Find out how Biochar can improve the environment

As a member of the landscape or horticulture industry, there is a high chance you will have already heard about Biochar. It is widely available from suppliers, marketed as a soil improver.

What is Biochar?

Biochar is made during a process called pyrolysis, which forms when plant waste or biomass is heated to high temperatures with little or no oxygen.  The result is a charcoal-like substance that may be used as a soil enricher; a substance that can retain soil nutrients and moisture and lasts for hundreds of years.

Biochar’s ability to enrich soils has captured the interest of those in the landscape and horticulture industry.

Does it work?

Research suggests Biochar has been used as a soil improver for more than 2,500 years by humans in traditional agricultural practices in South America, and first identified by a European scientist in the 1950s.  More recently, scientists have also suggested Biochar may be used as a carbon sink; by turning biomass and waste into Biochar, less CO2 will be released into the atmosphere. 

Earlier this year, thousands of trees were planted near Loch Ness as part of a 4-year study to find out how biochar performs as a fertiliser, nutrient sponge and soil carbon addition.

Initial research has already indicated seedlings grown in soil with biochar are more effective at capturing and using light, but the results from longer-term trials will help establish whether the longer-term benefits of the substance.

Further reading

https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/news/tree-bark-biochar-a-green-bullet-for-scotlands-carbon-store/