Policy support for biochar: Review and recommendations
Open accessAbstract
Significant evidence has accumulated demonstrating that soil biochar amendment has many environmental benefits; however, adoption has been slow. This raises the question of how to align the environmental benefits with commercial motivations to drive more widespread implementation. Here, we examine the role that government policy can play in accelerating production and use at commercial scale. We identify three types of programs that can support biochar production: commercial financial incentives, nonfinancial policy support, and research and development funding. We also describe how these programs are currently used to support biochar production. For example, financial incentives can motivate immediate changes in business practices while nonfinancial policies can be important mechanisms to educate consumers and expand market demand. Research and development support can provide the necessary funding for early‐stage innovations that may one day become commercially viable options, even without other types of policy support. There are different risk–reward profiles for each policy mechanism, and these must be considered when evaluating a policy direction. Finally, we offer broad recommendations to the development of policy that maximizes the net benefits of biochar adoption. Key recommendations include improving policies that allow for the monetization of environmental benefits and avoided costs, recognizing soil as a resource through national preservation policy, and developing a broadly accepted set of product standards for biochar.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Three types of existing policy instruments can be used to stimulate biochar deployment in the USA: commercial financial incentives, non-financial incentives, and research and development funding.
“Pourhashem et al. examined the role of government policy in accelerating biochar adoption and identified three types of existing policy instruments that can be used to stimulate biochar deployment in the USA: commercial financial incentives, non-financial incentives and research and development funding (Pourhashem et al. 2019).”
From Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review (2020) · cites this paper as Pourhashem et al. 2019
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Biochar for environmental management: science and technology
(2009) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.47-0296 · Cited by 2,947 · see citing works
Jeffery, S., Verheijen, F. G. A., van der Velde, M., & Bastos, A. C. (2011) · Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment · doi:10.1016/j.agee.2011.08.015 · Cited by 2,422 · see citing works
Review of the stability of biochar in soils: predictability of O:C molar ratios
Spokas, K. A. (2010) · Carbon Management · doi:10.4155/cmt.10.32 · Cited by 1,160 · see citing works
Biochar's role in mitigating soil nitrous oxide emissions: A review and meta-analysis
Cayuela, M. L., van Zwieten, L., Singh, B. P., Jeffery, S., Roig, A., & Sánchez-Monedero, M. A. (2014) · Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment · doi:10.1016/j.agee.2013.10.009 · Cited by 1,053 · see citing works
Yao, Y., Gao, B., Zhang, M., Inyang, M., & Zimmerman, A. R. (2012) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.06.002 · Cited by 1,030 · see citing works
Techno-economic analysis of biomass fast pyrolysis to transportation fuels
Wright, M. M., Daugaard, D. E., Satrio, J. A., & Brown, R. C. (2010) · Fuel · doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2010.07.029 · Cited by 814 · see citing works
Effects of biochar on soil available inorganic nitrogen: a review and meta-analysis
Nguyen, T. T. N., Xu, C.-Y., Tahmasbian, I., Che, R., Xu, Z., Zhou, X., Wallace, H. M., & Bai, S. H. (2017) · Geoderma · doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.11.004 · Cited by 715 · see citing works
Tan, X.-F., Liu, S.-B., Liu, Y.-G., Gu, Y.-L., Zeng, G.-M., Hu, X.-J., Wang, X., Liu, S.-H., & Jiang, L.-H. (2017) · Bioresource Technology · doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2016.12.083 · Cited by 711 · see citing works
New approaches to measuring biochar density and porosity
Brewer, C. E., Chuang, V. J., Masiello, C. A., Gonnermann, H., Gao, X., Dugan, B., Driver, L. E., Panzacchi, P., Zygourakis, K., & Davies, C. A. (2014) · Biomass and Bioenergy · doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2014.03.059 · Cited by 667 · see citing works
Self-citationOmondi, M. O., Xia, X., Nahayo, A., Liu, X., Korai, P. K., & Pan, G. (2016) · Geoderma · doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.03.029 · Cited by 632 · see citing works
Exploring Farmers' Cultural Resistance to Voluntary Agri‐environmental Schemes
Burton, R. J. F., Kuczera, C., & Schwarz, G. (2008) · Sociologia Ruralis · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9523.2008.00452.x · Cited by 594 · see citing works
Standardized Product Definition and Product Testing Guidelines for Biochar That Is Used in Soil
Ibi, U. (2015) · Cited by 545 · see citing works
Hydrologic properties of biochars produced at different temperatures
Kinney, T. J., Masiello, C. A., Dugan, B., Hockaday, W. C., Dean, M. R., Zygourakis, K., & Barnes, R. T. (2012) · Biomass and Bioenergy · doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2012.01.033 · Cited by 517 · see citing works
Self-citationLong-term effects of biochar on soil physical properties
Burrell, L. D., Zehetner, F., Rampazzo, N., Wimmer, B., & Soja, G. (2016) · Geoderma · doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.07.019 · Cited by 496 · see citing works
Biochar effects on methane emissions from soils: A meta-analysis
Jeffery, S., Verheijen, F. G. A., Kammann, C., & Abalos, D. (2016) · Soil Biology and Biochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.07.021 · Cited by 413 · see citing works
Insight into biochar properties and its cost analysis
Ahmed, M. B., Zhou, J. L., Ngo, H. H., & Guo, W. (2015) · Biomass and Bioenergy · doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2015.11.002 · Cited by 380 · see citing works
Slow, fast and flash pyrolysis of rapeseed
Оnаy, Ö., & Koçkar, Ö. M. (2003) · Renewable Energy · doi:10.1016/s0960-1481(03)00137-x · Cited by 344 · see citing works
Estimating profitability of two biochar production scenarios: slow pyrolysis vs fast pyrolysis
Brown, T. R., Wright, M. M., & Brown, R. C. (2010) · Biofuels Bioproducts and Biorefining · doi:10.1002/bbb.254 · Cited by 340 · see citing works
Black, J. D., Hashimzade, N., & Myles, G. (2009) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acref/9780198759430.001.0001 · Cited by 311 · see citing works
Effect of different biochar and fertilizer types on N2O and NO emissions
Nelissen, V., Saha, B. K., Ruysschaert, G., & Boeckx, P. (2014) · Soil Biology and Biochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2013.12.026 · Cited by 249 · see citing works
Chen, W., Liao, X., Wu, Y., Liang, J. B., Mi, J., Huang, J., Zhang, H., Wu, Y., Qiao, Z., Li, X., et al. (2017) · Waste Management · doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2017.01.014 · Cited by 248 · see citing works
Liu, Z., Dugan, B., Masiello, C. A., Barnes, R. T., Gallagher, M. E., & Gonnermann, H. (2015) · Journal of Hydrology · doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.12.007 · Cited by 224 · see citing works
Self-citationDas, O., Sarmah, A. K., & Bhattacharyya, D. (2015) · Waste Management · doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2015.01.015 · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Zhang, D., Pan, G., Wu, G., Kibue, G. W., Li, L., Zhang, X., Zheng, J., Zheng, J., Cheng, K., Joseph, S. D., et al. (2015) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.04.088 · Cited by 211 · see citing works
Potential Benefits of Biochar in Agricultural Soils: A Review
Ding, Y., Liu, Y., Liu, S., Huang, X., Li, Z., Tan, X., Zeng, G., & Zhou, L. (2017) · Pedosphere · doi:10.1016/s1002-0160(17)60375-8 · Cited by 202 · see citing works
What carbon farming activities are farmers likely to adopt? A best–worst scaling survey
Dumbrell, N. P., Kragt, M. E., & Gibson, F. L. (2016) · Land Use Policy · doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.02.002 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Pyrolysis of forest residues: An approach to techno-economics for bio-fuel production
Carrasco, J., Gunukula, S., Boateng, A. A., Mullen, C. A., DeSisto, W. J., & Wheeler, M. C. (2017) · Fuel · doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2016.12.063 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Biochar as a renewable source for high-performance CO2 sorbent
Li, Y., Ruan, G., Jalilov, A. S., Tarkunde, Y. R., Fei, H., & Tour, J. M. (2016) · Carbon · doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2016.06.010 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
A sustainable and resilient approach through biochar addition in wood polymer composites
Das, O., Sarmah, A. K., & Bhattacharyya, D. (2015) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.01.063 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Biochar-Induced Changes in Soil Resilience: Effects of Soil Texture and Biochar Dosage
Ajayi, A. E., & Horn, R. (2017) · Pedosphere · doi:10.1016/s1002-0160(17)60313-8 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Economics of pyrolysis-based energy production and biochar utilization: A case study in Taiwan
Kung, C.-C., McCarl, B. A., & Cao, X. (2013) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2013.05.029 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Biochar pricing hampers biochar farming
Vochоzka, M., Maroušková, A., Váchal, J., & Straková, J. (2016) · Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy · doi:10.1007/s10098-016-1113-3 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Willingness to Adopt Biochar in Agriculture: The Producer’s Perspective
Latawiec, A., Królczyk, J., Kuboń, M., Szwedziak, K., Drosik, A., Polańczyk, E., Grotkiewicz, K., & Strassburg, B. (2017) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su9040655 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Current economic obstacles to biochar use in agriculture and climate change mitigation
Bach, M., Wilske, B., & Breuer, L. (2016) · Carbon Management · doi:10.1080/17583004.2016.1213608 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Phillips, S. T. (1999) · Environmental History · doi:10.2307/3985305 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Pourhashem, G., Spatari, S., Boateng, A. A., McAloon, A. J., & Mullen, C. A. (2013) · Energy & Fuels · doi:10.1021/ef3016206 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Self-citationZhou, Y., Berruti, F., Greenhalf, C., Tian, X., & Henry, H. A. L. (2016) · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · doi:10.1016/j.agee.2016.11.011 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Biochar interferes with kiwifruit Fe-nutrition in calcareous soil
Sorrenti, G., Masiello, C. A., & Toselli, M. (2016) · Geoderma · doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.02.017 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Self-citationFactors Influencing Land Management Practices on Conservation Easement Protected Landscapes
Stroman, D. A., & Kreuter, U. P. (2015) · Society & Natural Resources · doi:10.1080/08941920.2015.1024365 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
WU, J., & Tanaka, K. (2005) · Marine Resource Economics · doi:10.1086/mre.20.2.42629465 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Legal constraints and opportunities for biochar: a case analysis of EU law
Laer, T. V., Smedt, P. D., Ronsse, F., Ruysschaert, G., Boeckx, P., Verstraete, W., Buysse, J., & Lavrysen, L. (2013) · GCB Bioenergy · doi:10.1111/gcbb.12114 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Biochar: An emerging policy arrangement in Brazil?
Rittl, T. F., Arts, B. J. M., & Kuyper, T. W. (2015) · Environmental Science & Policy · doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2015.03.010 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Navia, R., & Crowley, D. E. (2010) · Waste Management & Research The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy · doi:10.1177/0734242x10370928 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Valuing the Air Quality Effects of Biochar Reductions on Soil NO Emissions
Pourhashem, G., Rasool, Q. Z., Zhang, R., Medlock, K. B., Cohan, D. S., & Masiello, C. A. (2017) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b00748 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Self-citationThe evolution of federal agricultural land use policy in the United States
Steiner, F. W. (1988) · Journal of Rural Studies · doi:10.1016/0743-0167(88)90004-6 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Federal Tax Incentives Encourage Alternative Fuel Use
Harrow, G. A. (2008) · doi:10.2172/928616 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Bottom Line on State and Federal Policy Roles
Larsen, J. (2008) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Biochar (2018). Personal communication with biochar producers during USBI Biochar 2018 Conference, August 21 & 22, 2018.
- Black, J., Hashimzade, N., & Myles, G. (2009). A dictionary of econom- ics. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review
Fawzy, S., Osman, A. I., Doran, J., & Rooney, D. W. (2020) · Environmental Chemistry Letters · doi:10.1007/s10311-020-01059-w · Cited by 1,522 · see citing works
Ghodake, G. S., Shinde, S. K., Kadam, A. A., Saratale, R. G., Saratale, G. D., Kumar, M., Palem, R. R., AL-Shwaiman, H. A., Elgorban, A. M., Syed, A., et al. (2021) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126645 · Cited by 414 · see citing works
A techno-economic analysis of biochar production and the bioeconomy for orchard biomass
Nematian, M., Keske, C., & Ng'ombe, J. N. (2021) · Waste Management · doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2021.09.014 · Cited by 268 · see citing works
Struhs, E., Mirkouei, A., You, Y., & Mohajeri, A. (2020) · Applied Energy · doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115782 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Owsianiak, M., Lindhjem, H., Cornelissen, G., Hale, S. E., Sørmo, E., & Sparrevik, M. (2021) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142455 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
- Authors
- Pourhashem, G., Hung, S. Y., Medlock, K. B., & Masiello, C. A.
- Affiliations
- North Dakota State University (US)
- Rice University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Pourhashem, Ghasideh
- Venue
- GCB Bioenergy
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-12-21
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 364-380
- ISSN
- 1757-1693 (ISSN-L)
- 1757-1707
- OpenAlex
- W2905785351
- Cited by
- 105
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 6
- FWCI
- 4.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- GCB Bioenergy (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Rice Research Repository (Rice University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy
- Rice University's Shell Center for Sustainability
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Climate Change Policy and Economics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Bioeconomy and Sustainability Development
- Keywords
- biochar, soil amendment, public policy, financial incentives, R&D investment, commercialization, avoided costs, soil resources, policy recommendations
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
