Two University of Nebraska–Lincoln scientists, partnering with American Farmland Trust, extension educators and four Nebraska farmers, have established a biochar on-farm research network which is among the first and largest in the United States.
According to ongoing research at Nebraska, applying biochar to agricultural soil is a promising approach to building healthy soils and promoting long-term, input-efficient agroecosystems. Biochar is produced by pyrolyzing or combusting organic waste biomass at high temperatures under low-oxygen conditions.
Guillermo Balboa and Michael Kaiser, researchers in agronomy and horticulture, report that field observations indicate significant, long-lasting positive effects of biochar on soil carbon and water storage, but the impact of biochar on soil nitrogen retention to improve nutrient-use efficiency in row-crop systems is less clear. Scalable field data from different soils under varying water and nitrogen management strategies are missing and critically needed to guide farmers…