Biochar Application to Soils - A Critical Scientific Review of Effects on Soil Properties, Processes and Functions

Biochar application to soils is being considered as a means to sequester carbon (C) while concurrently improving soil functions. This report reviews the evidence for potential effects of biochar incorporation into soils on soil properties and processes with implications for agronomic and environmental functions. Further to this, while beyond the main scope of this report, an overview of the main environmental and occupational health issues associated to biochar production and handling, and the socio-economic implications is given. Extrapolation of reported results must be done with caution, owing to the relatively small number of studies reported in the primary literature, when compared to possible instigation of biochar application to soils on a national or European scale . To try and bridge the gap between small scale, controlled experiments and large scale implementation of biochar application to a range of soil types across a range of different climates, a statistical meta-analysis was undertaken. A full search of the scientific literature led to a compilation of studies used for a meta-analysis of the effects of biochar application to soils and plant productivity. Results showed a small overall, but statistically significant, positive effect of biochar application to soils on plant productivity. The greatest positive effects were seen on acidic free-draining soils with other soil types, specifically calcarosols showing no significant effect (either positive or negative). This suggests that one of the main mechanisms behind the reported positive effects of biochar application to soils on plant productivity may be a liming effect although further research is needed to confirm this hypothesis. There is currently a lack of data concerning the effects of biochar application to soils on other soil functions. This means that although these are qualitatively and comprehensively discussed in this report, a robust meta-analysis on such effects is not possible currently. Effects that are expected (both positive and negative) include nutrient leaching to ground/surface waters, soil water retention, soil water repellency, N2O and CH4 emissions, albedo and soil biological activity although insufficient data are available at present to accurately quantify any of these effects or to report a consensus on their direction (either positive or negative). Preliminary evidence has also been reported concerning a possible priming effect whereby accelerated decomposition of soil organic matter occurs upon biochar addition to soil. This has the potential to both harm crop productivity in the long term due to loss of soil organic matter, as well as releasing more CO2 into the atmosphere as increased quantities of soil organic matter is respired from the soil. This is an area which requires urgent further research and is discussed in more detail in this report.JRC.DDG.H.7-Land management and natural hazard

Micro data from the 2012 Greek Household Energy Consumption survey

The dataset is a cleaned and modified version of the microdata from the 2012 Greek Household Energy Consumption surve

Value of Soil Biodiversity: European policies and raising awareness

The necessity for a coherent approach to soil protection has become more recognised within the European Commission over recent years. This recognition led to the protection of soil being introduced as one of the thematic strategies to be developed within the Commission’s 6th Environment Action Programme due to soils being recognized as “a fundamental environmental compartment performing vital ecological, social and economic services”. The soil biota is responsible for performing many of these services and there is increasing evidence that it is increasingly under threat and in some cases already in decline. However, there is still a considerable lack of knowledge regarding the belowground biota when compared to aboveground ecosystems. Due to this lack of knowledge regarding the interactions between soil biodiversity and ecosystem services it is not yet possible to predict with confidence the impacts of declining soil biodiversity.JRC.DDG.H.7-Land management and natural hazard

Assessment of source contributions to the urban air quality for the Bristol claircity pilot case

The world's population has been growing continuously, with most people inhabiting urban settlements. Furthermore, air pollution has become a growing concern, mainly in densely populated cities, where human health is threatened by acute air pollution episodes. The H2020 ClairCity project aims to substantially improve future air quality and carbon policies in European cities by initiating new modes of engaging citizens, stakeholders and policy makers. ClairCity applies an innovative quantification framework developed to assess environmental, health and economic impacts. In this work, the quantification framework was applied and calibrated for the baseline situation in Bristol, the ClairCity pilot city. The second-generation Gaussian model URBAIR was set up to simulate NO2 and particulate matter (PM) concentrations for the entire year of 2015. An analysis of source contribution was performed providing information on the contributions of different source sectors (e.g. road transport, industrial, residential and commercial) to NO2 and PM concentrations. The results point to a predominant contribution of road transport sector of 53% to NO2 concentrations in Bristol, while the residential sector is the main contributor (with a contribution of 82%) to particulate matter concentrations, mainly linked with a high use of solid biomass combustion in this sector. These results can be powerful to support the design of air quality management plans and strategies and to forecast potential benefits of reducing emissions from a particular source category

European Atlas of Soil Biodiversity

International audienc

Atlas Européen de la Biodiversité des Sols

National audienc