Biochar is a name for charcoal when it is used for particular purposes, especially as a soil amendment. Like all charcoal, biochar is created by pyrolysis of biomass. Biochar is under investigation as an approach to carbon sequestration to produce negative carbon dioxide emissions.[1] Biochar thus has the potential to help mitigate climate change, via carbon sequestration.[2] Independently, biochar can increase soil fertility, increase agricultural productivity and provide protection against some foliar and soil-borne diseases. Furthermore, biochar reduces pressure on forests.[3] Biochar is a stable solid, rich in carbon and can endure in soil for thousands of years.[1]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochar)
Residues of incomplete organic pyrolysis, e.g., from cooking fires, are thought to be the key component of the terra preta soils associated with ancient indigenous communities of the Amazon basin.[2] Terra preta is much sought by local farmers for its superior fertility compared to the natural red soil of the region. Efforts are underway to recreate these soils through biochar, the solid residue of pyrolysis of various materials, mostly organic waste.
Biochar improves the soil texture and ecology, increasing its ability to retain fertilizers and release them slowly. It naturally contains many of the micronutrients needed by plants, such as selenium. It is also safer than other “natural” fertilizers such as animal manure, since it has been disinfected at high temperature. And, since it releases its nutrients at a slow rate, it greatly reduces the risk of water table contamination.[3]
Biochar is also being considered for carbon sequestration, with the aim of mitigation of global warming.[4][5][6] The solid, carbon-containing char produced can be sequestered in the ground, where it will remain for several hundred to a few thousand years.[7]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrolysis#Biochar)