Effects of Biochar on Soil Improvement and Crop Production
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Soils".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 September 2026 | Viewed by 137
Special Issue Editor
Interests: biochar; soil improvement; soil organic carbon; salinity; aggregates; isotope; farmland
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Soil degradation, salinization, nutrient depletion, and climate-induced agricultural instability are among the most critical global challenges threatening the goals of food security, environmental sustainability, and carbon neutrality. Increasing demand for grain production, paired with intensive farming practices, has accelerated soil compaction, reduced water- and nutrient-use efficiency, and increased greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils. Biochar, a carbon-rich porous material produced via biomass pyrolysis, has emerged as a highly promising, multi-functional amendment that simultaneously improves soil physical–chemical–biological properties, sequesters carbon, mitigates soil pollution, and enhances crop productivity. Supported by global meta-analyses and long-term field trials, biochar application consistently boosts soil organic carbon, nutrient retention, and water-holding capacity while reducing soil bulk density, acidification, and salt stress. These benefits make biochar not only scientifically innovative but also practically scalable for degraded land restoration, low-fertility soil improvement, and climate-resilient agriculture. Given rapid policy support, growing carbon-trading mechanisms, and advances in biomass utilization, research on biochar–soil–crop systems is exceptionally timely and valuable for both fundamental soil science and field-scale agricultural management.
This Special Issue will present and disseminate the most recent advances related to the effects of biochar on soil improvement and crop production. We welcome high-quality original research, reviews, and methodological papers addressing the mechanisms, applications, optimizations, and sustainability of biochar-based soil management across diverse agroecosystems. Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Physicochemical and biological mechanisms of biochar in improving soil structure, fertility, and health;
- Impacts of biochar on crop germination, growth, yield, quality, and stress tolerance (salinity, drought, heavy metals, etc.);
- Interactive effects of biochar with fertilizers, organic amendments, and microbial inoculants;
- Optimization of biochar feedstock, pyrolysis conditions, application rate, and field management;
- Long-term monitoring, modeling, and life-cycle assessment of biochar in agroecosystems;
- Biochar for carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas reduction, and climate-smart agriculture;
- Field applications and economic–ecological benefits of biochar in saline–alkali, degraded, and low-productivity soils;
- Novel biochar-based materials and technologies for soil remediation and sustainable crop production.
Dr. Xinliang Dong
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- biochar
- soil improvement
- crop production
- soil quality
- soil carbon sequestration
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