Agricultural food production is a main driver of global greenhouse gas emissions, with unclear pathways towards carbon neutrality. Here, through a comprehensive life-cycle assessment using data from China, we show that an integrated biomass pyrolysis and electricity generation system coupled with commonly applied methane and nitrogen mitigation measures can help reduce staple crops' life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions from the current 666.5 to -37.9 Tg CO-equivalent yr. Emission reductions would be achieved primarily through carbon sequestration from biochar application to the soil, and fossil fuel displacement by bio-energy produced from pyrolysis. We estimate that this integrated system can increase crop yield by 8.3%, decrease reactive nitrogen losses by 25.5%, lower air pollutant emissions by 125-2,483 Gg yr and enhance net environmental and economic benefits by 36.2%. These results indicate that integrated biochar solutions could contribute to China's 2060 carbon neutrality objective while enhancing food security and environmental sustainability.© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.

Biochar, a green way to deal with burning and burying biomass, has attracted more attention in recent years. To fill the gap of the effects of different biochar on crop yield in Northern China, the first field experiment was conducted in farmland located in Hebei Province. Biochars derived from two kinds of feedstocks (rice straw and corn stalk) were added into an Inceptisols area with different dosages (1 ton/ha, 2 ton/ha or 4 ton/ha) in April 2014. The crop yields were collected for corn, peanut, and sweet potato during one crop season from spring to autumn 2014, and the wheat from winter 2014 to summer 2015, respectively. The results showed biochar amendment could enhance yields, and biochar from rice straw showed a more positive effect on the yield of corn, peanut, and winter wheat than corn stalk biochar. The dosage of biochar of 2 ton/ha or 1 ton/ha could enhance the yield by 5%–15% and biochar of 4 ton/ha could increase the yield by about 20%. The properties of N/P/K, CEC, and pH of soils amended with biochar were not changed, while biochar effects could be related to improvement of soil water content.

为促进生物炭基肥和水分胁迫互作在花生生产上的应用实践，在盆栽条件下，研究了不同生物炭基肥施用量水平BF0（0 kg/hm2）、BF1（750 kg/hm2）、BF2（1500 kg/hm2）和不同水分胁迫程度W0（正常供水，70%~75%田间持水量）、W1（中度水分胁迫，60%~65%田间持水量）、W2（重度水分胁迫，50%~55%田间持水量）对花生生理特性及产量的影响。结果表明：与BF0水平相比，BF1、BF2水平的生物炭基肥可促进花生叶片的生长，维持较高的叶绿素含量与净光合速率，提高根系和地上部分的干物质积累，进而提高产量。除W2水平外，W0和W1水平均利于维持花生叶片的净光合速率，提高干物质积累和产量。中度水分胁迫下（W1），施用750 kg/hm2（BF1）和1 500 kg/hm2（BF2）生物炭基肥，较无生物炭基肥（BF0）提高了52.2%和39.9%的地上部分干物质积累、62.0%和42.5%的产量；在饱果期，产量与干物质积累相关系数最大且表现为正相关关系。

【目的】通过测定花生不同生育时期功能叶片的叶绿素荧光特性,探讨连续9年施用不同用量生物炭对花生叶片光系统Ⅱ的电子传递、光能吸收和氧化还原性能影响规律,同时观测叶片放氧复合体（OEC）受损程度变化趋势,为指导花生施肥提供理论支撑。【方法】于2011年建立的田间定位试验,设3个处理：CK（不施肥）;C15（生物炭225 kg·hm^-2）;C50（生物炭750 kg·hm^-2）。2019年分别采集不同生育时期花生功能叶,利用M-PEA-2仪器测定暗处理后的叶片光合指标。 【结果】通过分析不同生育时期花生功能叶叶绿素荧光参数发现,连续施用不同用量生物炭对快速叶绿素荧光动力学曲线（OJIP曲线）有显著影响。C15处理的K点的相对可变荧光强度差（ΔV_T）在花生苗期和开花下针期分别为-0.002和-0.020,在结荚期和成熟期分别为-0.024和-0.053,与CK处理相比花生各生育时期功能叶K点的相对可变荧光强度显著降低;随着生物炭用量的增加,开花下针期与成熟期K点降低幅度有不同程度增大。花生功能叶叶绿素荧光参数在开花下针期和成熟期对生物炭的连续施用有积极响应,其具体表现为：在开花下针期,与CK处理相比C15处理的J点相对可变荧光强度（V_J）降低23.9%,初级醌受体（Q_A）被还原速率（M_O）降低32.1%,捕获的激电子将电子传递到电子传递链中Q_A下游的其他电子受体的速率（Ψ_O）增加25.0%,以吸收光能为基础的光化学性能指数（PI_ABS）增加154.6%。缓解了花生功能叶片的放氧复合体（OEC）受损程度,提高电子由初级醌受体（Q_A）向电子传递链下游的其他电子受体传递的能力,随着生物炭用量的增加,效果越明显。在成熟期,施用不同量生物炭对花生叶片叶绿素荧光特性指标的影响与开花下针期基本一致,具体表现为：C15处理较CK处理J点相对可变荧光强度（V_J）和初级醌受体（Q_A）被还原速率（M_O）显著降低,分别减少12.5%和16.0%,捕获的激电子将电子传递到电子传递链中Q_A下游的其他电子受体的速率（Ψ_O）增加7.8%,以吸收光能为基础的光化学性能指数（PI_ABS）增加73.7%;C50处理与CK处理相比J点相对可变荧光强度（V_J）减少13.2%,初级醌受体（Q_A）被还原速率（M_O）减少19.4%,捕获的激电子将电子传递到电子传递链中Q_A游的其他电子受体的速率（Ψ_O）增加8.2%,以吸收光能为基础的光化学性能指数（PI_ABS）增加79.7%。【结论】连续施用生物炭能显著提高花生功能叶片在开花下针期和成熟期光系统Ⅱ电子传递效率,缓解OEC损伤程度,从而提高花生功能叶的光合性能。

\n A series of experiments was established to characterize biochars made from four feedstocks regionally available in the Pacific Northwest (wood pellets, softwood bark, switchgrass (\n Panicum virgatum\n L.) straw, and anaerobically digested fiber) to determine their effect on five soils. Soils were amended with 9.8, 19.5, and 39.0 Mg ha\n −1\n of each of the four biochars and evaluated for changes in pH, water holding capacity, N mineralization, and soil C. The C content of biochars derived from the herbaceous feedstocks was 60 to 67 kg kg\n −1\n whereas that of the woody feedstocks was >75 kg kg\n −1\n. In amended soils we found that biochars, regardless of origin, significantly raised the pH of all soil types 0.1 to 0.9 units, with the greatest impact on a sand soil. The biochars increased the soil C and water holding capacity at the higher rates of amendment depending on soil and biochar type. Nitrogen mineralization rates decreased in three of the five soils across all feedstocks. There were significant correlations (\n r\n ≥ 0.9) between biochar C measured and biochar C added regardless of feedstock or soil type. Our research demonstrates that in temperate soils, biochar feedstock may not be as important a variable as soil type for increasing C content and pH but can influence N mineralization and water holding capacity.\n

为明确改良剂对酸化土壤生境及花生钙营养的调控效应,大田条件下,以不加改良剂为对照,研究石灰、硅钙肥、生物有机肥及生物炭4种土壤改良剂对酸化土壤花生植株钙吸收、利用及生育的影响。结果表明,石灰、硅钙肥及生物有机肥均能显著提高土壤全钙及有效钙含量,较对照分别增加17.0%～25.0%和116.7%～186.8%。上述3种改良剂均可显著提高植株钙的吸收与利用,其中植株钙含量和籽仁钙积累量较对照分别增加13.5%～22.3%和179.9%～478.2%,而对无经济价值器官(针壳和营养体)的钙积累量无显著影响,钙收获指数和钙利用效率较对照分别增加28.6%～78.3%和51.0～81.7%。石灰、硅钙肥及生物有机肥均能有效控制花生植株冗余生长、促进籽仁发育,营养体、针壳干重及荚果空瘪率下降,籽仁干重和荚果出仁率升高;荚果产量较对照分别增加61.3%、42.4%和49.4%。土壤钙含量(全量及有效态)、植株钙含量、籽仁钙积累量、钙利用效率及钙收获指数与荚果产量呈显著或极显著正相关。综上,石灰、硅钙肥和生物有机肥是较为理想的花生酸化土壤改良剂,而生物炭对上述各项指标无显著影响,且与对照差异不大。本研究为酸化土壤花生高产高效栽培提供了理论依据。

Lack of knowledge regarding the nature of biochar alkalis has hindered understanding of pH-sensitive biochar-soil interactions. Here we investigate the nature of biochar alkalinity and present a cohesive suite of methods for its quantification. Biochars produced from cellulose, corn stover and wood feedstocks had significant low-pK organic structural (0.03-0.34 meq g), other organic (0-0.92 meq g), carbonate (0.02-1.5 meq g), and other inorganic (0-0.26 meq g) alkalinities. All four categories of biochar alkalinity contributed to total biochar alkalinity and are therefore relevant to pH-sensitive soil processes. Total biochar alkalinity was strongly correlated with base cation concentration, but biochar alkalinity was not a simple function of elemental composition, soluble ash, fixed carbon, or volatile matter content. More research is needed to characterize soluble biochar alkalis other than carbonates and to establish predictive relationships among biochar production parameters and the composition of biochar alkalis.Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) intercropped with peanut (Arachis hypogaea) has good complementary effects in time and space. In the field plot test, the land equivalent ratio (LER) of cassava-peanut intercropping system was 1.43, showing obvious intercropping yield advantage. Compared with monocropping, Cd contents in the roots of cassava and seeds of peanut were significantly reduced by 20.00% and 31.67%, respectively (p < 0.05). Under the unit area of hectare, compared with monocropping of cassava and peanut, the bioconcentration amount (BCA) of Cd in the intercropping system increased significantly by 24.98% and 25.59%, respectively (p < 0.05), and the metal removal equivalent ratio (MRER) of Cd was 1.25, indicating that the intercropping pattern had advantage in Cd removal. In the cement pool plot test, compared with the control, cassava intercropped with peanut under biochar and crushed straw additions did not only enhance the available nutrients and organic matter contents in rhizosphere soil but also promoted the crop growth and increased the content of chlorophyll (SPAD values) of plant leaves. The peanut seeds biomass under biochar and straw additions were significantly increased by 112.34% and 59.38% (p < 0.05), respectively, while the cassava roots biomass under biochar addition was significantly increased by 63.54% (p < 0.05). Applying biochar significantly decreased the content of Cd which extracted by diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA-Cd) in soil and reduced Cd uptake as well as translocation into plant tissues. The BCA of Cd of cassava under biochar addition decreased significantly by 53.87% in maturity stage (p < 0.05), thus reduced the ecological risk of Cd to crops and was of great significance to produce high quality and safe agricultural products. Besides, the crushed straw enhanced the biomass of crops, reduced Cd content in all tissues and maintained Cd uptake in the intercropping system. Therefore, it can realize the integration of ecological remediation and economic benefit of two energy plants in Cd contaminated soil after applied crushed straw in cassava-peanut intercropping system.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.