Charcoal soil additive helps Mediterranean crops, but not all of them
Borgatti D, Radicetti E, Mancinelli R, Coluccia L, Allam M
Soil Health
If you garden in dry, sandy, or salty soil, mixing in biochar (charred plant material) can boost water retention and nutrients for perennial plants like fruit trees and grapevines, though it may do little or even backfire for leafy greens and grains grown in already-decent soil.
Biochar is basically charcoal made from plant waste, and farmers have been mixing it into soil to fight climate change and help crops survive heat and drought. This review of 25+ years of studies found it really shines in tough spots: sandy soil, salty soil, and long-lived plants like grapevines and fruit trees, where it holds onto water and nutrients for years. But for annual crops like wheat or lettuce grown in already-healthy soil, the benefits are shaky at best, so it's not a magic ingredient you sprinkle everywhere.
Key Findings
Biochar consistently boosts soil organic carbon and generally reduces nitrous oxide emissions, though methane emissions can rise in warm, moist conditions
Perennial crops like tree crops and vineyards show the most consistent long-term benefits, while cereals and leafy vegetables show variable or even negative responses under non-limiting conditions
Moderate application rates of roughly 10-30 Mg per hectare, combined with other climate-smart practices, produced the best results across the 1999-2025 studies reviewed
chevron_right Technical Summary
Adding biochar to Mediterranean farm soil can lock away carbon and help crops cope with drought and poor soil, but it works best in specific situations like vineyards and orchards rather than as a one-size-fits-all fix.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Carbon farming strategies for mediterranean agriculture: the role of biochar in climate-smart agroecosystems.
Mediterranean agriculture is increasingly constrained by climate change-driven stresses, including rising temperatures, intensified drought, and soil organic matter depletion, all of which threaten...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Gene editing removes 97% of celiac-triggering proteins from bread wheat
It could mean that people with celiac disease — roughly 1 in 100 worldwide — may one day safely eat bread made from real wheat, without sacrificing the taste...
Vitis (grapevine) is a genus of about 80 species of twining plants in the family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce wine....