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Utilization of Agricultural Waste as Biochar for Soil Health

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Biochar Applications in Agriculture and Environment Management

Abstract

The utilization of agricultural wastes are considered to be the important step in environmental protection, energy structure and agricultural development. The agricultural straw disposition of agricultural wastes not only results in environmental pollution, but also waste a lot of valuable biomass resources. Biochar the viable organic amendment product derived from organic sources and store carbon on a long term basis in the terrestrial ecosystem and also capable of reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) emission from soil to the atmosphere to combat climate change and sustain the soil health with sustainable crop production. The role of biochar in developing a sustainable agriculture production system is immense and so is its potential in mitigating climate change, which stands much beyond its uses in agriculture. The addition of biochar to soils resulted, on average, in increased above ground productivity, crop yield, soil microbial biomass, rhizobia nodulation, plant K tissue concentration, soil phosphorus (P), soil potassium (K), total soil nitrogen (N), and total soil carbon (C). The effects of biochar on multiple ecosystem functions and the central tendencies suggest that biochar holds promise in being a win-win-win solution to energy, carbon storage, and ecosystem function. However, biochar’s impacts on a fourth component, the downstream non target environments, remain unknown and present a critical research gap.

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Acknowledgement

The author grateful to the authorities of Shri Nehru MahaVidyalaya college of Arts and Science college, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India for the use of research facilities and encouragement.

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  1. Department of Biotechnology, SNMV College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, India

    A. G. Rajalakshmi

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  1. A. G. Rajalakshmi
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  1. Department of Environmental Microbiology, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Jay Shankar Singh

  2. Department of Environmental Microbiology, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Chhatarpal Singh

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Rajalakshmi, A.G. (2020). Utilization of Agricultural Waste as Biochar for Soil Health. In: Singh, J., Singh, C. (eds) Biochar Applications in Agriculture and Environment Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40997-5_10

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