Opportunities and constraints for biochar technology in Australian agriculture: looking beyond carbon sequestration

The application of biochar technology for soil amendment is largely based on evidence about soil fertility and crop productivity gains made in the Amazonian Black Earth (term preta). However, the uncertainty of production gains at realistic application rates of biochars and lack of knowledge about other benefits and other concerns may have resulted in poor uptake of biochar technology in Australia so far. In this review, we identify important opportunities as well as challenges in the adoption of biochar technology for broadacre farming and other sectors in Australia. The paper highlights that for biochar technology to be cost-effective and successful, we need to look beyond carbon sequestration and explore other opportunities to value-add to biochar. Therefore, some emerging and novel applications of biochar are identified. We also suggest some priority research areas that need immediate attention in order to realise the full potential of biochar technology in agriculture and other sectors in Australia. Additional keywords: biochar characterisation, contaminants, herbicide efficacy, heavy metals, nitrous oxide, plant growth media, regulations.
Introduction Biochar is a carbon (C)-rich, solid material produced by thermal decomposition of organic material or biomass in the absence, or under limited supply, of oxygen (Lehmann and Joseph 2009). [...]