Biochar use in fertilizer
When added to soil, biochar improves plant growth and crop yields, effectively reducing the need for chemical fertilizer inputs.
Because of biochar’s long-term persistence in soil, all of the benefits associated with fertilizer use (nutrient retention, water retention and overall soil fertility) are longer lasting than with common fertilizers alone. As a result, fertilization costs are minimized and fertilizer (organic or chemical) is retained in the soil for far longer. Biochar doesn’t break down like other organic soil amendments and resists both chemical and microbial degradation.
The impact of biochar-based fertilizers
Enhanced crop yields
When added to soil, biochar can improve plant growth and enhance crop yields, increasing food production in areas with depleted soils, limited organic resources, insufficient water and/or access to agrochemical fertilizers.
Increased nutrient and water retention
Biochar’s porous structure attracts and retains water and nutrients. This is especially true in sandier soils, where biochar can act as a sponge. This results in healthier plants and reduced fertilizer leaching to groundwater and running off into surface water.
Persistence
Biochar is relatively inert and therefore persists in soil far longer than organic soil amendments like compost. Because biochar lasts hundreds to thousands of years, its benefits of nutrient and water retention and overall soil porosity keep working.
Less fertilizer needed
When added to soil, biochar improves plant growth and crop yields while reducing the total fertilizer required, particularly nitrogen. Biochar can also dramatically reduce emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas that is released from most nitrogen fertilizers.