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Glaser et al., 2007
Glaser et al ., 2007 Biochar Meta-AnlysisStudies: 23 studies - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Glaser et al ., 2007 Biochar Meta-AnlysisStudies: 23 studies - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Glaser et al ., 2007 Biochar Meta-AnlysisStudies: 23 studies (2009-2011) (with 7 field studies) Jeffery et al ., 2011 Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment Biederman et al ., 2013 GCB Bioenergy RR B = relative biochar effect = ln
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Biederman et al., 2013 GCB Bioenergy Jeffery et al., 2011 Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 23 studies (2009-2011) (with 7 field studies)
RRB = relative biochar effect = ln (Biochar/Control) 371 Independent studies
Biochar Meta-AnlysisStudies:
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Key Meta-Analysis Papers
- An analysis done by Dr. Humin Zhou et al. in 2017 found that biochar
increased Microbial Biomass Carbon an average of 26% from 413 academic research papers.
- Dr. Xiaoyu Liu and a series of other researchers published a
paper examining 238 studies of biochar's influence on plant
- productivity. They found that vegetables increased by an average of
28.6%, and that legume crops, such as peas, beans, and vetch, increased productivity by an average of 30.3%.
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Biochar Studies: Soil nutrient retentions
Gao & DeLuca, 2016 Advances in Plants & Agriculture Research
…...
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Key Considerations with Current Research
- The application of biochar to soils has also been shown to influence
nutrient retentions.
- Short-term studies, pot and column trials in lab or greenhouse
environment, very few are field studies.
- Also longer term field trials are in ag experiment stations using
conventional farming approaches. Very few studies are conducted in the field in active organic farming systems and as a part of a holistic closed loop system.
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Field Trials Design @ Each Farm
1m 1m Block 1 Block 4 Block 3 Block 2
30 cm buffer
Block 5
Control Biochar (20 t ha-1) Poultry litter (70 kg N ha-1 poultry litter) Biochar charged with poultry litter (20 t ha-1 + 70 kg N ha-1)
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Photo: Si Gao
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20% + 7% + 46% + 47% +
50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Control Poultry litter Biochar Charged char
Soil microbial biomass C (mg kg-1)
2016 2015
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45% + 40% + 35% + 35% +
10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Control Poultry litter Biochar Charged char
Soil total C (g kg-1)
2016 2015
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24% + 28% +
20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Control Poultry litter Biochar Charged char
Average soil enzyme activity*
2016
*the geometric mean of beta-glucosidase, dehydrogenase, phosphatase, and urease. An overall index for soil biological activity.
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115% + 80% + 65% + 63% +
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Control Poultry litter Biochar Charged char
Soil potentially mineralizable N (mg kg-1 14d)
2016 2015
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35% + 160% +
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
Control Poultry litter Biochar Charged char
Soil soluble inorganic P* (mg kg-1)
2016 2015
*exist in soil solution, readily available.
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5% + 13% + 20% + 18% +
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%
Control Poultry litter Biochar Charged char
Soil water-hoding capacity
2016 2015
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13% - 33% -
10 20 30 40 50 60
Control Poultry litter Biochar Charged char
Accumulated NH4
+ -N below rooting zone
(µg per resin capsule)
Waldron2016
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28%+ 13%+
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Control Poultry litter Biochar Charged char
Average yield per treatment plot (kg)
2016
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Nutrient Density in Dry Beans 2015
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Cu Fe Mn Zn Ca
Micro Nutrients in Micrograms
Dry Beans @ QFC Dry Beans @ San Juan Islands Dry Beans @ San Juan Islands Carbon Farming