Rock-enhanced biochar exhibits similar priming effect as pure biochar application while improving short-term carbon stabilization in agricultural soils

[Geoengineering News]

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00374-026-02030-7

Authors: Maria Ansari, Annemarie Lübeck, Johannes Meyer zu Drewer, Nikolas Hagemann, Annette Eschenbach & Joscha N. Becker 

20 June 2026

Abstract

Combined application of biochar and silicate rock powder might have synergistic effects on carbon dioxide removal and soil improvement. However, it remains unknown how their combination affects mineralization and stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC). We compared pure 13C-labeled wheat-straw biochar, pure basanite rock powder, their co-application, and rock-enhanced biochar from co-pyrolysis of wheat and basanite. All amendments were mixed with three agricultural topsoils (temperate silty, temperate sandy, tropical sandy) and incubated for 66 days. The δ13C-signal of the respired CO2 was monitored to determine amendment-induced priming of native SOC. After incubation, a density fractionation was conducted to investigate the potential stabilization of native and biochar-derived SOC as free particulate organic matter (fPOM), occluded POM (oPOM), and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM). Pure basanite application did not influence short-term SOC dynamics, probably due to limited weathering within the 66-day incubation. In combined applications (co-application and rock-enhanced biochar), the biochar effect was dominant. The effects of biochar-containing amendments (biochar, co-application, and rock-enhanced biochar) were mainly controlled by texture and pH. The sandy soils exhibited positive priming following the application of biochar-containing amendments. In the temperate soils, positive priming occurred in MAOM, while native fPOM was partly shifted to oPOM. Input of biochar-derived SOC compensated losses of native SOC in fPOM and MAOM, resulting in overall SOC gains in most fractions. While priming intensity of all biochar-containing amendments was comparable, rock-enhanced biochar most strongly increased SOC in the density fraction interpreted as MAOM and had a higher short-term stability. These findings demonstrate that short-term effects of combined applications on SOC dynamics were dominated by the biochar component, while highlighting the potential of co-pyrolysis for short-term SOC stabilization.

Source: Springer Nature Link