Biochar in environmental management

Biochar science has advanced significantly in the past few years, but there are still knowledge gaps that need to be filled, such as the lack of a decision tool to identify the most suitable biochar for specific soils, materials, and environmental constraints. Therefore, experimental designs should be carefully planned, and comparisons should be made with standard biochar, a control without biochar, or equivalent amounts of carbon as crop residues or composts. Relevant knowledge gaps may need to be addressed by experimentation at the implementation scale, notably in the area of life cycle evaluation of their full environmental impact, socio-economic evaluation, and production technology. The large variety of possible biochar products requires due diligence of the supply chain to discover unintended consequences, and regulatory frameworks must be in place to provide incentives and point out limits. Scaling biochar systems will still need to take local conditions into account, and observe global sustainability and environmental, social, and governance principles while working within local policy and social frameworks. Here, we synthesize the knowledge compiled in all the chapters of this book to recommend subsequent steps for biochar applications, emphasizing the importance of large-scale and long-term field experiments on biochar, any related negative impact on the environment, and human and animal wellbeing, and the perceptions of the various stakeholders regarding biochar, and to suggest relevant actions to be considered in creating a sustainable global biochar market.