{"title":"Biochar and Soil Physical Health","authors":"K. Are","doi":"10.5772/intechopen.83706","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.83706","url":null,"abstract":"The use of organic materials for reclamation of soil physical health indicators of degraded soil is germane for sustainable agriculture. Despite the soil conservation effectiveness of organic fertilizer , its adoption remains low among smallholder farmers in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa because of its offensive odor and bulkiness. Farmers desire materials that are not bulky, handled with ease, ensure maxi-mum nutrient retention, improve soil structural quality, reduce soil compaction, and increase water retention, which will also increase soil productivity and crop yield. These are the greatest attractions for the introduction of biochar for improvement of soil physical health. The pyrolytic processes of various organic materials to biochar have suppressed the effects of distractive odor of fresh and composted organic materials while reducing the bulkiness experienced during application. The potentials of biochar in improving nutrient retention and release have been pub-lished by various authors, but little information is available for soil physical health indicators. Therefore, the potentials of biochar in restoring physical health indicators such as particle size distribution, bulk density, pore size distribution, soil water retention and distribution, compaction and aggregate size distribution and stability of degraded soil shall be discussed in this chapter.","PeriodicalId":130968,"journal":{"name":"Biochar - An Imperative Amendment for Soil and the Environment","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123961118","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Ngatia, J. Grace, D. Moriasi, Alejandro Bolques, George K. Osei, R. Taylor
{"title":"Biochar Phosphorus Sorption-Desorption: Potential Phosphorus Eutrophication Mitigation Strategy","authors":"L. Ngatia, J. Grace, D. Moriasi, Alejandro Bolques, George K. Osei, R. Taylor","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.82092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.82092","url":null,"abstract":"Phosphorus (P) eutrophication in the water bodies is of global concern. The role of biochar in the mitigation of (P) eutrophication has recently received substantial attention. Agriculture is the main source of P in the water bodies, as a result of excessive fertilizer and manure application. Excessive P results in excessive primary production in the water bodies, leading to anoxic conditions, growth of toxic algae blooms, altering plant species composition and biomass. Therefore, resulting in food web disruption, fish kill, toxins production and recreation areas degradation. When biochar is applied on farm, it has potential to sorb/adsorb P, immobilizing it, slowing its translocation to the water bodies. However, biochar effectiveness in P sorption is influenced by both feedstock type and pyrolysis temperature. The interaction between feedstock type and pyrolysis temperature influences the biochar pH, surface area, aromatic carbon, cation exchange capacity, surface charge density, biochar internal porosity and polar and nonpolar surface sites that promote nutrient absorption. Hence, biochar properties have a broad spectrum that influences how biochar reacts with P sorption; therefore, it is not appropriate to extrapolate observed results to different materials. Biochar that promote P sorption rather than desorption should be considered and designed to meet specific management practices.","PeriodicalId":130968,"journal":{"name":"Biochar - An Imperative Amendment for Soil and the Environment","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131594594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Biochar: A Sustainable Approach for Improving Plant Growth and Soil Properties","authors":"Jyoti Rawat, J. Saxena, Pankaj Sanwal","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.82151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.82151","url":null,"abstract":"Soil is the most important source and an abode for many nutrients and microflora. Due to rapid depletion of agricultural areas and soil quality by means of ever-increasing population and an excessive addition of chemical fertilizers, a rehabilitated attention is a need of the hour to maintain sustainable approaches in agricultural crop production. Biochar is the solid, carbon-rich material obtained by pyrolysis using different biomasses. It has been widely documented in previous studies that, the crop growth and yield can be increased by using biochar. This chapter exclusively summarizes the properties of biochar, its interaction with soil microflora, and its role in plant growth promotion when added to the soil.","PeriodicalId":130968,"journal":{"name":"Biochar - An Imperative Amendment for Soil and the Environment","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124184069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Application of Biochar to Enzyme Carrier for Stress Tolerance of Enzymes","authors":"H. Noritomi","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.82094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.82094","url":null,"abstract":"Biochar showed the high affinity to enzymes, and enzymes were sufficiently adsorbed on the surface of biochar. Enzymes were highly stabilized in water at high temperatures by adsorbing enzymes on biochar. The remaining activity of lysozyme adsorbed on adzuki bean charcoal showed around 50% after heat treatment at 90°C for 30 min though that of free lysozyme was almost lost. Likewise, the stability of enzymes was enhanced in organic solvents by adsorbing enzymes on biochar. The conformation of α -chymotrypsin adsorbed on bamboo charcoal was hardly influenced by organic solvents, while that of free α -chymotrypsin was strongly dependent of the kind of organic solvents. Moreover, the adsorption of α -chymotrypsin on bamboo charcoal improved the transesterification of N -acetyl-L-tyrosine ethyl ester with n -butanol in organic solvents. The transesterification rate of α -chymotrypsin adsorbed on bamboo charcoal was about 760 times higher than that of free α -chymotrypsin in n -butyl acetate.","PeriodicalId":130968,"journal":{"name":"Biochar - An Imperative Amendment for Soil and the Environment","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114242594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Guangwei Yu, Shengyu Xie, Jianli Ma, Shang Xiaofu, Yin Wang, Y. Cheng, Futian You, Tang Xiaoda, Hu Levatti, Lan-jia Pan, Jie Li, Chunxing Li
{"title":"Influence of Sewage Sludge Biochar on the Microbial Environment, Chinese Cabbage Growth, and Heavy Metals Availability of Soil","authors":"Guangwei Yu, Shengyu Xie, Jianli Ma, Shang Xiaofu, Yin Wang, Y. Cheng, Futian You, Tang Xiaoda, Hu Levatti, Lan-jia Pan, Jie Li, Chunxing Li","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.82091","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.82091","url":null,"abstract":"The effects of sewage sludge biochar (SSB) on the microbial environment, Chinese cabbage yield, and heavy metals (HMs) availability of soil were comprehensively investigated in this study. Results showed that the concentrations of the dehydrogenase (DHA) and urease in the soil added with 10% SSB were 3.60 and 1.67 times as high as that of the control soil, respectively, after planting; the concentrations of the bacteria, fungi, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in the soil added with 10% SSB after planting reached 2.84, 2.62, 1.76, and 2.23 times, respectively, compared with those of the control group; the weights of the aboveground and underground parts of Chinese cabbage were 5.82 and 8.67 times as high as those of the control group, respectively. Moreover, the addition of SSB enhanced the immobilization of Cr, Ni, and Cd. All in all, SSB can improve the microbial environment of soil and inhibit the availability of HMs, which is very important for their utilization in barren soil.","PeriodicalId":130968,"journal":{"name":"Biochar - An Imperative Amendment for Soil and the Environment","volume":"94 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133670688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Increasing the Amount of Biomass in Field Crops for Carbon Sequestration and Plant Biomass Enhancement Using Biochar","authors":"Saowanee Wijitkosum, T. Sriburi","doi":"10.5772/INTECHOPEN.82090","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.82090","url":null,"abstract":"The agricultural sector, especially in developing countries, is vulnerable to the effects of climate change partially caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural areas. Field crops are capable of bio-sequestration in its aboveground and belowground biomass. Incorporating biochar as a soil amendment increases its potential to become an important bio-sequestration which makes the agricultural sector a key contributor to climate change mitigation. This chapter discussed and presented data obtained from research on biochar using to increase plant biomass for carbon sequestration purposes. The biochar was produced from cassava stems by pyrolysis using a patented retort that was especially designed for agriculturalists to produce a low-cost biochar for their own use. The ability to increase biomass of field crops for carbon sequestration is crucial towards reducing the GHG emissions. This research also shed light on an innovative agricultural method, in comparison to traditional farming, that leads to sustainable agriculture in the long run. The biochar research is also a way to transfer research knowledge from laboratory to practical use.","PeriodicalId":130968,"journal":{"name":"Biochar - An Imperative Amendment for Soil and the Environment","volume":"69 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130911663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}