What is Biochar?

Biochar is growing in popularity, with both the agricultural industry and environmentalists. Biochar is made through a process called pyrolysis, in which biomass (organic matter from plants), is heated up and burned with little to no oxygen. The biomass such as, wood, grasses, and other natural debris is cooked down into a carbon rich charcoal, called biochar.  

When used as a soil amendment, biochar offers many benefits. Such benefits include water retention, increased soil fertility, decreased acidity, larger crop yields, healthier plants, and an aid in nutrient preservation. This long-lasting alternative to lime and other amendments out lives it competition by thousands of years. The sustainability of biochar has been demonstrated by the ancient Amazonian people of Terra Preta, who had been adding biochar to their fields for generations. This dark, rich, fertile soil still exists over 2,000 years later and it is still producing much more vegetation and life than the jungle around it.

As well as being great for plants, Biochar could be one way we might be able to change the course of climate change. Through the process of pyrolysis, all the non-carbon materials and gasses safely burn away with little to no contaminating fumes. Instead, the carbon that would have escaped into our atmosphere is turned into biochar, a stable form that can be safely and usefully kept in the ground for thousands of years.