Biochar Production and Agricultural Use in Europe: Enhancing Implementation Success By Cascading-Use Concepts.

Biochar (or rather charcoal) production and agricultural use has an ancient tradition in Europe, dating back hundreds to thousands of years. With the recent upsurge in biochar research, ancient charcoal-rich soils and places across Europe are now increasingly recognized for what they are: Terra-preta like man-made soils. However, (large-scale) biochar industry is in its infancy in Europe. Currently biochar production is largely restricted to medium- and smaller-scale production units; the European statistics will be provided. Direct soil use is legal in Switzerland and Austria at the moment, as long as it is certified along the European Biochar Certificate (EBC); in Germany the use of “charcoal” is legal, however, without a clear definition of what “charcoal” exactly is. The economic use is largely restricted to the production of special horticultural substrates or nutrient-rich soil enhancers where the biochar has been pre-loaded with nutrients and has subsequently been aged/enhanced by co-composting. However, the predominant biochar implementation pathway that finally delivers biochar to soils is currently in animal husbandry, because it can improve animal health to the point where (veterinarian) costs are considerably reduced. In particular in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, the use of biochar in animal husbandry is implemented by small-to-medium-scale farmers. The practices rapidly spread by word-of-mouth recommendation among practitioners while scientific studies are largely lacking. In animal husbandry biochar is used (together with Lactobacilli) as ingredient of probiotic animal feeds, as manure and slurry conditioner, silage ingredient, bedding material and, particularly, as medical treatment (e.g. against Clostridium botulinum infections) since it is considerably cheaper than activated charcoal. The cascading use of biochar, where it has paid its price already by performing other services, is economically much more promising than direct field application.