NORGLOBAL Biochar on acidic agricultural lands in South-East Asia: Sequestering carbon and improving crop yield Sarah Hale 1, Vanja Alling 1, Vegard Martinsen 2, Jan Mulder 2, Magnus Sparrevik 1, Hans Peter Arp 1, Gijs Breedveld 1,3, Åse Lekang Sørensen 4, Henrik Lindhjem 5, Annik Magerholm Fet 6, Theeba Manickam 7, Abdul Razak 7, Robert Bachmann 8, Neneng Nurida 9, Alex Heikens 10, Verania Andira 10 and Gerard Cornelissen (project leader) 1,2,11 1) Norwegian Geotechnical Institute NGI, Oslo, Norway, 2) Institute for Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway, 3) Department of Geosciences, Oslo University, Oslo, Norway, 4) Norges Vel, Oslo, Norway, 5) Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Oslo Centre for Interdisciplinary Environmental and Social Science Research, Oslo, Norway 6) Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Trondheim, Norway, 7) Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Malaysia, 8) University of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Institute of Chemical & Bioengineering, Malaysia, 9) Indonesian Soil Research Institute (ISRI), Bogor, Indonesia, 10) United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Jakarta, Indonesia, 11) Department of Applied Environmental Sciences, Stockholm University, Sweden

Project overview - biochar ”Engineered” Charcoal: Combustion of biomass in the absence of air The worlds agricultural waste accounts for 9 Gton/yr (1) 80-90% carbon (for a good char) The Amazonian terra preta soils provide the earliest example of an agricultural use for biochar and the biochar is > 2000 years old 1 Biochar for Environmental Management: Science and Technology, Lehmann and Joseph Rice husk in Indonesia: a possible biochar source

Project overview – Climate change via carbon storage

Project overview – acidic agricultural lands in South-East Asia Problem of acidic agricultural land in SE Asia The world has 24 million ha of acid sulphate soils Oxidation of Fe oxide to sulphuric acid

Project overview – improving crop yield But will the same be true for all of the soils in SE Asia? Soil Quality Reverses soil acidification Improves water holding capacity Reduces leaching of nutrients Immobilizes pollutants This effect was demonstrated very early

Project kickoff meeting, March 2011, Oslo Additional meeting between NGI, the Indonesian partners and the Indonesian Ambassador. The Embassy guaranteed to aid where needed in with respect to the implementation of biochar in Indonesia.

Spin off project - Zambia Project began October 2010 Funded by Norad due to this NorGlobal project Pot and field trials = SUCCESS charcoal biochar high dose maize biochar high dose control Control NPK Maize biochar Charcoal biochar +½NPK Maize biochar +½NPK

Water retention: effect of biochar Plant available water increased % in the poor and sandy soils Introduction of efficient small scale stoves Next steps

BiocharCEC (cmol/kg)pH (CaCl 2 )Total C Oil palm shell25 5,561.5 Rice husk18 5,841.6 Cacao shell161 7,469.9 Chemical screening Initial simple chemical screening of soil-biochar combinations to identify the potential of biochar for acid, tropical soils (pH 3- 5) in Indonesia and Zambia Biochars Rice Husk Oil Palm Shell Cacao Shell

30 soils tested for the effect of biochar addition –Cacao shell, rice husk and oil palm shell biochar –0, 0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, 10 and 30 % biochar dose –Measurements of soil pH, CEC and cations done for all treatments in Indonesia (700 measurements). Data analyses done in Norway Chemical screening: addition of biochar to soil -Increase in pH with biochar addition -Best effect for cacao shell biochar -All soils responded positively to biochar, with similar increases in pH and CEC Rice husk BC Cacao shell Oil palm shell pH Amount BC added (%) Example soil Rice husk

Pot trials -RICE: the Institute of Swampland Agriculture, Indonesia -CHILLI: Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute

Pot trials: chilli and rice Positive effect on roots Increase in height, although char may not be optimal (pH 7.7, % C 25.6, CEC 32.5 cmol/kg)

Cropping of rice Sandy clay loam Same biochar types as in WP1, 7.5 t/ha Result: modest effect on crop growth Field trials, Lampung, Indonesia

Acid sulphate, fertilized and limed with a CEC of 10 – 12 cmol/kg Field trials 5 x 5 m 2 plots with char mixed at 15 cm depth Monitoring: -Soil pH, chemical properties and microbial processes -crop growth and yield Field trials, Kelantan, Malaysia Biochar from burned rice husk produced at the mill and in the lab Biochar: °C, 25 – 30 % recovery, integrated process to dry the rice, pH around 8 and is ashy

Laboratory tests – nutrient availability and leaching PO 4 3- (µg/L) We hypothesize that this is a direct effect of the pH increase caused by biochar addition Biochar increases phosphate availability, a very positive effect in poor tropical soils. Al (mg/L) Al concentrations decreases with biochar addition from plant toxic levels to almost no availability

The environmental impact of producing 1 kg of rice Life cycle assessment (LCA) and economic cost-benefit analysis Total welfare (economic) benefits of biochar systems higher than costs to society?’ Financial revenues to mill owners/farmers of producing and using biochar higher than expenditures?

Conclusions Positive effect of biochar in SE Asian soils Growth, soil physical properties (pH and water retention), nutrient availability improved How will biochar fair in an LCA and CBA scenario