Bibliography of biochar research articles compiled by the International Biochar Initiative.

Exploring the use of BioChar (charcoal from biomass) to improve soils.

Johannes Lehmann is a soil scientist at Cornell University. He's also an expert on biochar. That's what's created when biomass -- things like leftover crops, manure, and yard waste -- are heated and charred. Includes a podcast of the interview that aired on NPR's Earth & Sky.

Projects, presentations, and publications on biochar from Rice University researchers.

Biochar science is an continuously maturing field of study that is showing considerable growth and potential. Although there is a great deal of interest in biochar from researchers, growers, and other stakeholder groups, the field suffers from 1) lack of readily available information for end users to make informed decisions and 2) differing opinions on the gross effects of biochar when used as a soil amendment. To help mitigate these shortfalls, the UC Davis Biochar Database has been established to present an online resource of biochar physical and chemical characterization data.

List of research needs and priorities developed by the International Biochar Initiative.

This guide is to designed to help those interested in testing biochar in soil to design and run sound experiments, the results of which can be used to draw strong conclusions and can be disseminated to a wide
audience.

The main focus of this report is to provide a critical scientific review of the current state of knowledge regarding the effects of biochar application to soils on soil properties, processes and functions.

Results of a three year commercial scale agricultural field trial of biochar in Quebec, Canada.

Review article published in Soil Biology and Biochemistry in 2011. Subscription required for full text access.

Published by Earthscan. Provides comprehensive information and analysis on biochar technology and its implications.

A team of experts have reviewed the scientific literature to provide up to date, peer- reviewed information on soil carbon science and policy, biochar production and risks, biochar’s influence on soils and plants, and economics of its use. The review concludes that biochar does have potential for use in horticultural production, but more research is needed, as biochar science is still in its infancy.

This report summarizes the major findings and outstanding research issues on biochar, climate change and soil. [PDF, 65 pages]

This study identifies opportunities and obstacles for producing fuels and stable carbon from organic wastes generated in Washington, while focusing on methods that are compatible with both fast and slow pyrolysis. The information collected in this review is intended to inspire experts to develop new models to utilize these resources and new design of pyrolysis units that are well suited for the conditions in Washington.

As yet there is limited critical analysis of possible agricultural impacts of biochar application in temperate regions, nor on the likelihood of utilising such soils as long-term sites for carbon sequestration. This review aims to determine the extent to which inferences of experience mostly from tropical regions could be extrapolated to temperate soils and to suggest areas requiring study. Published in Plant and Soil in 2010. Subscription required for full text access.

Soil Research 48(7) 627–637 (2010). Full text access may require a subscription.