Biochar increases tree biomass in a managed boreal forest, but does not alter N2O, CH4, and CO2 emissions

Biochar soil amendment may provide the forestry sector with a formidable tool to simultaneously sequester carbon (C) in the soil and aboveground by enhancing plant productivity, yet several key uncertainties remain. Crucially, empirical evidence of long-term effects of biochar management on vegetation and on greenhouse gas emissions in forest ecosystems is scarce. Using a large field experiment in a young managed boreal forest in northern Sweden, we investigated the effects of biochar (applied either on the soil surface or mixed in the soil 8–9 years prior to this study) on supply rates of soil nutrients, on survival and growth of planted Pinus sylvestris, on community composition of the understory vegetation, and on forest floor fluxes of N2O, CH4 and CO2. We found that biochar promoted P. sylvestris survival only when biochar was applied on the soil surface. Conversely, biochar enhanced P. sylvestris growth overall, resulting in a 19 % increase in C stored in biomass. Biochar also alt...