The Biochar Effects on Chemical and Biological Characteristics of Organic Matter in Degraded Soil.

Dark Earths (DE), a term given to soils enriched with biological charcoal (biochar)  present high fertility and can offer information on how to sustainably manage soils in  the future. Biochar, the essential ingredient of DE, lends these soils the capacity to retain organic matter and nutrients, such as phosphorous, often lacking in highly weathered tropical soils.  The objective of this study was to study the effect of the biochar and organic matter on selected chemical and biological characteristics of a degraded soil. The soil, a Latossolo Vermelho, was homogenized with biochar at a rate of 35% total dry weight based on the average concentration of biochar encountered in the Amazonian Dark Earths. Two treatments, the created DE, unamended were analyzed for macro- and micronutrient concentrations, CEC, pH and microbial activity. Our preliminary results show that biochar-enriched soils  exhibit higher CEC,  pH, and microbial activity compared to unamended soils.