Biochar Use in Agriculture – What the Science Tells Us
January 25, 2022 – 2:00 – 3:30 pm ET (US)
Biochar research in agriculture has exploded over the past decade with more than 15,000 peer reviewed publications. Results can sometimes be confusing or contradictory as the methods used in different studies as well as the biochars used can differ significantly. Increasingly however, the research has shown that not only is biochar a long-term strategy for building soil carbon, but it has significant co-benefits in agriculture.
Claudia Kammann and Maria Luz Cayuela were part of a team that assessed dozens of meta-analyses published since 2016 on a large spectrum of soil biological and agronomical parameters ranging from soil properties, nitrate leaching and greenhouse gas emissions to yields and photosynthesis. The evidence shows an overall beneficial effect of biochar for all investigated agronomic parameters. This webinar will highlight the findings from this study and discuss the impact biochar can have on agriculture more generally.
Cost: Free to IBI Members or $40 for non-members.
To Register:
Registration includes access to the slides and a recording of the webinar.
Non-IBI Members: Non-IBI members may view a recording of the webinar and download slides for a $40 fee.
Presenters
Claudia Kammann
Hochschule Geisenheim University, Geisenheim, Germany
Professor Claudia Kammann is a Board Member of IBI and the Head of Institute within the Department of Applied Ecology and holds a Professorship for Research into Climatic Effects on Special Crops at Hochschule Geisenheim University, Germany.
Maria Luz Cayuela
Maria Luz Cayuela is MSc in Chemistry and PhD in Science by the University of Murcia (Spain). At present she works at the Department of Soil Conservation and Waste Management in CEBAS-CSIC (Spain). She has developed her research career at Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (ARS-USDA) (USA), the Council of Agricultural Research(Italy), Wageningen University (The Netherlands) and Cornell University (USA). Her research links soil biogeochemistry, circular bio‐economy and climate change. During the last ten years she has specialized on the impact of biochar on soil N dynamics, with special emphasis on N2O emissions.
Kathleen Draper, Moderator
Kathleen is the Board Chair of the International Biochar Initiative. She is also the US Director of the Ithaka Institute for Carbon Intelligence. The Institute is an open source network focusing on beneficial carbon sequestration strategies which simultaneously provide economic development opportunities both in the developed and developing world. In 2020 she helped launch C-interest, a start-up focused on creating biochar based composite materials. She has written extensively about various topics related to biochar and is a co-author of the book “Terra Preta: How the World’s Most Fertile Soil Can Help Reverse Climate Change and Reduce World Hunger” and “BURN: Using Fire to Cool the Earth”.
