ISTRO 18th
Triennial Conference Proceedings, June 15-19, 2009 Izmir-TURKEY
T4 - 010 - 1
Biochar Addition to a Southeastern USA Coastal Sand to
Decrease Soil Strength and Improve Soil Quality
Warren BUSSCHER, Jeff NOVAK, Mohamed AHMEDNA
Coastal Plains Soil...
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ISTRO 18th
Triennial Conference Proceedings, June 15-19, 2009 Izmir-TURKEY
T4 - 010 - 1
Biochar Addition to a Southeastern USA Coastal Sand to
Decrease Soil Strength and Improve Soil Quality
Warren BUSSCHER, Jeff NOVAK, Mohamed AHMEDNA
Coastal Plains Soil Water and Plant Research Center, Florence, SC, USA and North Carolina A&T
University, Greensboro, NC, USA, Corresponding Author: warren.
busscher@ars.
usda.
gov
Abstract:Southeastern USA coastal plain soils are sandy, compacted, and exposed to a subtropical
environment; they are low in organic carbon and have little aggregation.
In the past, increasing
organic carbon to decrease compaction and improve aggregation has been ineffective because
organic matter vanishes within a few months in the warm, wet environment.
However, organic
carbon in the form of charcoal or biochar is recalcitrant having remained in tropical Amazonian soils
for centuries.
In a lab experiment, we added non-activated biochar to the Ap horizon of a Norfolk
loam
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