Applications of Biochar for Soil Fertility Improvement

**93**

**Chapter 6**

Quality

**Abstract**

Biochar Application for Improved

Resource Use and Environmental

*Stephen Yeboah, Patricia Oteng-Darko, Joseph Adomako* 

Agroecosystems have become very important not only for their role in achieving food security but also in mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. This agro-ecological function has become very important since society expects agriculture to be more sustainable, by decreasing fertilizer inputs while reducing greenhouse gas emission. Mitigation measures to reduce net GHG emissions include increasing soil C sequestration by reduced tillage, biochar and straw application, and increased crop-use efficiency of fertilizer-N. An adequate management of soils and crops could result in a reduction of GHG emissions through complex interactive factors. However, which factors are mainly responsible for the differences in emissions across soil and environment type remain unclear and the mechanism underlying GHG emissions are complex. It is therefore imperative to determine how biochar could mitigate greenhouse gas emissions without adverse effect on crop yield. This chapter will predominantly review biochar application for improved resource use and reduce greenhouse gas emission in sub-Saharan Africa, except in some cases where specific mechanisms have been elucidated in other regions. We consider future perspectives on whether biochar application offers economic opportunities for smallholder farmers in developing countries, with a particular focus on Ghana. These issues

**Keywords:** biochar, greenhouse gas, resource use, crop productivity, soil quality

Global demand for food will increase during the coming decades, yet agricultural systems are already strained across the globe. The agricultural systems are either too extensive or intensive, which is a threat to sustainable food production. Agriculture is also both a major contributor to greenhouse gas emission (GHG) and very susceptible to climate change. This increases the urgency for making agriculture climate smart, both through adaptation and mitigation by reducing GHG emissions. At the same time, arable land and other production resources are limited, and area expansion for food production is not desirable. Increasing the overall production of agricultural productivity without further increase of the area

*and Abdul Rauf Alhassan Malimanga*

provided the motivation for this chapter.

**1. Introduction**
