ABSTRACT
Biochar is charcoal placed in soil for both soil and climate change improvement through carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Most of this chapter is on the latter biochar attribute—an atmospheric benefit. Biochar is the only CDR option where the carbon dioxide (transformed to char) is placed in soil. For biochar alone, the atmospheric CO2 has had two prior stages: a photosynthesis stage producing biomass and a pyrolysis stage producing charcoal (WSU, 2012). This chapter cannot discuss either of these in depth, although there is information in the following on both.
