Pedosphere 25(5): 639--653, 2015
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2015 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Biochar for sustainable soil health: A review of prospects and concerns |
A. H. LONE1 ,G. R. NAJAR2, M. A. GANIE1, J. A.SOFI3 and T. ALI1 |
1Division of Soil Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir Shalimar, Srinagar J&K
190 025 (India)
2Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and
Technology of Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore J&K 193 201 (India)
3Research Centre for Quality and Residue Analysis,Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar, Srinagar J\&K 190 025 (India) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Biochar as a soil amendment is confronted with the
challenge that it must benefit soil health as it can be by
no means separated from soils once it is added. The
available literature even though sparse and mostly based on
short-term studies has been encouraging and the trend
obtained so far has raised many hopes. Biochar has been
reported to positively impact an array of soil processes
ranging from benefiting soil biology, controlling
soil-borne pathogens, enhancing nitrogen fixation,
improving soil physical and chemical properties, decreasing
nitrate (NO3-) leaching and nitrous oxide
(N2O) emission to remediation of contaminated soils.
However, very little biochar is still utilized as soil
amendment mainly because these benefits are yet to be
quantified, and also the mechanisms by which the soil
health is improved are poorly understood. Due to the
infancy of research regarding this subject, there are still
more questions than answers. The future research efforts
must focus on carrying out long-term experiments and
uncover the mechanisms underlying these processes so that
key concerns surrounding the use of biochar are addressed
before its large scale application is recommended. |
| Key Words: nitrate leaching, nitrogen fixation,
nitrous oxide emission, soil amendment, soil biology, soil-borne
pathogens, soil enzymes, soil remediation |
| Citation: Lone, A. H., Najar, G. R., Ganie, M. A., Sofi, J. A. and Ali, T. 2015. Biochar for sustainable soil health: A review of prospects and concerns. Pedosphere. 25(5): 639-653. |
| |
|
View Full Text
|
|
|
|
