Biochar Affects Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Urban Forestry Waste

Kumuduni Niroshika Palansooriya, Tamanna Mamun Novera, Dengge Qin, Zhengfeng An and Scott X. Chang ()
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Kumuduni Niroshika Palansooriya: Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
Tamanna Mamun Novera: Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
Dengge Qin: Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
Zhengfeng An: Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
Scott X. Chang: Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: Urban forests are vital to cities because they provide a range of ecosystem services, including carbon (C) sequestration, air purification, and urban cooling. However, urban forestry also generates significant amounts of organic waste, such as grass clippings, pruned tree branches, and fallen tree leaves and woody debris that can contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions if not properly managed. In this study, we investigated the effect of wheat straw biochar (produced at 500 °C) on GHG emissions from two types of urban forestry waste: green waste (GW) and yard waste (YW), using a 100-day laboratory incubation experiment. Overall, GW released more CO 2 than YW, but biochar addition reduced cumulative CO 2 emissions by 9.8% in GW and by 17.6% in YW. However, biochar increased CH 4 emissions from GW and reduced the CH 4 sink strength of YW. Biochar also had contrasting effects on N 2 O emissions, increasing them by 94.3% in GW but decreasing them by 61.4% in YW. Consequently, the highest global warming potential was observed in biochar-amended GW (125.3 g CO 2 -eq kg −1 ). Our findings emphasize that the effect of biochar on GHG emissions varies with waste type and suggest that selecting appropriate biochar types is critical for mitigating GHG emissions from urban forestry waste.

Keywords: urbanization; urban waste; climate change; urban green space; GHG emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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