Biochar Soil Aging
This global citizen science effort was aimed at having volunteers bury biochar samples in their local soil for a period of 3 to 6 months, and then retrieve these samples and return them to the USDA-ARS for analysis. This project was unique in that it provided the opportunity to age the same biochar in various soils across the globe, which would not have been possible to achieve through normal research collaborations or projects.
Project URL: https://scistarter.org/biochar-soil-aging
Geographic Scope: There were participants form Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, South Korea, Brazil, and the US states of Kansas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Texas, California, Minnesota, Illinois, Idaho, South Carolina, Florida, and Alabama.
Project Status: Periodically active - recruiting volunteers
Participation Tasks: Specimen/sample collection,
Start Date: 03/01/2018
Project Contact: kurt.spokas@usda.gov
Federal Government Sponsor:
Other Federal Government Sponsor: Agricultural Research Service
Fields of Science: Ecology and environment, Geology and earth science
Intended Outcomes: This project is exmaning the impact of different soil mineralogies and climates on alterations in biochar agrochemical sorption and greenhouse gas mitigation potentials.