Editors: Dr. Mani Jayakumar

Dr. Natchimuthu Karmegam (2022)

ISBN: 978-93-94174-05-4

Study of Reduction in Greenhouse Effect using Biochar on Wetlands

P. K. Sindhu¹, K. Aneesh², G. Abirami¹ M. Suganthi³, and Ashok Kumar Krishna Kumar³

¹Department of Biotechnology, Gurudev Arts and Science College, Mathil, Kerala, India ²Department of Microbiology, Gurudev Arts and Science College, Mathil, Kerala, India ³Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Vels Institute of Science, Technology and Advanced Studies, Pallavaram - 600 117, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Biochar is a co-product of the controlled pyrolysis process that can be used to recuse carbon in the soil to negate greenhouse gas emissions and as a soil amendment. Presently, global warming has caused adequate attention worldwide and promoting a low carbon development model has become the consensus of humans. Biochar application to soils has grown in popularity due to the properties such as resistance to microbial degradation and chemical transformation, high surface area, high water retention capacity, cation – exchange capacity, and its effectiveness as support and substrate for microbes. Biochar application in the soil is also used to offset greenhouse gas emissions such as CO2, N2O, and CH4. The porosity of soil increases with the addition of biochar, which determines methane production. Biochar prevents the CO2 from organic matter from leaking into the atmosphere by storing it in a stable form, thereby reducing CO2 emissions. Biochar also sequesters CO2 from the atmosphere to mitigate climate change. Amending soil with biochar also leads to a reduction in N2O by adsorbing it into the porous surface of biochar and immobilizing them. Soils of wetlands play an important role in alleviating global climate change regardless of the emission of CH4. The coastal wetlands are essential for regulating the global carbon budget through soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse fluxes. Wetland is a major source of CH4 production, application of biochar in wetlands thereby reduces the emission of greenhouse gases. Biochar is a holistic approach that has been historically tested, traditionally practiced, is culturally integral, economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and agreeable as a policy. The objective of this study was to provide a theoretical basis for slowing global climate change by promoting the application of biochar in agriculture.

*Corresponding author; e-mail: bioashok2002@gmail.com

Cite this Chapter: Sindhu P. K., Aneesh, K., Abirami, G., Suganthi, M., Ashok Kumar, K. 2022. Study of Reduction in Greenhouse Effect using Biochar on Wetlands. In: M. Jayakumar and N. Karmegam (Eds.), Recent Trends in Bioresource Management for Greener Environment. Excellent Publishers, India. pp. 1-12. doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/978-93-94174-05-4_1