Sustained benefits of long-term biochar application for food security and climate change mitigation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Yang, Jingrui; Xia, Longlong; Groenigen, Kees Jan van; Zhao, Xu; Ti, Chaopu; Wang, Weilu; Du, Zhangliu; Fan, Mingsheng; Zhuang, Minghao; Smith, Pete; Lal, Rattan; Butterbach-Bahlh, Klaus; Han, Xiaori; Meng, Jun; Liu, Jia; Cai, Hongguang; Cheng, Yanhong; Liu, Xingren; Shu, Xiangyang; Jiao, Xiaoyan; Pan, Zhandong; Tang, Guangmu; Yan, Xiaoyuan
• 署名单位: Chinese Academy of Sciences; Nanjing Institute of Soil Science, CAS; Chinese Academy of Sciences; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS; University of Exeter; Yangzhou University; Yangzhou University; China Agricultural University; University of Aberdeen; University System of Ohio; Ohio State University; Aarhus University; Helmholtz Association; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology; Shenyang Agricultural University; Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development in Agriculture, CAAS; Sichuan Normal University; Shanxi Agricultural University; Gansu Agricultural University; Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-14022
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2509237122
• 发表日期: 2025-08-19
• 关键词: soil organic-carbon; rice cropping system; n2o emissions; maize growth; yield; field; ch4; fertilizer; amendment; storage

摘要

Biochar application offers significant potential to enhance food security and mitigate climate change. However, most evidence stems from short-term field experiments (<= 3 y), leaving uncertainty about the long-term sustainability of these benefits, especially with annual biochar additions to soils. To address this knowledge gap, we analyzed a global dataset from 438 studies (3,229 observations) and found that long-term annual biochar application (>= 4 y) not only sustains but often enhances its benefits. These include improved crop yields (+10.8%), reductions in CH4 (-13.5%) and N2O (-21.4%) emissions, and increased soil organic carbon content (+52.5%). In contrast, these benefits tend to diminish over time with single biochar applications due to the aging effect of biochar. Results from 29 global long-term experiments (4 to 12 y) confirm these sustained benefits for crop yield and greenhouse gas mitigation, although the magnitude of effects varies with soil properties, climate, and management practices. To maximize biochar's long-term benefits for global food security and climate change mitigation, it is essential to develop viable strategies, such as applying biochar at intervals of several years while tailoring practices to local soil, climate, and cropping conditions.