Water Holding of Biochar Amended SE Coastal Plain Soils.

Because southeastern Coastal Plain soils are sandy, poorly aggregated, and low in organic matter, they have low water holding capacities. Water holding can be improved with biochar amendments that have the potential to increase aggregation and provide a medium of water storage in the carbon. Changes in water holding have been analyzed for several bench-top experiments using a number of biochars produced at either high (>500ºC or low (>400ºC) temperature. Also analyzed was a hardwood biochar mixed into soil at 0, 33, 67, and 100% rates to assess its ability to hold water with and without soil. Biochars have the ability to amend sandy coastal soils and improve their water holding capacities.