Biochar Production From Invasive Alien Plants: A Pathway to Sustainable Biomass Management and Resource Recovery

Abstract

Across the world, invasive alien plants (IAPs) threaten biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, ecosystem services, and livelihoods. A potentially sustainable method for controlling IAPs is to convert their biomass into biochar, which reduces invasion pressure while producing useful products. This systematic review analyzed studies on the use of IAPs for biochar production, evaluating the effectiveness of this approach in IAPs biomass management, ecological restoration, and value-added resource recovery, including energy production. The study further examined the pyrolysis temperature ranges used to produce biochar. Over 1000 articles were found through a comprehensive literature search using Google Scholar, ScienceDirect and Web of Science (2013–2025). For this study, the initial pool of 1000 articles were narrowed down to 89 by selecting only those that focused on biochar derived from IAPs and were published in English. The reported pyrolysis temperatures for biochar ranged from 197°C to 800°C, with 300–700°C being the most common. Extremely high temperatures (>800°C) were reported less frequently, and some studies utilized hydrothermal carbonization at low temperatures. The studies reviewed showed that IAPs-derived biochar can be produced for various environmental uses under different pyrolysis temperatures. The uses include soil restoration (e.g., enhanced microbial activity and soil carbon sequestration and storage) and treatment of aqueous media, as well as reducing IAPs proliferation, thus supporting ecological restoration and promoting native biodiversity recovery. Variability in the reported benefits of IAPs-derived biochar was influenced by feedstock types, pyrolysis temperatures, and motives for biochar utilization. This highlights the need for standardized procedures and long-term field validation, because IAPs-derived biochar has great ecological and economic promise. It can be concluded that incorporating biochar production into IAPs management offers a way to reduce the effects of invasion and facilitate ecosystem restoration, while also showing potential to enhance livelihoods.