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Plants
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Biochar–Soil–Plant Interactions
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Biochar–Soil–Plant Interactions

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant–Soil Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 1976

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jiahui Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Environmental Sciences Department, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
Interests: physiochemical interaction; fate and transport; PFAS/antibiotics/microplastics/heavy metals; plant uptake; soil properties; environmental functional materials
Dr. Hebin Liang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, 130, Changjiang West Road, Hefei, China
Interests: environmental microbiology; rice–soil interactions related to antibiotics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The relationship between plants and soil lies at the core of global food security, and biochar—produced through the pyrolysis of biomass—has emerged as a promising tool to strengthen this relationship. Its application has shown potential to improve nutrient and water retention, regulate microbial activity and biodiversity, stabilize soil organic carbon, and reduce the mobility and bioavailability of pollutants. These properties not only enhance soil fertility and crop productivity but also contribute to climate change mitigation by sequestering carbon and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite these benefits, several uncertainties remain. The performance of biochar varies across different soil types, climates, and crop systems, while its long-term effects on soil health, plant physiology, and ecosystem services are not fully understood. Questions also persist regarding its role in carbon offsets and life cycle sustainability.

This Special Issue aims to provide a platform to advance knowledge in this area and to clarify biochar’s potential and limitations in sustainable agricultural practices. We welcome studies ranging from mechanistic insights and field applications to modeling approaches and life cycle assessments, aiming to provide a comprehensive perspective on biochar’s role in sustainable agriculture.

Dr. Jiahui Hu
Dr. Hebin Liang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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

  • sustainable agriculture
  • climate change
  • carbon offset
  • one health
  • biochar-based amendment
  • organic pollutants and heavy metals
  • nutrient dynamics

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 8229 KB  
Article
Effect of Biochar and Well-Rotted Manure on Maize Yield in Intercropping Systems Based on High-Throughput Sequencing Technology
by Hui Liu, Wenlong Zhang, Wanyu Dou, Yutao Li, Guoxin Shi and Wei Pei
Plants 2025, 14(24), 3696; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14243696 - 5 Dec 2025
Viewed by 783
Abstract
Biochar and well-rotted manure are commonly employed materials for sustainable agricultural development, possessing the potential to consistently enhance the yield of monoculture crops. However, their impact on the stability of crop yields in intercropping systems, as well as the microenvironment of the border-row [...] Read more.
Biochar and well-rotted manure are commonly employed materials for sustainable agricultural development, possessing the potential to consistently enhance the yield of monoculture crops. However, their impact on the stability of crop yields in intercropping systems, as well as the microenvironment of the border-row rhizosphere, remains inadequately understood. Consequently, this study utilized corn stover biochar and well-rotted pig manure while minimizing the application of chemical fertilizers to investigate the synergistic effects of biochar and composted manure in augmenting maize yield within a soybean–maize intercropping system and regulating the nitrogen cycle in the border-row rhizosphere under reduced fertilization conditions. In comparison to traditional fertilization, the combination of biochar and manure under reduced fertilization conditions significantly increased the contents of ammonium nitrogen (55%), dissolved organic nitrogen (523%), and particulate organic nitrogen (833%) while simultaneously decreasing the content of mineral-associated organic nitrogen (60%). Additionally, this combination synergistically reduced urease activity (22%) while enhancing the activities of nitrogenase (11%), nitrate reductase (297%), and hydroxylamine reductase (20%). This study establishes a theoretical foundation for elucidating how organically amended materials consistently enhance productivity in intercropping systems and alter nitrogen ecology in border-row rhizospheres, offering new perspectives on sustainable fertilization strategies and crop patterns. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar–Soil–Plant Interactions)
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18 pages, 959 KB  
Article
Application of Spruce Bark Biochar Minimizes Nitrogen and Carbon Leaching from an Eastern Newfoundland Podzolic Soil
by Riad O. Eissa, Lordwin Jeyakumar, David B. McKenzie and Jianghua Wu
Plants 2025, 14(23), 3687; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14233687 - 3 Dec 2025
Viewed by 740
Abstract
Biochar has broad applications in agriculture, where its incorporation into soils is recognized as an effective strategy for improving soil quality, enhancing remediation, sequestering carbon, and mitigating climate change. Although the application of nitrogen fertilizers can enhance nitrogen leaching, integrating biochar may improve [...] Read more.
Biochar has broad applications in agriculture, where its incorporation into soils is recognized as an effective strategy for improving soil quality, enhancing remediation, sequestering carbon, and mitigating climate change. Although the application of nitrogen fertilizers can enhance nitrogen leaching, integrating biochar may improve nutrient retention and reduce associated losses. However, the effects of biochar on nitrogen and carbon leaching in specific soil types remain unclear. This study investigated the impact of spruce bark biochar (SB550) on the leaching of total nitrogen (TN), nitrate (NO3−), ammonium (NH4+), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in agricultural soils of eastern Newfoundland. A greenhouse experiment was conducted with Festulolium forage grown in a soil–biochar mixture at five biochar rates (0, 2, 5, 8, and 10% v/v), with and without nitrogen fertilizer (0 and 60 kg N ha−1). The results showed that SB550 biochar significantly reduced nutrient and carbon losses (p < 0.001). At the 10% biochar rate, leaching of NO3−, NH4+, TN, and DOC decreased by 48.6%, 80.4%, 60.0%, and 74.3%, respectively, compared with the control. These findings confirm that the addition of biochar is an effective amendment for minimizing nitrogen and DOC leaching, offering a promising strategy for sustainable nutrient management and environmental protection in this soil type. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar–Soil–Plant Interactions)
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