Biochar research compilation from Indonesia and IRRI

Biochar for future food security: learning from experiences and identifying research priorities

FOREWORD
Biochar research started almost 20 years ago and there are already accumulated research outputs from various research groups from many areas, including improving soil health and plant productivity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, there are limited studies on the application of biochar in agriculture. Thus, there is a need to identify research gaps on technology development to maximize the potential of this promising agricultural material.

Along this line, the national workshop on Biochar for Food Security: Learning from Experiences and Identifying Research Priorities was held in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia on February 4 and 5, 2013. In this workshop, there were 15 presentations made of studies carried out from various fields from different organizations and 11 papers are published through this limited proceedings.

The first paper provides a summary of biochar research in the world, including its history and findings on various functions of biochar. The next paper focuses on the constraints to biochar production and presents a method of converting smoke into wood vinegar, which has a significant role in crop protection. There are two papers on the function of biochar and its effect on the physical and chemical properties of the soil and three more papers that show that the yield of some crops like maize and rice were improved by biochar. There are also three more papers that focus on the environmental benefits of biochar application such as mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and remediation of polluted soils caused by chemical compounds from pesticides. The last paper presents an economic evaluation of biochar application in the agroforestry-agriculture combined system and shows that biochar application improved farmers’ income despite the cost increase.
 
The papers presented in this document cover a wide range of biochar research areas in Indonesia, which shows promising prospects for sustainable agricultural production and better livelihood. It is hoped that this limited proceedings will contribute to future agricultural research on technology development in Indonesia.
 
Keiichi Hayashi
Project Coordinator/Soil Scientist, IRRI-Japan Collaborative Research Project on Climate Change Adaptation in Rainfed Rice Areas (CCARA), IRRI
Martin Gummert
Senior Scientist, Postharvest Development, IRRI
Dr. Zulkifli Zaini
IRRI Representative and Liaison Scientist, IRRI-Indonesia Office

Contents
The role of  biochar and prospects for its use in rice production in Southeast Asia (Keiichi Hayashi)
 
Biochar for forestry and agricultural production (Gustan Pari, Han Roliadi, and Sri Komarayat)

Application of biochar produces changes in some soil properties (Ainin Niswati)
 
Changes in water retention, water use efficiency, and aggregate stability of sandy soils following biochar application (Sukartono, W.H.Utomo, W.H. Nugroho, and Suwardji)

Evaluating the effects of biochar on N absorption and N use efficiency in maize (Widowati, W.H. Utomo, B. Guritno, and L.A. Soehono)

Nitrogen fertilizer requirement of maize (Zea maysL.) on biochar-treated soil (Wani Hadi Utomo and Titiek Islami)

Use of biochar to improve soil characteristics and increase rice yield in swamplands (D. Nursyamsi, E. Maftuah, I. Khairullah, and Mukhlis)

Gas emissions from the production and use of biochar in the peatland of Kalimantan (Abdul Hadi, Abdul Ghofur, Annisa Farida, Triharyo Subekti, and Dedi Nursyamsi)

Evaluation of the effects of activated carbon on POP insecticide residues in mustard in Central Java, Indonesia (Elisabeth Srihayu Harsanti, Asep Nugraha Ardiwinata, Sri Wahyuni, and Dedi Nursyamsi)
 
The role and use of activated carbon in the agriculture sector to control insecticide residues (Asep Nugraha Ardiwinata and Elisabeth Srihayu Harsanti)

Economic analysis of biochar application in agroforestry systems (Rachman Effendi)