Review article

The potential of biochar as a microbial carrier for agricultural and environmental applications

Shiv BolanUWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia; Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) National Research Network, AustraliaDeyi HouSchool of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of ChinaLiuwei WangSchool of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of ChinaLauren HaleUSDA, Agricultural Research Service, San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, 9611 South Riverbend Avenue, Parlier, CA 93648-9757, United StatesDilfuza EgamberdievaInstitute of Fundamental and Applied Research, National Research University (TIIAME), Tashkent 100000, Uzbekistan; Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Müncheberg, GermanyPriit TammeorgDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FinlandRui LiCollege of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, People's Republic of ChinaBing WangCollege of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Karst Georesources and Environment, Ministry of Education, Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, People's Republic of ChinaJiaping XuMOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of ChinaTing WangMOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of ChinaHongwen SunMOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of ChinaLokesh P. PadhyeDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland, 1010, New ZealandHailong WangBiochar Engineering Technology Research Center of Guangdong Province, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, People's Republic of ChinaKadambot H. M. SiddiqueThe UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia; UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, AustraliaJörg RinklebeUniversity of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water- and Waste-Management, Laboratory of Soil- and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285 Wuppertal, GermanyM.B. KirkhamDepartment of Agronomy, Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United StatesNanthi BolanUWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia; Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) National Research Network, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected]

The Science of The Total Environmentjournal2023en

ABI

Abstract

Biochar can be an effective carrier for microbial inoculants because of its favourable properties promoting microbial life. In this review, we assess the effectiveness of biochar as a microbial carrier for agricultural and environmental applications. Biochar is enriched with organic carbon, contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium as nutrients, and has a high porosity and moisture-holding capacity. The large number of active hydroxyl, carboxyl, sulfonic acid group, amino, imino, and acylamino hydroxyl and carboxyl functional groups are effective for microbial cell adhesion and proliferation. The use of biochar as a carrier of microbial inoculum has been shown to enhance the persistence, survival and colonization of inoculated microbes in soil and plant roots, which play a crucial role in soil biochemical processes, nutrient and carbon cycling, and soil contamination remediation. Moreover, biochar-based microbial inoculants including probiotics effectively promote plant growth and remediate soil contaminated with organic pollutants. These findings suggest that biochar can serve as a promising substitute for non-renewable substrates, such as peat, to formulate and deliver microbial inoculants. The future research directions in relation to improving the carrier material performance and expanding the potential applications of this emerging biochar-based microbial immobilization technology have been proposed.

Topics

Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity Nematode management and characterization studies Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163968

Citations and references

Cited by 7 255 references

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