Biochar projects for mitigating climate change: An investigation of critical methodology issues for carbon accounting

Carbon Management

Volumn 1, Issue 1, 2010, Pages 89-107

  Whitman, Thea ^a   Scholz, Sebastian M ^b   Lehmann, Johannes ^a  

^a Plant Breeding and Genetics Section in the School of Integrative Plant Science   (United States)

^b WORLD BANK   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BIO-ENERGY; BIO-ENERGY SYSTEMS; BIOCHAR; CARBON ACCOUNTING; CARBON MANAGEMENT; CARBON STABILITY; FUEL USE; LABILE FRACTIONS; MEAN RESIDENCE TIME; POTENTIAL TOOL; SOIL FERTILITY; STAND -ALONE; TOTAL SOIL CARBON;

FORESTRY;

CLIMATE CHANGE;

EID: 79954488989     PISSN: 17583004     EISSN: 17583012     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.4155/cmt.10.4     Document Type: Article

References (104)

1. Roberts KG, Gloy BA, Joseph S, Scott NR, Lehmann J. Life cycle assessment of biochar systems: estimating the energetic, economic, and climate change potential. Environ. Sci. Technol. 44(2), 827-833 (2010). □ □ Life-cycle assessment is used to estimate the energy and climate change impacts and the economics of biochar, and informs much of the discussion in the current paper.
2. Kleiner K. The bright prospect of biochar. Nature Reports: Climate Change 3(6), 72-74 (2009).
3. Whitman T, Lehmann J. Biochar-one way forward for soil carbon in offset mechanisms in Africa? Environ. Sci. Policy 12(7)
4. Gaunt JL, Lehmann J. Energy balance and emissions associated with biochar sequestration and pyrolysis bioenergy production. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42(11), 4152-4158 (2008). (Pubitemid 351770076)
5. Matthews JA. Carbon-negative biofuels. Energy Policy 36, 940-945 (2008).
6. Fowles M. Black carbon sequestration as an alternative to bioenergy. Biomass & Bioenergy 31(6), 426-432 (2007). (Pubitemid 46561331)
7. 2: where should humanity aim? Open Atmosphere Sci. J. 2, 217-231 (2008).
8. Heffernan O. Best practice for biochar. Nature Reports: Climate Change 3(7), 65(2009).
9. Harris P. On charcoal. Interdiscip. Sci. Rev. 24(4), 301-306 (1999).
10. Antal MJ, Gronli M. The art, science, and technology of charcoal production. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 42(8), 1619-1640 (2003). (Pubitemid 36908971)
11. Lehmann J, Joseph S. Biochar for Environmental Management: Science and Technology. Earthscan, London, UK, 2009. □ Comprehensive review of the current knowledge on biochar.
12. Lehmann J, Joseph S. Biochar systems. In: Biochar for Environmental Management: Science and Technology. Lehmann J, Joseph S (Eds). Earthscan, London, UK, 147-168 2009.
13. Wittneben BBF. Exxon is right: let us re-examine our choice for a cap-and-trade system over a carbon tax. Energy Policy 37(6), 2462-2464 (2009).
14. van Vuuren DP, den Elzen MGJ, van Vliet J, Kram T, Lucas P, Isaac M. Comparison of different climate regimes: the impact of broadening participation. Energy Policy 37(12), 5351-5362 (2009).
15. Lippke B, Perez-Garcia J. Will either cap and trade or a carbon emissions tax be effective in monetizing carbon as an ecosystem service. For. Ecol. Manage. 256(12), 2160-2165 (2008).
16. Metcalf GE. Designing a carbon tax to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions. Rev. Environ. Econ. Policy 3(1), 63-83 (2009).
17. Gaunt J, Cowie A. Biochar, greenhouse gas accounting and emissions trading. In: Biochar for Environmental Management: Science and Technology. Lehmann J, Joseph S (Eds). EarthScan, London, UK, 317-340 2009.
18. Kooten GCV. Biological carbon sequestration and carbon trading re-visited. Climatic Change 95 (3/4), 449-463 (2009).
19. Tschakert P, Coomes OT, Potvin C. Indigenous livelihoods, slash-and-burn agriculture, and carbon stocks in Eastern Panama. Ecological Economics 60(4), 807-820 (2007). (Pubitemid 46176589)
20. Ristea C, Maness TC. Opportunities, challenges and markets for forest carbon offset projects. Forestry Chronicle 85(5), 715-718 (2009).
21. Sohi SP, Krull E, Lopez-Capel E, Bol R. A review of biochar and its use and function in soil. Adv. Agronomy 105, 47-82 (2010). □ □ Provides a current review of biochar, including a description of a biochar system, its characterization, application in agriculture, and research priorities and challenges.
22. Lehmann J, Gaunt J, Rondon M. Bio-char sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems - a review. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 11(2), 403-427 (2006). (Pubitemid 43995204)
23. Gaskin JW, Speir RA, Harris K et al. Effect of peanut hull and pine chip biochar on soil nutrients, corn nutrient status, and yield. Agronomy J. 102(2), 623-633 (2010).
24. Busscher WJ, Novak JM, Evans DE, Watts DW, Niandou MAS, Ahmedna M. Influence of pecan biochar on physical properties of a Norfolk loamy sand. Soil Science 175(1), 10-14 (2010).
25. UNFCCC. Methodological tool: tool for the demonstration and assessment of additionality. CDM Executive Board 39, Annex 10, United Nations, Bonn, Germany 2008.
26. Glaser B, Haumaier L, Guggenberger G, Zech W. The 'Terra Preta' phenomenon: a model for sustainable agriculture in the humid tropics. Naturwissenschaften 88(1), 37-41 (2001). (Pubitemid 32242865)
27. Blackwell P, Riethmuller G, Collins M. Biochar application to soil. In: Biochar for Environmental Management - Science and Technology. Lehmann J, Joseph S (Eds). Earthscan, London, UK, 207-226 2009.
28. UNFCCC. Methodological tool: tool for the demonstration and assessment of additionality. CDM Executive Board 39, Annex 10, United Nations, Bonn, Germany (2008).
29. Searchinger TD, Hamburg SP, Melillo J et al. Fixing a critical climate accounting error. Science (Washington) 326(5952), 527-528 (2009).
30. Zaharah AR, Bah AR. Patterns of decomposition and nutrient release by fresh Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) leaves in an Ultisol. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 55(3), 269-277 (1999).
31. Jenkinson DS. The turnover of organic carbon and nitrogen in soil. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 329(1255), 361-368 (1990).
32. Lehmann CJ, Czimczik C, Laird D, Sohi S. Stability of biochar in the soil. In: Biochar for Environmental Management: Science and Technology. Johannes L, Stephen J (Eds). Earthscan, London, UK, 183-205 (2009).
33. Nguyen BT, Lehmann J. Black carbon decomposition under varying water regimes. Organic Geochemistry 40(8), 846-853 (2009).
34. Zimmerman AR. Abiotic and microbial oxidation of laboratory-produced black carbon (biochar). Environ. Sci. Technol. 44(4), 1295-1301 (2010). □ Applies an incubation study to examine the decomposition of charcoals produced at different temperatures from a range of feedstocks and calculates their decomposition rates.
35. UNFCCC. Energy efficiency measures in thermal applications of nonrenewable biomass. CDM Executive Board 51, United Nations, Bonn, Germany (2009).
36. Johnson M, Edwards R, Ghilardi A et al. Quantification of carbon savings from improved biomass cookstove projects. Environ. Sci. Technol. 43(7), 2456-2462 (2009). □ Clear introduction to the climate change effects of introducing a nonbiochar improved cook stove and includes some economic analyses as well.
37. Potter MC. Bacteria as agents in the oxidation of amorphous carbon. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 80(539), 239-259 (1908).
38. Shneour EA. Oxidation of graphitic carbon in certain soils. Science 151(3713), 991-992 (1966).
39. Bruun S, Jensen ES, Jensen LS. Microbial mineralization and assimilation of black carbon: Dependency on degree of thermal alteration. Organic Geochemistry 39(7), 839-845 (2008).
40. Cheng CH, Lehmann J, Thies JE, Burton SD. Stability of black carbon in soils across a climatic gradient. J. Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences 113 (G2) (2008).
41. Hammes K, Torn MS, Lapenas AG, Schmidt MWI. Centennial black carbon turnover observed in a Russian steppe soil. Biogeosciences 5(5), 1339-1350 (2008).
42. Lehmann J, Skjemstad J, Sohi S et al. Australian climate-carbon cycle feedback reduced by soil black carbon. Nature Geoscience 1(12), 832-835 (2008).
43. Liang BQ, Lehmann J, Solomon D et al. Stability of biomass-derived black carbon in soils. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72(24), 6069-6078 (2008).
44. Kuzyakov Y, Subbotina I, Chen HQ, Bogomolova I, Xu XL. Black carbon decomposition and incorporation into soil microbial biomass estimated by C-14 labeling. Soil Biol. Biochem. 41(2), 210-219 (2009). □ Uses an incubation study to examine the effects of glucose and mechanical disturbance (ideal conditions) on charcoal decomposition.
45. Major J, Lehmann J, Rondon M, Goodale C. Fate of soil-applied black carbon: downward migration, leaching and soil respiration. Global Change Biology 16(4), 1366-1379 (2010).
46. Hamer U, Marschner B, Brodowski S, Amelung W. Interactive priming of black carbon and glucose mineralisation. Organic Geochemistry 35(7), 823-830 (2004). (Pubitemid 38722392)
47. Hilscher A, Heister K, Siewert C, Knicker H. Mineralisation and structural changes during the initial phase of microbial degradation of pyrogenic plant residues in soil. Organic Geochemistry 40(3), 332-342 (2009).
48. Baldock JA, Smernik RJ. Chemical composition and bioavailability of thermally altered Pinus resinosa (red pine) wood. Organic Geochemistry 33(9), 1093-1109 (2002). (Pubitemid 35016011)
49. Fernandes MB, Brooks P. Characterization of carbonaceous combustion residues: II. Nonpolar organic compounds. Chemosphere 53(5), 447-458 (2003). (Pubitemid 38172964)
50. Fernandes MB, Skjemstad JO, Johnson BB, Wells JD, Brooks P. Characterization of carbonaceous combustion residues. I. Morphological, elemental and spectroscopic features. Chemosphere 51(8), 785-795 (2003). (Pubitemid 36396735)
51. Lehmann J, Amonette JE, Roberts K. Role of biochar in mitigation of climate change. In: Climate Change and Agroecosystems: Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation. Hillel D, Rosenzweig C (Eds). ISBN: 978-1-84816-655-4 (2010).
52. Marechal K, Hecq W. Temporary credits: a solution to the potential nonpermanence of carbon sequestration in forests? Ecological Economics 58(4), 699-716 (2006). (Pubitemid 43816266)
53. Marland G, McCarl BA, Schneider U. Soil carbon: policy and economics. Climatic Change 51(1), 101-117 (2001). (Pubitemid 32974171)
54. Herzog H, Caldeira K, Reilly J. An issue of permanence: assessing the effectiveness of temporary carbon storage. Climatic Change 59(3), 293-310 (2003). (Pubitemid 37060492)
55. 2 avoided emissions and sequestration - description and applications in forestry. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 5(1), 51-60 (2000). (Pubitemid 30448446)
56. Reilly J, Prinn R, Harnisch J et al. Multi-gas assessment of the Kyoto Protocol. Nature 401(6753), 549-555 (1999).
57. 2O. Climatic Change 77 (3-4), 291-309 (2006). (Pubitemid 44426792)
58. Shine KP. The global warming potential - the need for an interdisciplinary retrial. Climatic Change 96(4), 467-472 (2009).
59. IPCC. Summary Report of the IPCC Expert Meeting on the Science of Alternative Metrics. Stocker T. (Ed.). Oslo, Norway, 18-20 March 2009.
60. Manne AS, Richels RG. An alternative approach to establishing trade-offs among greenhouse gases. Nature 410(6829), 675-677 (2001). (Pubitemid 32290350)
61. Niesten E, Frumhoff PC, Manion M, Hardner JJ. Designing a carbon market that protects forests in developing countries. Philos. Transact. A Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 360(1797), 1875-1888 (2002).
62. Ramanathan V, Carmichael G. Global and regional climate changes due to black carbon. Nature Geoscience 1(4), 221-227 (2008).
63. Bond TC, Sun HL. Can reducing black carbon emissions counteract global warming? Environ. Sci. Technol. 39(16), 5921-5926 (2005).
64. Jacobson MZ. Climate response of fossil fuel and biofuel soot, accounting for soot's feedback to snow and sea ice albedo and emissivity. J. Geophysical Research Atmospheres, 109 (D21) (2004).
65. 2O emissions from soil resulting from rewetting air-dried soil in short-term laboratory experiments. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. 53(2), 181-188 (2007). (Pubitemid 46365219)
66. Spokas KA, Koskinen WC, Baker JM, Reicosky DC. Impacts of woodchip biochar additions on greenhouse gas production and sorption/degradation of two herbicides in a Minnesota soil. Chemosphere 77(4), 574-581 (2009).
67. Singh BP, Hatton BJ, Singh B, Cowie AL, Kathuria A. Influence of biochars on nitrous oxide emission and nitrogen leaching from two contrasting soils. J. Environmental Quality (2010) (In press).
68. Spokas KA, Reicosky DC. Impacts of sixteen different biochars on soil greenhouse gas productions. Annals of Environmental Sciences, 3, 179-193 (2009).
69. Rondon M, Ramirez J, Lehmann J. Charcoal additions reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Presented at: The 3rd USDA Symposium on Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Sequestration. Baltimore, MA, USA, 21-24 March 2005.
70. Rondon MA, Molina D, Hurtado M et al. Enhancing the productivity of crops and grasses while reducing greenhouse gas emissions through bio-char amendments to unfertile tropical soils. Presented at: The 18th World Congress of Soil Science. Philadelphia, PA, USA, 9-16 July 2006.
71. UNFCCC. Indicative Simplified Baseline and Monitoring Methodologies for Selected Small-Scale CDM Project Activity Categories. CDM Executive Board, United Nations, Bonn, Germany, 2007.
72. Wardle DA, Nilsson MC, Zackrisson O. Fire-derived charcoal causes loss of forest humus. Science 320(5876), 629-629 (2008).
73. 2 mineralization after additions of biochar and switchgrass to a Typic Kandiudult. Geoderma 154 (3-4), 281-288 (2010).
74. Liang BQ, Lehmann J, Sohi SP et al. Black carbon affects the cycling of nonblack carbon in soil. Organic Geochemistry 41(2), 206-213 (2010).
75. Searchinger T, Heimlich R, Houghton RA et al. Use of US croplands for biofuels increases greenhouse gases through emissions from land-use change. Science 319(5867), 1238-1240 (2008). (Pubitemid 351323018)
76. Lal R, Pimentel D. Biofuels from crop residues. Soil Tillage Research 93(2), 237-238 (2007). (Pubitemid 46198979)
77. Pimentel D, Lal R. Biofuels and the environment. Science 317(5840), 897-897 (2007).
78. Nepstad DC, Stickler CM, Soares B, Merry F. Interactions among Amazon land use, forests and climate: prospects for a near-term forest tipping point. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 363(1498), 1737-1746 (2008). (Pubitemid 351482527)
79. Resource Recovery Fund Board. An Assessment of the State of Provincial Compost Processing Facilities. Resource Recovery Fund Board Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour (2003).
80. Mooney S, Antle J, Capalbo S, Paustian K. Design and costs of a measurement protocol for trades in soil carbon credits. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics - Revue Canadienne D Agroeconomie 52(3), 257-287 (2004). (Pubitemid 40263525)
81. Rumpel C, Chaplot V, Planchon O, Bernadou J, Valentin C, Mariotti A. Preferential erosion of black carbon on steep slopes with slash and burn agriculture. Catena 65(1), 30-40 (2006). (Pubitemid 43197673)
82. Rumpel C, Ba A, Darboux F, Chaplot V, Planchon O. Erosion budget and process selectivity of black carbon at meter scale. Geoderma 154 (1-2), 131-137 (2009).
83. Manning DAC, Lopez-Capel E. Test procedures for determining the quantity of biochar within soils. In: Biochar for Environmental Management - Science and Technology. Lehmann J, Joseph S (Eds). Earthscan, London, UK, 301-316 2009.
84. Carbon Gold. General Methodology for Quantifying the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions from the Production and Incorporation of Soil of Biochar in Agricultural and Forest Management Systems. Voluntary Carbon Standard (2009).
85. McCarl B, Peacocke C, Chrisman R, Kung C-C, Sands R. Economics of biochar production, utilisation and emissions. In: Biochar for Environemental Management: Science and Technology. Lehmann J, Joseph S (Eds). EarthScan, London, UK, 341-357 (2009).
86. UNFCCC. Caring for Climate: a Guide to the Climate Change Convention and the Kyoto Protocol. Depledge JRL (Ed.). Bonn, Germany (2005).
87. Boyd E, Hultman N, Roberts JT et al. Reforming the CDM for sustainable development: lessons learned and policy futures. Environmental Science & Policy 12(7), 820-831 (2009).
88. Lohmann L. Carbon trading, climate justice and the production of ignorance: ten examples. Development (London) 51(3), 359-365 (2008).
89. Boyd E, Gutierrez M, Chang MY. Small-scale forest carbon projects: adapting CDM to low-income communities. Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions 17(2), 250-259 (2007). (Pubitemid 46729651)
90. Sutter C, Parreno JC. Does the current Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) deliver its sustainable development claim? An ana lysis of officially registered CDM projects. Climatic Change 84(1), 75-90 (2007). (Pubitemid 47196643)
91. Lovelock J. The Vanishing Face of Gaia: a Final Warning. Basic Books, NY, USA (2009).
92. Gore A. Our Choice: a Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. Rodale, Emmaus, PA, USA (2008).
93. Van Oost K, Quine TA, Govers G et al. The impact of agricultural soil erosion on the global carbon cycle. Science 318, 626-629 (2007). (Pubitemid 350014832)
94. Risk D, Kellman L, Beltrami H, Diochon A. In situ incubations highlight the environmental constraints on soil organic carbon decomposition. Environmental Research Letters 3(4), 44004(2008).
95. Barrett DJ. Steady state turnover time of carbon in the Australian terrestrial biosphere. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 16(4), no. 1108 55-1-55-21 (2002).
96. Trettin CC, Davidian M, Jurgensen MF, Lea R. Organic matter decomposition following harvesting and site preparation of a forested wetland. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 60(6), 1994-2003 (1996).
97. Dittmar T, Koch BP. Thermogenic organic matter dissolved in the abyssal ocean. Marine Chem. 102 (3-4), 208-217 (2006). (Pubitemid 44466207)
98. Mannino A, Harvey HR. Black carbon in estuarine and coastal ocean dissolved organic matter. Limnol. Oceanogr. 49(3), 735-740 (2004). (Pubitemid 38730117)
99. Loh AN, Bauer JE, Druffel ERM. Variable ageing and storage of dissolved organic components in the open ocean. Nature 430(7002), 877-881 (2004). (Pubitemid 39119212)
100. Chang SB, Berner RA. Coal weathering and the geochemical carbon cycle. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 63 (19-20), 3301-3310 (1999). (Pubitemid 30106859)
101. Masiello CA. New directions in black carbon organic geochemistry. Marine Chem. 92 (1-4), 201-213 (2004). (Pubitemid 39579675)
102. Winkler MG. Charcoal ana lysis for paleoenvironmental interpretation - a chemical assay. Quaternary Research 23(3), 313-326 (1985). (Pubitemid 16259193)
103. Middelburg JJ, Nieuwenhuize J, van Breugel P. Black carbon in marine sediments. Mar. Chem. 65 (3-4), 245-252 (1999). (Pubitemid 29239889)
104. Einsele G, Yan JP, Hinderer M. Atmospheric carbon burial in modern lake basins and its significance for the global carbon budget. Glob. Planet. Change 30 (3-4), 167-195 (2001). (Pubitemid 34067409)