie, K., Mašek, O., Sohi, S.P.. Brownsort, P., Cross, A. (2013) The effect of pyrolysis conditions on biochar stability as determined by three methods, GCB Bioenergy, 5:122-131
Hammond J 2010. Advancing the science and evaluating biochar systems, write up of the 2nd UKBRC Annual Conference, UKBRC Working Paper 6.