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Agronomy
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Biochar’s Role in the Sustainability of Agriculture
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Biochar’s Role in the Sustainability of Agriculture

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2025) | Viewed by 5858

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Fulai Liu

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Guest Editor
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 1172, Denmark
Interests: Crop stress physiology; agricultural water and nutrient management
Dr. Zhenhua Wei

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Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas of Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
Interests: biological water-saving; water use efficiency; water and nutrient management; fruit quality; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xuezhi Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
Interests: Biochar amendments; fertilization; plant nutrition; sustainable agriculture

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil degradation is a major challenge constraining crop productivity, agricultural sustainability and food security. Biochar is an environmentally friendly soil amendment that has the potential to address the multifaceted challenges of soil deterioration, improving soil health and maintaining crop yield stability. However, the underlying mechanisms of biochar amendment affect various soil physiochemical and biological properties. This has a negative effect on crops’ physiology, growth and yield, with their resilience to abiotic stresses remaining largely elusive.

This Special Issue endeavors to delve into the role and mechanisms of biochar amendments in modulating rhizosphere environments, enhancing crops’ resistance to stresses, optimizing crop growth and yield, improving crop nutrient and/or water use efficiency, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions under different production systems. Moreover, this Special Issue aims to facilitate the exchange of the latest findings and novel insights by providing a comprehensive platform for researchers and experts in the field of biochar applications in agriculture. The knowledge disseminated within this Special Issue will significantly contribute to the development of innovative and sustainable approaches, addressing the challenges posed by changing climatic conditions and the ever-growing global demand for increased food production while sustaining the environment and green growth. Reviews, perspectives, opinion papers and basic research studies will be welcome.

Dr. Fulai Liu
Dr. Zhenhua Wei
Guest Editors

Dr. Xuezhi Liu
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

 

Keywords

  • biochar
  • soil health
  • crop physiology
  • rhizosphere environment
  • stress resilience

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 17620 KiB  
Article
Enzymatic Stoichiometry and Microbial Resource Limitation in a Saline-Alkaline Soil Five Years After Biochar Application, Fertilization, and Irrigation
by Jingjing Li, Yinku Liang, Lihua Xue, Wenwen Li, Sheng Zhang, Kazem Zamanian and Xiaoning Zhao
Agronomy 2025, 15(3), 589; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030589 - 27 Feb 2025
Viewed by 425
Abstract
The effect of biochar addition on enzyme stoichiometry and regulatory mechanisms in saline-alkali soil is still vague. We studied how five years (2018–2023) of applying 10 t biochar ha−1 yr−1 influences soil’s chemical and microbial properties, microbial element utilization efficiency, and [...] Read more.
The effect of biochar addition on enzyme stoichiometry and regulatory mechanisms in saline-alkali soil is still vague. We studied how five years (2018–2023) of applying 10 t biochar ha−1 yr−1 influences soil’s chemical and microbial properties, microbial element utilization efficiency, and resource limitations in the Tarim River basin. Low, medium, and high nitrogen fertilization (kg N ha−1) and irrigation (W) (mm) with or without biochar (B) were as follows: low nitrogen low irrigation (LNLW, 100/140), mid nitrogen mid irrigation (MNMW, 200/220), high nitrogen high irrigation (HNHW, 300/320), LNLWB, MNMWB, and HNHWB. Biochar application (LNLWB, MNMWB, HNHWB) increased soil organic carbon (+61%, +55%, +59%), total N (+9%, +16%, +8%), total phosphorus (+6%, +5%, +27%), microbial N (+75%, +86%, +28%) and P use efficiency (+60%, +45%, +27%), but decreased microbial biomass carbon (−6%, −29%, −45%), and microbial carbon use efficiency (−6%, −7%, −7%). Biochar application alleviated microbial C limitation but increased the P limitation of MNMW and the N limitation of HNHW. In conclusion, with a 1/3 reduction in N fertilization and irrigation compared with HNHW (MNMW), biochar can greatly alleviate microbial resource limitations and improve soil fertility in saline-alkaline soils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar’s Role in the Sustainability of Agriculture)
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12 pages, 1457 KiB  
Article
Effect of Biochar Amendment on the Growth and Photosynthetic Traits of Plants Under Drought Stress: A Meta-Analysis
by Wenqian Zhang, Wenquan Niu and Huoqian Luo
Agronomy 2024, 14(12), 2952; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14122952 - 11 Dec 2024
Viewed by 930
Abstract
Biochar, as a soil improvement additive, is widely applied in field practices due to its excellent performance in improving soil conditions and promoting plant growth under drought stress. A meta-analysis was conducted, analyzing 283 pairs of non-biochar-amendment (non-BA) controls and biochar amendment (BA) [...] Read more.
Biochar, as a soil improvement additive, is widely applied in field practices due to its excellent performance in improving soil conditions and promoting plant growth under drought stress. A meta-analysis was conducted, analyzing 283 pairs of non-biochar-amendment (non-BA) controls and biochar amendment (BA) treatments under drought stress. This study aims to (1) evaluate the effects of biochar on gas exchange and carbon accumulation in plants under drought stress; and (2) quantify the factors influencing biochar’s effects. The results showed that BA had a statistically significant positive impact on water use efficiency (WUE), yield, biomass, chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance (gws), photosynthetic rate (Pr), and transpiration rate (Tr). The extent of these effects was influenced by plant type, degree of water stress, soil type, and the duration of BA application. The response to BA varied across plant types, with significant effects on the WUE of legumes (32.4–37.7%) compared to modest effects on eggplants and other vegetables (8.1–9.4%). BA was more effective in improving plant growth and WUE in soils with extremely coarse or fine textures than in those with medium particle sizes. The duration of BA application was also a critical factor; as the application duration increased, the improvement rates of yield, chlorophyll content, gws, and photosynthetic rate showed a decreasing trend, while WUE and biomass did not exhibit significant declines. However, Tr increased sharply over time. These findings highlight the potential of BA to enhance plant growth, WUE, and photosynthetic traits, while identifying the conditions under which these benefits can be maximized. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar’s Role in the Sustainability of Agriculture)
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Review

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15 pages, 552 KiB  
Review
Chemical and Physical Properties of Selected Biochar Types and a Few Application Methods in Agriculture
by Evan Bassam Dayoub, Zoltán Tóth, Gábor Soós and Angéla Anda
Agronomy 2024, 14(11), 2540; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14112540 - 28 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3857
Abstract
Biochar, a carbon-rich by-product of organic matter pyrolysis, has a variety of physiochemical properties beside a variety of applications. This review highlights some physical and chemical characteristics of herbaceous, woody, and sewage waste biochar under different pyrolysis conditions, as well as soil and [...] Read more.
Biochar, a carbon-rich by-product of organic matter pyrolysis, has a variety of physiochemical properties beside a variety of applications. This review highlights some physical and chemical characteristics of herbaceous, woody, and sewage waste biochar under different pyrolysis conditions, as well as soil and foliar applications of biochar. The controlling role of pyrolysis temperature was the reason for selecting the discussed biochar types in the study. This review concludes that increasing pyrolysis temperature mainly raised the values of some chemical properties of the biochar, such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), ash content, total phosphorus (TP), and a few values of physical properties like porosity and specific surface area (SSA). On the other hand, yield and total nitrogen (TN) decreased with rising pyrolysis temperature. Among biochar application methods to soil, mixing biochar with soil before planting is one of the best methods of application, and in most cases, biochar reapplication improved soil properties, while foliar application of biochar has positive effects on plant growth and yield parameters, ranging from low rates to the highest ones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar’s Role in the Sustainability of Agriculture)
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