Biochar Guides & Tips
BIOCHAR
EXPLAINED
Want to learn more about biochar in the UK?
Read our woodland biochar guides to understand how this incredible material can revolutionise your soil, whilst also saving the planet!
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You can watch our pure biochar production process here.
What Is Biochar?
Biochar is produced from burning tree cuttings (coppice) in a kiln at extremely high temperatures with minimal oxygen - a process called pyrolysis. The process in which biochar is made produces an incredibly strong, carbon-rich material that lasts for 1000s of years in soil. All of the carbon that is captured from the coppice biomass is stored and retained within the biochar throughout its life cycle. Biochar has a range of domestic and industrial benefits, such as improving soil quality, increasing water efficiency, and improving crop yields.
What Are The Benefits Of Biochar?
The benefits of biochar are numerous. For the planet, biochar removes carbon from the atmosphere throughout its life cycle and also prevents greenhouse emissions from being released through the avoidance of coppice deteriorating. For gardeners, biochar is known to improve the quality of soil and aid in plant growth. For farmers, biochar has can improve crop yields through improving the nutrient density of soil, improve the efficiency of irrigation systems, and reduce the the acidity of soil through its alkaline composition.
How Is Biochar Good For The Planet?
Biochar is beneficial for the planet in a variety of ways. Producing biochar prevents the carbon emissions from coppice wood that would otherwise deteriorate and release methane and CO2. Biochar is fixed carbon, meaning that the CO2 that is captured is stored and not eased back into the atmosphere. Moreover, biochar can help to improve the growth of plants and other vegetation, which in turn will capture additional CO2 from the atmosphere. Biochar is also shown to improve water efficiency, which further reduces the strain on our natural resources.
Does Biochar Improve Soil Quality?
The benefits of biochar are numerous. For the planet, biochar removes carbon from the atmosphere throughout its life cycle and also prevents greenhouse emissions from being released through the avoidance of coppice rotting. For gardeners, biochar is known to improve the quality of soil and aid in plant growth. For farmers, biochar has been shown to improve crop yields through improving the nutrient density of soil, improve the efficiency of irrigation systems, and reduce the the acidity of soil through its alkaline composition.
Is Biochar Good For Plant Growth?
Your plants will love being in biochar-rich soil. All of the nutrients and carbon that are captured through the lifecycle of biochar are slowly absorbed by the plants and vegetation that sits on top of it. Because biochar also reduces soil acidity, the pH of the planting area is much more conducive to healthy plant growth too. Equally importantly, using biochar instead of chemical fertilisers will mean that your plants will be able to avoid the long-term negative effects of the repeated application of unnatural chemicals to your soil.
Can Biochar Be Made At Home?
It’s not safe to make biochar at home without specialist knowledge, safety precautions and equipment. It may seem simple enough to burn tree cuttings in your back garden, but the material you’ll get will certainly not be high-quality biochar. The pyrolysis process requires expertise in managing temperatures and the duration of the clean burn, which is how specialists ensure the highest level of quality of their products. Most importantly, burning biomass materials can release dangerous carbon monoxide and methane gases, which are dangerous to humans and harmful to the environment.
Can Biochar Be Used In Compost?
Regular compost biomass materials degrade quickly and release methane, CO2 and other emissions into the atmosphere. Research on biochar has shown that the material takes thousands of years to decompose, meaning that adding biochar to your compost can retain water, carbon, nutrients and other key microorganisms within the compost. Importantly, adding biochar to your compost can help to reduce greenhouse gases and other emissions that are harmful to the environment. The earlier you add biochar, the better the results!
Does Biochar Improve Crop Yields?
​For the reasons outlined in the guides above, adding biochar to arable farmland has been shown to have a positive effect on crop yields. The long-term benefits for farmers are substantial - improved efficiency of irrigation and cost savings from reduced water consumption, reduced dependence on chemical fertilisers, improved soil pH profile, improved health and nutrient composition of crops, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions to name a few! More studies are needed to measure the impact of biochar on crop yields, but existing research has shown the impact to be huge!