Sun et al. (2024): Biochar Addition Increased Soil Carbon Storage but Did Not Exacerbate Soil Carbon Emission in Young Subtropical Plantation Forest

Nan Sun, Binoy Sarkar, Saiqiang Li, Youhua Tian, Longbing Sha, Yongchao Gao, Xu Luo, Xiaodong Yang IN: Forests 15 (6), 917, https://doi.org/10.3390/f15060917

Forests play a crucial role in mitigating global warming, contributing approximately 46% of the global terrestrial carbon sink. However, it remains uncertain whether the addition of biochar to forests enhances the ecosystem’s carbon sink capacity. This study aims to address this scientific question by investigating whether biochar application increases carbon storage, potentially leading to an overall rise in carbon emissions by influencing soil respiration and identifying the underlying mechanisms. A controlled experiment was conducted in a young plantation forest that had grown for three years, where soil CO₂ efflux rate and physicochemical properties, photosynthesis, and plant growth traits were measured across varying biochar addition rates (0, 5, and 10 t/ha) over five seasons

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