Guido Fellet

TL;DR: The changes promoted by the biochar seem to be in favor of its use on mine wastes to help the establishment of a green cover in a phytostabilization process.

TL;DR: The main purpose of the research was to verify the effects of different types of biochar produced from different feedstocks on changing the substrate conditions to promote plant growth for the phytostabilization of mine tailings.

TL;DR: Solubility and mobility of As were increased by biochar addition to this soil, but uptake to plant was reduced, and toxicity-transfer risk was negligible, therefore leaching rather than food chain transfer appears the most probable immediate consequence of biochar added to As contaminated soils.

TL;DR: The evaluation of the potential of phytoremediation of the authors' plants compared to other crops in terms of metal removal was positive, and fertilization and soil amendment did not heighten the concentration of metals in the harvestable tissue of the plants during the crop cycle.

Abstract: The pyrolysis conversion of agricultural residues into biochar and its incorporation in agricultural soil, avoids CO2 emissions providing a safe long-term soil carbon sequestration. Furthermore, biochar application to soil seems to increase nutrient stocks in the rooting zone, to reduce nutrient leaching and to improve crop yields. This study reports some preliminary results obtained using biochar in two typical Italian agricultural crops. Two field experiments were made on durum wheat (Triticum durum L.) in Central Italy and maize (Zea mays L.) in Northern Italy. In both the field experiments, an increase in yields (+ 10% and + 6% in terms of grain production, respectively) was detected after a biochar application of 10 t ha-1. A further increase in grain production (+24%) was detected when biochar was added with maize residues. The biochar dose-effect curve was studied on perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) in a pot experiment. The highest increase of dry matter (+120%) was obtained at a biochar rate of 60 t ha-1 and above this threshold, a general reduction of biomass was observed. Results demonstrate the potential of biochar applications to improve in terms of dry matter production, while pointing out the needs for long-term field studies to better understand the effects of biochar on soil.