Biochar as Soil Amendment in Climate‑Smart Agriculture: Opportunities, Future Prospects, and Challenges

There appears to be an increasing demand for quality food and fodder to ensure environmental safety. Although chemical
fertilizers and pesticides are widely used to increase crop yield and plant protection, the unauthorized and injudicious use
of chemicals negatively affects native flora and fauna and depletes natural soil fertility, culminating in quality loss, climate
crisis, and global warming. Recently, there has been a lot of focus on using biochar to improve soil health, mitigate soil
degradation, and control soil and water pollution because biochar restores ecosystems and enhances soil quality. Biochar
is a solid, carbon-rich material with a high surface area and improved nutrient content that exhibits slow nutrient release
properties obtained through the pyrolysis of various biochar-based environmental materials. Sustainable biochar release in
the soil can improve plant growth through nutrient use efficiencies, enhancing beneficial plant–microbe interactions, and
plant protection. The current review summarizes the properties and cost-effective production technologies of quality biochar,
sustainable application, action mechanisms for improving soil properties, and prominent plant–microbe interactions for
enhanced plant growth and survival under climate-smart agriculture. Biochar’s agronomic potential in the soil is affected
by physical and chemical properties, such as surface area, particle density, and pore size distribution, as well as pH, electri
cal conductivity, total and plant-available concentrations of carbon, nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, cation exchange
capacity, and certain minor nutrients. Additionally, the essential requirements of healthy soil and associated attributes of
good agricultural practices are addressed, along with the key benefits, limitations, and opportunities of biochar application
for enhancing sustainability in agriculture.

当前，人们对保障环境安全的优质食品与饲料的需求日益攀升。尽管化肥与农药被广泛用于提升作物产量与开展作物保护，但未经许可的不合理使用会对本土动植物造成负面影响，并耗竭自然土壤肥力，最终引发品质下降、气候危机与全球变暖。近年来，生物炭（biochar）因可修复生态系统、提升土壤质量，受到了广泛关注，其应用场景涵盖改善土壤健康、缓解土壤退化以及管控土壤与水污染。生物炭是一种富含碳的固体材料，具备高比表面积与优化的营养成分，通过各类生物炭基环境材料的热解制得，具有养分缓慢释放的特性。在土壤中可持续施加生物炭，可通过提升养分利用效率、强化有益的植物-微生物互作以及作物保护来促进植物生长。本综述总结了优质生物炭的特性与低成本生产技术、可持续应用方式、改善土壤性质的作用机制，以及在气候智能型农业（climate-smart agriculture）下助力植物生长与存活的关键植物-微生物互作机制。生物炭在土壤中的农艺潜力受其理化性质影响，例如比表面积、颗粒密度与孔径分布，以及pH值、电导率、碳、氮、钾、磷的总含量与植物可利用浓度、阳离子交换量以及部分微量营养素。此外，本综述还阐述了健康土壤的基本要求与良好农业实践的相关属性，同时探讨了生物炭应用在提升农业可持续性方面的核心优势、局限性与发展机遇。