Reducing Emissions and Boosting Soil Health With Biochar

Oct 25, 2024

Emissions testing in the Usal Forest

Sonoma Ecology Center (SEC) has been training foresters and agricultural producers how to process their surplus biomass into biochar for 10 years using the conservation burn and flame-cap kiln methods.  Biochar is a carbon-rich soil amendment made from wood products that would otherwise go to waste. It has a unique physical structure with thousands of tiny pores that hold water and nutrients for plants. 
When conducted correctly these alternative burning techniques produce significantly less smoke pollution as well as convert carbon into a highly beneficial soil amendment.  In 2023, in partnership with the San Luis Obispo Air Pollution Control District, the Usal Redwood Forest Company, and the US Forest Service Fire Science Lab,  and with funding from CAL FIRE, SEC conducted two weeks of emissions testing in the Usal Forest on standard open burn piles compared to the conservation burn and flame-cap kiln methods.

Following  up on this testing, staff from SEC recently concluded 10 days of emissions testing on these 3 burn methods at the U.S. Forest Service Fire Science Lab in Missoula, Montana. 

Cuauhtemoc Villa inspects the flame front in a conservation burn in the USFS Fire Science Lab

Climate and Biochar Projects Manager Raymond Baltar, Restoration Technician Robert Symens-Bucher, and burn specialist Cuauhtemoc Villa managed a total of 22 replicate burns while scientists from the lab monitored a range of emissions including C0, C02, Methane, PM 2.5, and other pollutants.
The Benefits of Biochar:

Soil health
Biochar improves soil health by increasing water and nutrient retention and reducing compaction. 

Water quality
Biochar can reduce heavy metals and chemicals in runoff from roadways, and mitigate minerals leaching from old mine sites. It can also adsorb nutrients from farming nutrient runoff. 

Plant health
Biochar can enhance soil fertility and conservation of nutrients, which can lead to increased food security. 

Stormwater filtration
Biochar can increase water filtration and drainage, leading to better stormwater management. 

Wildfire risk
Making biochar can decrease wildfire risk by reducing the volume of flammable material on site. 

Carbon storage
Biochar can sequester carbon for long periods in soil as it degrades very slowly while also providing multiple other benefits.

Cost
Biochar has become more affordable for farmers and industrial users in recent years. SEC trains foresters and farmers how to produce biochar using their own surplus biomass.

SEC will be releasing a report from the Forest Service scientists comparing the lab and field burn results early next year, and this will be followed up by a report from biochar and GHG emissions researcher Dr. James Amonette from Washington State University in late 2025.

Preliminary results indicate the flame-cape kiln technology used (the Ring of Fire Kiln produced by Wilson Biochar) produced the lowest emissions of the three methods tested, and we will release specifics once all of the data has been analyzed and the final reports are released.

Our hope is that this testing will show definitively that these and similarly inexpensive and mobile processing systems can be used to reduce smoke and other pollution when compared to standard burn piles, and that high-quality, field-produced biochar can be made on-site in forests and in agricultural settings and considered a best-practice by air districts throughout the state.

SEC’s Robert Symens-Bucher and Cuauhtemoc Villa extinguish a conservation burn pile to save carbon during emissions testing at the USFS Fire Science Lab

As data from these emission tests continue to be analyzed, SEC hopes to establish biochar production as a best practice in forestry and agriculture, helping to improve air quality and increase carbon sequestration statewide. The ongoing research and field trials will pave the way for broader adoption of these environmentally friendly techniques, benefiting both ecosystems and communities.
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