PubMed · 2026-07-01
Creating small soil pits and adding biochar dramatically increased native plant establishment in a degraded semiarid grassland, boosting seedling density 10-fold and biomass up to 300-fold compared to just scattering seeds. The key insight is that harsh, degraded landscapes need physical microsite improvements, not just more seeds, to support successful restoration.
Microsite creation via soil pits increased native plant density ~10-fold and biomass ~100-fold compared to seeding alone on bare ground.
Adding biochar to pits further boosted native biomass to ~300-fold greater than controls, likely by improving soil moisture retention.
Seed pellets showed no benefit over broadcast bare seeds and in most cases performed slightly worse, suggesting pellet technology is not a viable shortcut for dryland restoration.