Abstract

A potential abatement to increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is the use of pyrolysis to convert vegetative biomass into a more stable form of carbon (biochar) that could then be applied to the soil. However, the impacts of pyrolysis biochar on the soil system need to be assessed before initiating large scale biochar applications to agricultural fields. We compared CO2 respiration, nitrous oxide (N2O) production, methane (CH4) oxidation and herbicide retention and transformation through laboratory incubations at field capacity in a Minnesota soil (Waukegan silt loam) with and without added biochar. CO2 originating from the biochar needs to be subtracted from the soil–biochar combination in order to elucidate the impact of biochar on soil respiration. After this correction, biochar amendments reduced CO2 production for all amendment levels tested (2, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60% w/w; corresponding to 24–720 t ha−1 field application rates). In addition, biochar additions suppressed N2O production at all levels. However, these reductions were only significant at biochar amendment levels >20% w/w. Biochar additions also significantly suppressed ambient CH4 oxidation at all levels compared to unamended soil. The addition of biochar (5% w/w) to soil increased the sorption of atrazine and acetochlor compared to non-amended soils, resulting in decreased dissipation rates of these herbicides. The recalcitrance of the biochar suggests that it could be a viable carbon sequestration strategy, and might provide substantial net greenhouse gas benefits if the reductions in N2O production are lasting.