Biochar-Acid Soil Interactions—A Review

Hachib Mohammad Tusar, Md. Kamal Uddin (), Shamim Mia (), Ayesha Akter Suhi, Samsuri Bin Abdul Wahid, Susilawati Kasim, Nor Asrina Sairi, Zahangir Alam and Farooq Anwar
Additional contact information
Hachib Mohammad Tusar: Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Md. Kamal Uddin: Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Shamim Mia: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Dumki, Patuakhali 8602, Bangladesh
Ayesha Akter Suhi: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Dumki, Patuakhali 8602, Bangladesh
Samsuri Bin Abdul Wahid: Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Susilawati Kasim: Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Nor Asrina Sairi: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Zahangir Alam: Department of Chemical Engineering and Sustainability, Faculty of Engineering, International Islamic University, Gombak, Kuala Lumpur 50728, Malaysia
Farooq Anwar: Department of Food Science, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 18, 1-16

Abstract: Soil acidity is a major problem of agriculture in many parts of the world. Soil acidity causes multiple problems such as nutrient deficiency, elemental toxicity and adverse effects on biological characteristics of soil, resulting in decreased crop yields and productivity. Although a number of conventional strategies including liming and use of organic and inorganic fertilizers are suggested for managing soil acidity but cost-effective and sustainable amendments are not available to address this problem. Currently, there is increasing interest in using biochar, a form of biomass derived pyrogenic carbon, for managing acidity while improving soil health and fertility. However, biochar varies in properties due to the use of wide diversity of biomass, variable production conditions and, therefore, its application to different soils can result in positive, neutral and or negative effects requiring an in-depth understanding of biochar-acid soil interactions to achieve the best possible outcomes. Here, we present a comprehensive synthesis of the current literature on soil acidity management using biochar. Synthesis of literature showed that biochars, enriched with minerals (i.e., usually produced at higher temperatures), are the most effective at increasing soil pH, basic cation retention and promoting plant growth and yield. Moreover, the mechanism of soil acidity amelioration with biochar amendments varies biochar types, i.e., high temperature biochars with liming effects and low temperature biochars with proton consumption on their functional groups. We also provide the mechanistic interactions between biochar, plant and soils. Altogether, this comprehensive review will provide guidelines to agricultural practitioners on the selection of suitable biochar for the reclamation of soil acidity.

Keywords: soil acidity; biomass; pyrogenic carbon; pH buffering; nutrient availability; crop yield (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/18/13366/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/18/13366/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:18:p:13366-:d:1234249

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().