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Long-Term Biochar Use Found to Sustainably Boost Crop Yields and Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions
https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research_news/earth/202508/t20250818_1050909.shtmlLong-Term Biochar Use Found to Sustainably Boost Crop Yields and Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Editor: ZHANG Nannan | Aug 12, 2025
Farming produces a huge amount of crop waste including straw, husks, and stalks every growing season. Unfortunately, common disposal methods—burning, plowing the waste back into the fields, using it as animal feed, and even composting—release greenhouse gases (GHG) such as methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and carbon dioxide (CO₂), contributing to climate change and long-term risks to food security.
In contrast, biochar—a charcoal-like material made by heating agricultural waste in low-oxygen conditions (pyrolysis)—offers a promising and eco-friendly alternative, according to a new study by Chinese scientists.
The team, led by Profs. YAN Xiaoyuan and XIA Longlong from the Institute of Soil Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, showed that biochar can deliver lasting benefits for food security and climate mitigation when applied to farmland over the long term. In particular, the study showed that repeated annual applications not only sustain but also amplify biochar's positive effects on crop yield, soil health, and GHG reduction.
In this study, the researchers analyzed high-quality field experiment records from 438 studies, including consecutive annual data from 29 long-term field experiments. The results, published in PNAS, demonstrate that annual biochar application over four years or more increased global crop yields by an average of 10.8%, cut CH₄ emissions by 13.5% and N₂O emissions by 21.4%, and raised soil organic carbon (SOC) content by 52.5%.
…
J. Yang, L. Xia, K.J. van Groenigen, X. Zhao, C. Ti, W. Wang, Z. Du, M. Fan, M. Zhuang, P. Smith, R. Lal, K. Butterbach-Bahl, X. Han, J. Meng, J. Liu, H. Cai, Y. Cheng, X. Liu, X. Shu, X. Jiao, Z. Pan, G. Tang, & X. Yan, Sustained benefits of long-term biochar application for food security and climate change mitigation, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (33) e2509237122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2509237122 (2025).Editor: ZHANG Nannan | Aug 12, 2025
Farming produces a huge amount of crop waste including straw, husks, and stalks every growing season. Unfortunately, common disposal methods—burning, plowing the waste back into the fields, using it as animal feed, and even composting—release greenhouse gases (GHG) such as methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and carbon dioxide (CO₂), contributing to climate change and long-term risks to food security.
In contrast, biochar—a charcoal-like material made by heating agricultural waste in low-oxygen conditions (pyrolysis)—offers a promising and eco-friendly alternative, according to a new study by Chinese scientists.
The team, led by Profs. YAN Xiaoyuan and XIA Longlong from the Institute of Soil Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, showed that biochar can deliver lasting benefits for food security and climate mitigation when applied to farmland over the long term. In particular, the study showed that repeated annual applications not only sustain but also amplify biochar's positive effects on crop yield, soil health, and GHG reduction.
In this study, the researchers analyzed high-quality field experiment records from 438 studies, including consecutive annual data from 29 long-term field experiments. The results, published in PNAS, demonstrate that annual biochar application over four years or more increased global crop yields by an average of 10.8%, cut CH₄ emissions by 13.5% and N₂O emissions by 21.4%, and raised soil organic carbon (SOC) content by 52.5%.
…