Rhae A. Drijber

Does applying biochar improve the health of soils and crop yields? This is a question that some may ask when they hear about biochar. There are little data from long-term and well-designed field experiments to answer this question. The few field studies in temperate regions show limited or mixed effects of biochar on soils and crop yields. In contrast, biochar has been shown to improve soils and crop yields in subtropical and tropical regions.

CC cover crop FAME fatty acid methyl ester GC gas chromatograph 1 INTRODUCTION Potential soil, environmental, and agronomic benefits of biochar have generated much interest in biochar research in recent years. However, the effect of biochar applications on soil health and environmental quality at field scales is still poorly understood (Amonette et al., 2021; Bai et al., 2022; Bolan et al., 2022; Schmidt et al., 2021).

TECHNICAL REPORTS Jennifer A. Cooper, Corresponding Author Jennifer A. Cooper jennifer.cooper@actagro.com jcooper8@unl.edu Dep. of Agronomy & Horticulture, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1875 N 38th St, 279 Plant Sciences Hall, PO Box 830915, Lincoln, NE, 68583-0915 USA Correspondence Jennifer A. Cooper, Dep. of Agronomy & Horticulture, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1875 N 38th St., 279 Plant Sciences Hall, PO Box 830915, Lincoln, NE 68583-0915, USA.