Biochar Permanence—A Policy Commentary

作者：Hans‐Peter Schmidt, Samuel Abiven, Annette Cowie, Bruno Glaser, Stephen Joseph, Claudia Kammann, Johannes Lehmann, Jens Leifeld, Genxing Pan, Daniel P. Rasse, Cornélia Rumpel, Dominic Woolf, Andrew R. Zimmerman, Nikolas Hagemann · 发表于：GCB Bioenergy · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1111/gcbb.70092 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：CO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions、Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Iron oxide chemistry and applications

ABSTRACT The application of biochar to soil is a highly durable nature‐based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) pathway. It provides certifiable climate‐change mitigation, with mean carbon residence times exceeding 1,000 years, and additional co‐benefits for soil health and fertility. Biochar persistence in soil depends on both intrinsic material properties and environmental factors. Its longevity is determined not only by the polyaromatic structure of the biochar itself but also by soil mineralogy, biological activity, and climatic conditions. Biochar aging involves both decomposition and stabilization processes. The complementary mechanisms of decomposition and stabilization include interactions of biochar with minerals and native organic matter, as well as aggregations with soil particles that maintain its long‐term persistence. Biochars and inertinite‐ranked fossil coals cannot be equated. Inertinite has been protected from biotic and abiotic oxidation for millions of years through burial in sediments and inclusion in minerals under high pressure and temperature. Biochar produced today in modern pyrolysis facilities is a fundamentally different material. No carbonaceous material is completely inert. Field and laboratory studies consistently show measurable, though small, mineralization across a wide range of biochar types. Declaring that soil‐applied biochar carbon persists at 100% over millennia is inconsistent with current scientific understanding. Analytical proxies indicate...