Biochar benefits poor soils (#journal)

Biochar amendment improves crop production in problem soils: A review

Problem soils have poor physical, chemical, and biological properties that inhibit or prevent plant growth, largely due to inappropriate farming practices or anthropogenic pollution. Biochar has been widely used as a soil amendment for improving soil quality. Relatively limited attention has been focused on the effects of biochar amendment on plant growth in problem soils. A comprehensive review of literature was conducted. This suggests that biochar amendment is a viable way of improving the quality of problem soils and enhancing crop production. It is anticipated that further research on biochar amendment will increase our understanding on the interactions of biochar with components of problem soils, speed up our effort on soil remediation, and improve crop production in problem soils.