Biochar is a black solid created by pyrolysis of biomass such as crop residues and other agricultural waste. Research on Terra Preta soils in Amazonia suggest that biochar could improve soil properties and crop yield. However, we know little on the performance of mixture of biochar and fertilizers under European conditions. Glaser et al. performed field experiments in Northern Germany. They found that biochar addition to mineral fertilizers, biogas digestate or compost increase maize yield from 20 to 42%. Their findings demonstrate that biochar-fertiliser combinations have a better performance than pure fertilizers, in terms of yield and plant nutrition.
