Carbon Distribution in Humic Substance Fractions Extracted from Soils Treated with Charcoal (Biochar)

Biochar incorporation into the soil is a proposed C sequestration strategy. How newly applied biochar affects C accumulation in the soil is therefore a relevant question. This study presents part of the results, obtained from field experiments, of a study which has as objective to contribute to elucidate this question. The results indicated that biochar application into the soil directly influences humic substance levels. This effect is most probably due to the dichromate oxidable C contained in the biochar itself. This abstract and the abstract by Novotny et al. in this anais are containing complementary information as the latter characterized the HS fractions extracted from the same samples of the sandy loam discussed in this abstract.