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Julie MajorPh.D. candidate, Cornell UniversityExtension Director, International Biochar Initiative
Biochar 101 and IBI activities
Fertile Soils in an Unfertile Soilscapethe central Amazon
© J
. Maj
or, 2
003
“Terra Preta”‘normal’ soil
“Terra Preta”: Amazonian Dark Earths
© B. Glaser © B. Glaser © J. Major
The Properties of Terra Preta
Organic Carbon (mg g-1)
0 10 20 30
Cat
ion
Exc
hang
e C
apac
ity (
mm
olc
kg-1
)
0
100
200
300
r2=0.909CEC=2.81C+9.1
r2=0.784CEC=8.60C-18.6
Anthrosols
Adjacent Soils
DSACULGHAT
Other Anthrosols
(Sombroek et al., 1993)
Liang, Lehmann et al., 2006, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 70: 1719-1730
Terra Preta
‘normal soil’
The Discovery of Biochar
0
20
40
60
80
100
0 100 200 300
Black carbon [g kg-1 C]
Terra Preta
‘normal soil’
Glaser et al., 2001, Naturwissenschaften 88, 37-41
© G
lase
r
Terra Preta
‘normal’ soil
Depth [cm]
Ages between 500 and 7,000 years!
Biochar (g/kg C)
Days
10 20 30 40 50
Calc
ium
cum
ula
tive le
ach
ing [
kg h
a-1]
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Ferralsol
Terra Preta
The Properties of Terra Preta
Ca
15
33
Plant-available Ca:(Mehlich-3)
Lehmann et al., 2003, Plant and Soil 249: 343-357
(N=5)
‘normal soil’
The Value of Terra Preta
© Woods
FarmingOrnamentals
© Woods
© Lehmann
What is Biochar?Biochar is the product of the thermal degradation of organic matterin the absence of oxygen
Hardwood Rice hulls Switchgrass Bagasse
© J
. M
ajo
r 2
00
8
What is Biochar?
How much Biochar is in Soil naturally?
Proportion of black C (% of organic C)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Fre
quen
cy (
% o
f so
ils s
tudi
ed)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Soil orders include Alfisols, Vertisols, Inceptisols, Entisols, Ultisols, and Mollisols; data taken from Skjemstad et al. (1996, 1999a, 2001, 2002), Schmidt et al. (1999), Carter et al. (2002).
(N=57)
About 20% of Carbon
How can Biochar be obtained?
www.midsummerwood.co.uk
www.wealddown-schools.org.uk
Wikipedia
Biochar application
Core Benefits of Biochar
High Stability of Organic
Matter
High Retention of
Nutrients
Very likely soil water improvements
Possible to likely microbial benefits
Bio-char additions [t C ha-1]
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Pla
nt b
iom
ass
prod
uctio
n[%
incr
ease
]
0
50
100
200
250
Sustainable Agriculture
Lehmann and Rondon, 2006, Bio-char Soil Management on Highly Weathered Soils in the Humid Tropics . Francis and Taylor, FL, pp. 517-530
Results from 24 experiments and10 different cropsWithout Biochar
using best management
Up to 230% yield increase!
0 t/ha 8 t/ha 20 t/ha
The Benefits of Biochar Direct nutrient ADDITION
Biochar (g kg-1)
Availab
leK (cmolc kg-
1)
Availabl
e Ca(cmolc kg-
1)
Available Mg
(cmolc kg-1)
Total
N(g kg-1)
Available P
(mg kg-1)
0 2.8 1.5 0.9 3.2 8
135 25.8 1.7 1.0 4.0 11
Data for an Oxisol, Lehmann et al. (2002) World Congress of Soil Science
The Benefits of Biochar Nutrient RETENTION
CEC ↑ up to 50% pH ↑ up to 1.2 units
H+
NO3-NH4
+
Loss togroundwater?
(reviewed by Glaser Lehmann Zech, 2002, Biol. Fert. Soils)
1 mm
Less charge
More charge
+
+ +
__
__
The Benefits of BiocharCa
Nut
rien
t am
ount
(kg
ha-1
)
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60 Crop uptake Leaching by saturated flow Leaching by unsaturated flow
Mg
-40
-20
0
20
40
K
Biochar application rate (t ha-1)
0 20-50
0
50
100
150
200
250
300NO3 + NH4*
Biochar application rate (t ha-1)
0 20
-100
-50
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
ab
ab
b
aa
b
ba a b
a b
The Benefits of Biochar
0
20
40
60
80
100
Grass Maize
mg
N2O
m-2
y-1 0
20
M. Rondon, unpubl.
Reduction in nitrous oxide emission from soil
Pasture grass Maize
+Biochar
+Biochar
Biochar lasts longer in soil
Lehmann et al., 2006, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change
100
50
10
1 32
Biochar
Un-charred organic matter
4 5
Years
Carb
on
rem
ain
ing
(%
)
Carbon sequestration in soil
Biomass carbon100%
100 years
Bio-char carbon50%
Biomass carbon100%
Biomass carbon0%
Bio-char carbon>40%
Energy Production
A
Lehmann et al., 2006, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change
Biochar carbon
Biochar carbon
The VisionBiochar with Bio-energy = carbon negative + environmentally friendly!
Lehmann, 2007, Frontiers in Ecology and theEnvironment 7, 381-387
Lehmann, 2007, Nature 447, 143-144
International Biochar Initiative (IBI)
www.biochar-international.org
•Registered NGO•“Supporting researchers, commercial entities, policy makers,development agents, farmers and gardenersand others committed to supporting sustainable biocharproduction and utilization systems that Remove carbon from the atmosphere and enhance the earth’s soils
IBI conferences
Terrigal, NSW, Australia April 2007 107 attendees from 13 countries
Newcastle, UK September 2008 225 attendees from 31 countries
Upcoming events
IBI conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: 2010 IBI conference in Kyoto, Japan: 2011
Regional meetings: May 2009: Regional Conference of Asia-Pacific Region
in Australia August 2009: Regional Conference of Americas Region
in Boulder, CO USA Date TBD: Regional Conference of European region in
Rome, Italy
IBI 6-country project
Chile (Atacama desert) Costa Rica (Osa peninsula) Belize (Cacao growers/small farmers) India Viet Nam Kenya (cook stoves at household level)
Policy activities
Farm Bill in USA Poznan, Poland
Projects in WV Ohio
Multiple environmental benefits
FeedstockFeedstock(biomass)(biomass)
ReactorReactor BioBio--fuelfuel(e.g., bio(e.g., bio--oil, oil, hydrogen)hydrogen)
ElectricityElectricity
BioBio--charchar
GasesGases
Bio-energy power plantAgricultural/forest fields
Biomass
Bio-char
Saving of a portion of fertilizers
Sustainable land use
Reduction of off-site pollution
Bio-c
har
Agricultural/forest fields
Climate change mitigation
Agricultural/forest fields
Bio-char
Bio-char
Thank you!
Honduras, Jan. ‘08
How much would YOU be willing to pay for Biochar?
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