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Soil Carbon Increased By Twice The Amount Of Biochar Carbon Applied After 6 Years: Field Evidence Of Negative Priming, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, David A. Laird, Emily A. Heaton, Samuel Rathke, Bharat Sharma Acharya

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Applying biochar to agricultural soils has been proposed as a means of sequester-ing carbon (C) while simultaneously enhancing soil health and agricultural sustain-ability. However, our understanding of the long-term effects of biochar and annual versus perennial cropping systems and their interactions on soil properties under field conditions is limited. We quantified changes in soil C concentration and stocks, and other soil properties 6 years after biochar applications to corn (Zea mays L.) and dedicated bioenergy crops on a Midwestern US soil. Treatments were as fol-lows: no-till continuous corn, Liberty switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), and low-diversity prairie grasses, 45% big bluestem …