Biochar is the carbon-rich product which occurs when biomass (such as wood, manure or crop residues) is heated in a closed container with little or no available air. It can be used to improve agriculture and the environment in several ways, and its persistence in soil and nutrient-retention properties make it an ideal soil amendment to increase crop yields. In addition to this, biochar sequestration, in combination with sustainable biomass production, can be carbon-negative and therefore used to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, with potentially major implications for mitigation of climate change. Biochar production can also be combined with bioenergy production through the use of the gases that are given off in the pyrolysis process.
The first edition of this book, published in 2009, was the definitive work reviewing the expanding research literature on this topic. Since then, the rate of research activity has increased at least ten-fold, and biochar products are now commercially available as soil amendments. This second edition includes not only substantially updated chapters, but also additional chapters: on environmental risk assessment; on new uses of biochar in composting and potting mixes; a new and controversial field of studying the effects of biochar on soil carbon cycles; on traditional use with very recent discoveries that biochar was used not only in the Amazon but also in Africa and Asia; on changes in water availability and soil water dynamics; and on sustainability and certification. The book therefore continues to represent the most comprehensive compilation of current knowledge on all aspects of biochar.
Arvustused
'With its careful evaluation of every aspect of biochar, this book represents a cornerstone of our future global sustainability. Im convinced that its message is every bit as important as that of Rachel Carsons Silent Spring, and potentially every bit as politically powerful as Al Gores An Inconvenient Truth. If it finds a wide enough readership, it will change our world forever, and very much for the better.'
Tim Flannery (Melbourne, August 2014).
1. Biochar for Environmental Management: An Introduction Johannes
Lehmann and Stephen Joseph
2. Traditional Use of Biochar Katja Wiedner and
Bruno Glaser
3. Fundamentals of Biochar Production Robert Brown, Bernardo del
Campo, Akwasi A. Boateng, Manuel Garcia-Perez and Ondej Maek
4. Biochar
Production Technology Akwasi A. Boateng, Manuel Garcia-Perez, Ondej Maek,
Robert Brown and Bernardo del Campo
5. Characteristics of Biochar: Physical
and Structural Properties Chee H. Chia, Adriana Downie and Paul Munroe
6.
Characteristics of Biochar: Macro-molecular Properties Markus Kleber, William
Hockaday and Peter S. Nico
7. Biochar Elemental Composition and Factors
Influencing Nutrient Retention James A. Ippolito, Kurt A. Spokas, Jeffrey. M.
Novak, Rick. D. Lentz and Keri B. Cantrell
8. A Biochar Classification System
and Associated Test Methods Marta Camps-Arbestain, James E. Amonette, Balwant
Singh, Tao Wang and Hans Peter Schmidt
9. Evolution of Biochar Properties in
Soil Joseph J. Pignatello, Minori Uchimiya, Samuel Abiven and Michael W.I.
Schmidt
10. Persistence of Biochar in Soil Johannes Lehmann, Samuel Abiven,
Markus Kleber, Genxing Pan, BP Singh, Saran Sohi and Andy Zimmerman
11.
Movement of Biochar in the Environment Cornelia Rumpel, Jens Leifeld,
Cristina Santin and Stefan Doerr
12. Biochar Effects on Crop Yield Simon
Jeffery, Diego Abalos, Kurt Spokas and Frank G.A. Verheijen
13. Biochar
Effects on the Abundance, Activity and Diversity of the Soil Biota Janice E.
Thies, Matthias C. Rillig and Ellen R. Graber
14. Biochar Effects on Plant
Ecophysiology Claudia Kammann and Ellen Graber
15. Biochar Effects on Soil
Nutrient Transformations Thomas H. DeLuca, Michael J.Gundale, M. Derek
MacKenzie and Davey L. Jones
16. Priming Effects in Biochar-amended Soils:
Implications of Biochar-soil Organic Matter Interactions for Carbon Storage
Thea Whitman, Bhupinder Pal Singh and Andrew Zimmerman
17. Biochar Effects on
Nitrous Oxide and Methane Emissions from Soil Lukas Van Zwieten, Claudia
Kammann, MariaLuz Cayuela, Bhupinder Pal Singh, Stephen Joseph, Stephen
Kimber, Scott Donne, Tim Clough and Kurt Spokas
18. Biochar Effects on
Nutrient Leaching David Laird and Natalia Rogovska
19. Biochar Effects on
Soil Hydrology Caroline A. Masiello, Brandon Dugan, Catherine E. Brewer, Kurt
Spokas, Jeffrey M. Novak, Zuolin Liu and Giovambattista Sorrenti
20. Biochar
and Heavy Metals Luke Beesley, Eduardo Moreno, Guido Fellet, Leonidas Carrijo
and Tom Sizmur
21. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Polychlorinated
Aromatic Compounds in Biochar Thomas D. Bucheli, Isabel Hilber and Hans-Peter
Schmidt
22. Sorption and Remediation of Organic Compounds in Soils and
Sediments by (Activated) Biochar Sarah E. Hale, Gerard Cornelissen and David
Werner
23. Biochar and Retention/Efficacy of Pesticides Ellen R. Graber and
Rai Kookana
24. Test Procedures for Biochar Analysis in Soils Michael Bird
25. Biochar as an Additive to Compost and Growing Media Christoph Steiner,
Miguel A. Sánchez-Monedero and Claudia Kammann
26. Biochar Systems and System
Fit Saran Sohi, John McDonagh, Jeff Novak, Weixiang Wu and Luciana-Maria Miu
27. Biochar, Carbon Accounting and Climate Change Annette Cowie, Dominic
Woolf, John Gaunt, Miguel Brandão and Ruy Anaya de la Rosa
28. Biochar
Sustainability and Certification Frank G.A. Verheijen, Ana Catarina Bastos,
Hans Peter Schmidt, Miguel Brandão and Simon Jeffery
29. Economic Evaluation
of Biochar Systems: Current Evidence and Challenges Simon Shackley, Abbie
Clare, Stephen Joseph, Bruce McCarl and Hans-Peter Schmidt
30. Socio-economic
Feasibility, Implementation and Evaluation of Small Scale Biochar Projects
Stephen Joseph, Mai Lan Anh, Abbie Clare and Simon Shackley
31.
Commercialization of the Biochar Industry Michael Sesko, David Shearer and
Gregory Stangl
Johannes Lehmann is professor of soil biogeochemistry and soil fertility management at Cornell University, USA, Co-founder and Chair of the Board of the International Biochar Initiative, member of the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy Biomass R&D committee and editor-in-chief of Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems
Stephen Joseph is a visiting professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of New South Wales, Australia, and Co-founder of the International Biochar Initiative.
