Renewing carbon and re-establishing it again in the soil is one of the valuable means to cope with climate change. There are many technologies for carbon apprehension and storage, but the most important one gaining attention is biochar technology. So, to carbonize and return different biological materials back to the farmland, a comprehensive study was proposed to characterize and evaluate the carbon (C) mineralization of biochars produced from different animal manures and crop straws. Six types of biochars were prepared from animal manures (poultry litter, swine and cattle manures) and crop straws (rice, soybean, and corn straws). The biochars were analyzed for chemical characteristics (elemental variables, thermal decomposition, cation exchange capacity, pH, electrical conductivity, specific surface area, and surface functional groups) and an incubation experiment was conducted to evaluate C mineralization from soil biochar mixture. Biochars produced from crop straws resulted to have more C as compared to the biochars produced from animal manures. Concentration of nitrogen was low, while P, K, Ca, and Mg were found reasonably higher in all biochars except swine manure biochar. The plant-derived biochars presented lower CO₂emissions when incorporated to soil at 1 and 2% of C. Varying but all the biochars prepared represented an alkaline pH. Biochars prepared from the crop straws resulted to have more C, alkaline in nature, high CEC, low CO₂emissions, can sequester C and more suitable to enhance the soil fertility in comparison to biochars produced from other sources.

After flooding in rice crops, the Fe³⁺ ions from iron oxide minerals are reduced to Fe²⁺ in the anaerobic conditions, making it soluble. The excess of Fe²⁺ in soil solution can be toxic to plants, resulting in decreasing rice yield. Pyrolyzed materials from rice crop residues, such as rice husk, can be an environmentally friendly option to reduce iron availability in soil solution, provided they have appropriate chemical and physical characteristics regarding iron adsorption. In this study, rice husk biochar (RHB) and rice husk ashes (RHA1 and RHA2) were characterized regarding physical and chemical characteristics and the iron adsorption capacity. The different oxygenation conditions in obtaining the materials resulted in chemical and physical differences (e.g., biochar carbon content of 46% and ashes of 16% and 0.93%), but there were no significant differences related to iron adsorption capacity in aqueous solution. The iron adsorption capacity of the biochar was 5.53 mg Fe²⁺ g⁻¹ and of the ashes was 6.74 and 7.22 mg Fe²⁺ g⁻¹ for the two materials tested, which demonstrates potential of these materials to mitigate iron toxicity in flooded rice crops.

The utilization of biochar’s as soil amendments for enhancing nutrient retention in subsoils present potential limitations. To address this issue, we conducted a greenhouse experiment to assess the effects of various biochar’s derived from animal manures (swine manure, poultry litter, cattle manure) and plant residues (rice straw, soybean straw, corn straw) when applied to surface of an acidic soil. Our study focused on wheat crops under a no-tillage system, with a subsequent evaluation of the residual impacts on soybeans. The experimental design involved the application of biochar’s at different rates i.e. 10 and 20 Mg ha⁻¹, followed by the assessment of their influence on NPK levels, pH, and exchangeable Al in stratified soil layers (0–5, 5–10, 10–15, and 15–25 cm). Furthermore, we investigated the interplay between biochar doses and the application of nitrogen (N) in the top 5 cm of soil, specifically examining $${\text{NO}}_{{3}}^{ - }$$NO 3 - , $${\text{NH}}_{{4}}^{ + }$$NH 4 + , P and K levels. Our findings revealed that in the top 5 cm of soil, biochar doses and N application significantly affected $${\text{NO}}_{{3}}^{ - }$$NO 3 - , $${\text{NH}}_{{4}}^{ + }$$NH 4 + , P and K concentrations. However, in deeper soil layers, no significant differences were observed among biochar doses with or without N application. Interestingly, K levels were impacted throughout all soil depths, regardless of the presence or absence of N application. Moreover, biochar application up to a 5 cm depth induced favorable changes in soil pH and reduced exchangeable Al. In contrast, deeper layers experienced a decrease in soil pH and an increase in exchangeable Al following biochar treatment. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that biochar’s can effectively retain NPK nutrients, enhance soil pH, and decrease exchangeable Al, independent of the type and dosage of application under a no-tillage system. Nonetheless, the efficacy of biochar amendments may vary with soil depth and type of nutrient, warranting careful consideration for maximizing their benefits in sustainable agricultural practices.

The increase in the availability of phosphorus (P) can reduce the toxicity of copper (Cu) to plants because it favors the formation of complexes and precipitates, reducing the bioavailability of this metal. The objective of this study was to investigate the capacity of P supplementation to decrease the phytotoxicity of excess Cu in the growth and in physiological parameters of wheat plants. Plants of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were cultivated on sand substrate and, for 30 days, submitted to the control treatments - Hoagland & Arnon solution 100% (H&A); H&A + 47 mg P L⁻¹ (H&A + P); H&A + 28 Cu mg L⁻¹ (H&A + Cu); H&A + 47 mg P L⁻¹ + 28 mg Cu L⁻¹ (H&A + P + Cu). Plant growth, tissue nutrient concentration, photosynthetic pigment concentration, chlorophyll a fluorescence and superoxide dismutase enzyme activity in the leaves were evaluated. We observed that the treatments H&A + P and H&A + Cu provided higher height, while H&A + P + Cu provided higher dry matter yield of shoots and roots in plants. A higher Cu content in the leaves was observed in the plants cultivated with addition of 28 mg Cu L⁻¹, however the application of Cu did not cause loss of photochemical energy and energy dissipation in the PSII antenna complex. The addition of 47 mg P L⁻¹ provided a higher rate of electron transport in wheat plants. Therefore, wheat plants were tolerant to increasing the concentration of Cu in the culture medium and the addition of P attenuated the toxic effects caused by Cu, mainly in the roots of plants.