Photo credit: FREEPIK
Biochar is a carbon-rich material produced by pyrolysis, which is the thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen. This usually occurs in organic biomass, such as wood, agricultural residues, or other plant materials. It is primarily used as a soil amendment to improve soil health and sequester carbon. Biochar is usually applied during soil preparation and is either before or after seeding incorporated in the soil.
It can be applied in combination with an organic fertilizer, like compost or slurry.
By adding biochar to a soil, the carbon content is increased which contributes to the overall soil fertility. Specifically, the addition of biochar increases the water holding capacity of the soil. Next to that, it is a stimulus for soil life and can reduce the leaching by binding nutrients.
The biochar can be produced of many carbon rich products. In this project the experimentation was conducted on biochar obtained from the combination of forestry, agro-forestry, olive-growing, and agriculture. In particular, the aim is to reduce the waste out of olive pruning. This is particularly interesting from a circular economy perspective which, through vegetal the production of biochar, transforms what was previously a problem into a resource.