Biochar in Soils Cuts Greenhouse Gas Emissions

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131004090618.htm

Oct. 4, 2013 — University of Tübingen microbiologists show soil microbe communities can be influenced to decrease nitrous oxide emissions.

Introducing biochar into agricultural soils changes the composition and activity of microorganisms in a way that emissions of nitrous oxide -- also known as laughing gas (N2O) -- are significantly reduced, according to researchers Johannes Harter and Hans-Martin Krause. Their study was supervised by environmental microbiologist Dr. Sebastian Behrens and geomicrobiologist Professor Andreas Kappler of the Center for Applied Geosciences at the University of Tübingen in cooperation with researchers from the University of Hohenheim. The results are important not only for a sustainable, more effective use of nitrogen fertilizers; they also present a new possibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

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