Biochar-based strategies for improving soil fertility and mitigating environmental pollution

作者：Muhammad Khizar Hayat, Nahid Mahmud, Nuzhat Tabassum Muniza, Rida Batool, Qudrat Ullah, Abdullah Al Kafi, Waqas Haider · 发表于：Discover Environment · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1007/s44274-026-00730-3 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Clay minerals and soil interactions、Phosphorus and nutrient management

Biochar has emerged as an effective and sustainable amendment for improving soil fertility and mitigating environmental pollution in soil–plant systems. This review synthesizes recent advances in biochar production, characteristics, and applications in soil restoration and contaminant remediation. Biochar is typically produced through slow pyrolysis of biomass feedstocks such as crop residues, wood waste, and animal manure at temperatures ranging from 350–700 °C, producing a stable carbon-rich material with high surface area and porous structure. Most effective applications involve fine to medium particle sizes (< 2 mm) and soil application rates of approximately 5–30 t ha–1, depending on soil properties and management goals. Evidence indicates that biochar is particularly beneficial in degraded, acidic, and sandy soils, where it significantly improves soil physical properties (aggregation, porosity, bulk density, and water-holding capacity), chemical properties (pH buffering, cation exchange capacity, and nutrient retention), and biological properties (microbial biomass, enzyme activity, and rhizosphere interactions). In polluted soils, biochar plays a critical role in mitigating contaminants through mechanisms including adsorption, ion exchange, surface complexation, precipitation, and redox reactions, which reduce the mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals and organic pollutants. Its highly porous structure and functional surface groups also facilitate microbial colo...