Biochar and Its Use as a Promising Soil Conditioner for Agricultural and Environmental Sustainability
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 7720
Special Issue Editors
Interests: plant-soil-microbe interactions; climate change; biochar
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Biochar application in soils is a reliable approach to mitigate climate change and improves overall soil quality. Recent studies show that biochar plays a crucial role in regulating soil physico-chemical properties and crop improvement. Moreover, biochar affects nutrient cycling by altering chemical forms, changing phosphorous sorption and desorption capacities, and influencing the structural and functional microbial community, enzymatic activities and mycorrhizal associations. The porous structure, high specific surface area, and metal oxide and surface functional groups make biochar an effective material for removing nutrients and pollutants from eutrophic and polluted water via ligand exchange, cation bridge and precipitation. However, its potentiality as a soil conditioner and how its effects on agricultural and environmental sustainability is still in the nascent stage. Hence, it is a need to understand these aspects through biochar process and production and its applicability in wider area including waste management. Chapters related to environmental impact and life cycle assessment by using biochar may also be invited in this Special Issue.
Interests: soil conditioner; soil quality; soil chemistry; agro-ecological progress; environment; green house gas emissions; climate change; microbial aspects
The following are some of the major areas from which papers are encouraged:
- Innovative practices in the sustainable production from agricultural residues and use of biochar in agricultural soils
- Soil application effects and productivity of biochar conditioned soils
- Multidisciplinary approaches towards biochar development
- Agroecological benefits of biochar application
- Microbial diversity and nutrient management with biochar
- Reclamation of problematic soils through biochar application
- Remediation of polluted and contaminated soils and waters with biochar
- Scaling up biochar production for large scale use
- Farmers innovation contributing toward biochar and soil fertility
Dr. Upendra Kumar
Dr. Anshuman Kohli
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- biochar
- organic fertilizers
- soil quality
- environmental assessment
- inorganic fertilizers
- climate change
- microbial role
- soil health
- waste management
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