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7711 results in Climatology and Climate Change

Page 102 of 386

  • Chapter Eight - A Call for Capacity Development for Improved Water Diplomacy

  • from Part II - TOOLS, TECHNIQUES, MODELS AND ANALYSES TO RESOLVE COMPLEX WATER PROBLEMS
  • Edited by Shafiqul Shafiqul, Kaveh Madani
  • Book:
    Water Diplomacy in Action
    Published by:
    Anthem Press
    Published online:
    10 January 2018
    Print publication:
    02 January 2017, pp 141-154

  • Summary

    Abstract

    Capacity development is a critical component of water diplomacy, navigating the complexities of transboundary water conflicts. Performed at the institutional and personal levels, capacity development can include initiatives to improve the practitioner's technical capabilities in water resources management, understanding of international water law, interpersonal communications and dispute resolution. One example of capacity development that interweaves society, institutional and individual capacities is the effective use of methods of public participation, by which communities that are impacted by transboundary water policy become critical voices in the decision- making processes. In this chapter we discuss the individual, institutional and societal levels of capacity development and their basin- wide implications for improved outcomes in water diplomacy.

    Introduction

    Anything else you're interested in is not going to happen if you can't breathe the air and drink the water. Don't sit this one out. Do something.

    (Carl Sagan)

    Water management is conflict management. There is no such thing as managing water for a single purpose because all water management is multi- objective and based on navigating competing interests. These interests include domestic users, agriculturists and environmentalists— any two of which are regularly at odds— and the chances of finding mutually acceptable solutions drop exponentially as more stakeholders are involved. Add international boundaries and the chances decrease exponentially yet again. (MacQuarrie et al. 2008, 176) Within each international basin, demands from environmental, domestic and economic users increases annually, while the amount of freshwater in the world remains roughly the same, as it has been throughout history. Given the scope of the problems and the resources available to address them, avoiding water conflict is vital. In international waters, the promising trend reveals a record of acute conflict over international water resources overwhelmed by a record of cooperation. Despite the tensions inherent in the international setting, riparians have shown tremendous creativity in approaching regional development, often through preventive diplomacy, and the creation of “baskets of benefits,” which allow for positive- sum, integrative allocations of joint gains (MacQuarrie et al. 2008, 177). It is in preventive diplomacy and cultivating the creativity to develop baskets of benefits where capacity building becomes an invaluable tool for improved water diplomacy.

Water Diplomacy in Action
  • Contingent Approaches to Managing Complex Water Problems
  • Edited by Shafiqul Shafiqul, Kaveh Madani
  • Published by:
    Anthem Press
    Published online:
    10 January 2018
    Print publication:
    02 January 2017
  • Complex water problems cannot be resolved by numbers or narratives. Contingent and negotiated approaches are necessary for actionable outcome. In the face of a constantly changing array of interconnected water issues that cross multiple boundaries, the challenge is how to translate solutions that emerge from science and technology into the context of real-world policy and politics. Water Diplomacy in Action addresses this task by synthesizing two emerging ideas––complexity science and negotiation theory––to understand and manage risks and opportunities for an uncertain water future. Rooted in the ideas of complexity science and mutual gains negotiation, this edited volume shows why traditional systems engineering approaches may not work for complex problems, what emerging tools and techniques are needed and how these are used to resolve complex water problems.

  • Chapter Twelve - Risk Distribution and the Adoption of Flexibility: Desalination Expansion in Qatar

  • from Part III - CASE STUDIES
    • By Abdulla AlMisnad, Public Investment Management, Ministry of Finance, Doha, Qatar, Richard de Neufville, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, Margaret Garcia, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA
  • Edited by Shafiqul Shafiqul, Kaveh Madani
  • Book:
    Water Diplomacy in Action
    Published by:
    Anthem Press
    Published online:
    10 January 2018
    Print publication:
    02 January 2017, pp 229-252

  • Summary

    Abstract

    Future needs for urban water supply are often highly uncertain, especially in cities with rapid, variable population growth. Technological innovations and volatility in energy prices aggravate the risks of investments in water infrastructure systems. In such uncertain conditions, Flexible Design can significantly increase expected performance compared to conventional designs, as Chapter 6 in this book demonstrates. Flexible Design achieves this result by embedding Real Options in the design and using them to adjust the system performance over time according to need. The problem is: How should we provide the contractual incentives to insure that the designers and suppliers of the system deliver appropriate flexible designs? This chapter shows, through a detailed case study of desalination projects for Qatar, that the form of the contract between the water authority and the suppliers greatly influences the overall design and economic performance. This chapter applies a waterfall analysis to trace how contracts allocate benefits and differentially motivate designers to create or avoid flexible designs. This result means that, contrary to current practice, joint consideration of physical design and contractual arrangements can improve the design of water supply systems. Additionally, understanding the impact of contract choice on the willingness of a public– private partnership (PPP) to implement a flexible design offers insights for water infrastructure projects with other types of multi- stakeholder relationships.

    Introduction

    This chapter argues that, to achieve the expected outcomes, designers and negotiators need to jointly consider both the physical and contractual arrangements of a project. The reasoning is:

  • The future outcomes of any project are uncertain because of inescapable changes in needs, supplies, costs, and technologies.

  • Contractual arrangements inevitably allocate these outcomes differentially between water suppliers and end users— largely, but not only, because their costs and benefits occur unevenly over time.

  • Designers will shape the project in response to the risks associated with the contracts, which may not be best from the overall societal perspective.

  • Therefore, to get the best project designs, we need to consider jointly the physical and contractual arrangements for a project.

  • Chapter Two - Leveraging Diplomacy for Resolving Transboundary Water Problems

  • from Part I - ROOTS AND CAUSES OF COMPLEXITY AND CONTINGENCY IN WATER PROBLEMS
  • Edited by Shafiqul Shafiqul, Kaveh Madani
  • Book:
    Water Diplomacy in Action
    Published by:
    Anthem Press
    Published online:
    10 January 2018
    Print publication:
    02 January 2017, pp 19-34

  • Summary

    Abstract

    Water is a fundamental precondition for human life. Yet, much of it transcends state borders via shared river and lake basins or groundwater aquifers. The resulting political, economic, social and environmental interdependencies give water resources the crucial potential either to foster cooperation or exacerbate conflict. Transboundary waters thus constitute a promising entry point for diplomats aiming for high peace dividends, warranting strong interest from foreign policy makers. Yet there is a lack of agency at the international level. As a result, the international community faces huge challenges when it comes to systematically taking early action to both respond to emerging crises and reinforce cooperation. This chapter, therefore, argues that foreign policy makers can and should do more to realize these dividends by exerting political leadership in fostering intrabasin cooperation and integration, connecting and reinforcing appropriate institutional structures for coordinated and cross-sectoral comprehensive engagement and for strengthening the diplomatic track of transboundary cooperation on water. This chapter proposes a number of specific instruments of engagement. Yet, in the end, strengthening the governance of transboundary waters hinges on strengthening and connecting the institutions, national and international, that can channel political will into coherent action.

    Introduction

    The global water crisis is of such a magnitude that it is growing into an issue of common global concern.1 This perspective puts the focus on water systems shared by two or more countries. Transboundary waters constitute a pivotal but underappreciated issue in global politics. The territories of 148 nations fall within international river basins that include the political boundaries of two or more countries (UN Water 2016). These international river basins cover 46 percent of the Earth's land surface (UN Water 2016), host about 40 percent of the world's population and account for approximately 60 percent of global river flow (Wolf et al. 2003). Shared waters are, therefore, often of critical importance for riparian states, that is, the states that comprise part of a transboundary basin. As a consequence, the use and apportionment of water in these basins is both a source of conflict risks and a chance for institutionalizing cooperative behavior.

  • Grey petrel population on Campbell Island 14 years after rodent eradication

  • Graham C. Parker, Kalinka Rexer-Huber, David Thompson
  • Journal:
    Antarctic Science / Volume 29 / Issue 3 / June 2017
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    19 December 2016, pp. 209-216

  • Populations of grey petrels have declined globally due to both incidental capture in commercial fisheries and predation by introduced mammals at breeding sites. In the New Zealand region, grey petrels only breed on Campbell and Antipodes islands. Rats were successfully eradicated from Campbell Island in 2001. We assessed the spatial extent and conducted the first quantitative population estimate of the grey petrel population on Campbell Island and surrounding islets. There was an estimated c. 96 pairs (95% CI: 83, 109) of breeding grey petrels from the four colonies. Since work was conducted during the middle of the chick-rearing stage, this is an underestimate of the breeding population. The Campbell Island grey petrel breeding population remains small. Our study provides a baseline for future population estimates of grey petrels on Campbell Island.

  • Rise and fall of Ross Sea emperor penguin colony populations: 2000 to 2012

  • G.L. Kooyman, P.J. Ponganis
  • Journal:
    Antarctic Science / Volume 29 / Issue 3 / June 2017
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    05 December 2016, pp. 201-208

  • There are seven emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) colonies distributed throughout the traditional boundaries of the Ross Sea from Cape Roget to Cape Colbeck. This coastline is c. 10% of the entire coast of Antarctica. From 2000 to 2012, there has been a nearly continuous record of population size of most, and sometimes all, of these colonies. Data were obtained by analysing aerial photographs. We found large annual variations in populations of individual colonies, and conclude that a trend from a single emperor penguin colony may not be a good environmental sentinel. There are at least four possibilities for census count fluctuations: i) this species is not bound to a nesting site like other penguins, and birds move within the colony and possibly to other colonies, ii) harsh environmental conditions cause a die-off of chicks in the colony or of adults elsewhere, iii) the adults skip a year of breeding if pre-breeding foraging is inadequate and iv) if sea ice conditions are unsatisfactory at autumn arrival of the adults, they skip breeding or go elsewhere. Such variability indicates that birds at all Ross Sea colonies should be counted annually if there is to be any possibility of understanding the causes of population changes.

  • Distribution and origin of ground ice in University Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

  • Caitlin Lapalme, Denis Lacelle, Wayne Pollard, David Fisher, Alfonso Davila, Christopher P. Mckay
  • Journal:
    Antarctic Science / Volume 29 / Issue 2 / April 2017
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    01 December 2016, pp. 183-198

  • Ground ice is one of the most important and dynamic geologic components of permafrost; however, few studies have investigated the distribution and origin of ground ice in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. In this study, ice-bearing permafrost cores were collected from 18 sites in University Valley, a small hanging glacial valley in the Quartermain Mountains. Ground ice was found to be ubiquitous in the upper 2 m of permafrost soils, with excess ice contents reaching 93%, but ground ice conditions were not homogeneous. Ground ice content was variable within polygons and along the valley floor, decreasing in the centres of polygons and increasing in the shoulders of polygons towards the mouth of the valley. Ground ice also had different origins: vapour deposition, freezing of partially evaporated snow meltwater and buried glacier ice. The variability in the distribution and origin of ground ice can be attributed to ground surface temperature and moisture conditions, which separate the valley into distinct zones. Ground ice of vapour-deposition origin was predominantly situated in perennially cryotic zones, whereas ground ice formed by the freezing of evaporated snow meltwater was predominantly found in seasonally non-cryotic zones.

  • Changed prevalence, not absence, explains toothfish status in McMurdo Sound

  • David G. Ainley, Grant Ballard, Joseph T. Eastman, Clive W. Evans, Nadav Nur, Claire L. Parkinson
  • Journal:
    Antarctic Science / Volume 29 / Issue 2 / April 2017
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    29 November 2016, pp. 165-171

  • We comment on the conjecture by Parker et al. (2016) that Antarctic toothfish recently returned to McMurdo Sound, arguing that this species never departed. Instead, as deduced from a 40-year fishing effort, toothfish water column prevalence became markedly reduced where bottom depths are <500 m, with research continuing to show their presence on the bottom or above the bottom where depths are deeper. We also counter arguments that toothfish departed, and remained absent, during and following a five-year presence of mega-icebergs residing near the opposite coast of Ross Island, the icebergs inhibiting or fomenting conditions that discouraged toothfish presence in the Sound. Available analyses reveal that toothfish movement into the Sound was probably not significantly affected, and additionally that neither changes in hydrography nor in primary productivity in the Sound would have been sufficient to impact toothfish presence through food web alteration. We hypothesize that the local effect of predation by seals and whales and the regional effect of a fishery targeting the largest toothfish (those neutrally buoyant and thus capable of occupying upper levels of the water column) has resulted in the remaining toothfish now being found predominantly closer to the bottom at greater depths.

  • Costs of reproduction and carry-over effects in breeding albatrosses

  • Part of
  • Glenn T. Crossin, richard A. Phillips, Christine R. Lattin, L. Michael Romero, Xavier Bordeleau, Christopher M. Harris, Oliver P. Love, Tony D. Williams
  • Journal:
    Antarctic Science / Volume 29 / Issue 2 / April 2017
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    29 November 2016, pp. 155-164

  • We investigated the physiology of two closely related albatross species relative to their breeding strategy: black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophris) breed annually, while grey-headed albatrosses (T. chrysostoma) breed biennially. From observations of breeding fate and blood samples collected at the end of breeding in one season and feather corticosterone levels (fCort) sampled at the beginning of the next breeding season, we found that in both species some post-breeding physiological parameters differed according to breeding outcome (successful, failed, deferred). Correlations between post-breeding physiology and fCort, and links to future breeding decisions, were examined. In black-browed albatrosses, post-breeding physiology and fCort were not significantly correlated, but fCort independently predicted breeding decision the next year, which we interpret as a possible migratory carry-over effect. In grey-headed albatrosses, post-breeding triglyceride levels were negatively correlated with fCort, but only in females, which we interpret as a potential cost of reproduction. However, this potential cost did not carry-over to future breeding in the grey-headed albatrosses. None of the variables predicted future breeding decisions. We suggest that biennial breeding in the grey-headed albatrosses may have evolved as a strategy to buffer against the apparent susceptibility of females to negative physiological costs of reproduction. Future studies are needed to confirm this.

Biochar
  • A Regional Supply Chain Approach in View of Climate Change Mitigation
  • Edited by Viktor J. Bruckman, Esin Apaydın Varol, Bașak B. Uzun, Jay Liu
  • Published online:
    01 December 2016
    Print publication:
    24 November 2016
  • Climate change poses a fundamental threat to humanity, and thus solutions for both mitigation and adaptation strategies are becoming increasingly necessary. Biochar can offer a range of environmental services, such as reclamation of degraded land, improvement of soil fertility and carbon sequestration. However, it also raises questions, regarding sustainable feedstock provision, biomass pyrolysis, and soil amendment. These questions, among various others, are addressed in this state-of-the-art compendium. Covering a broad geographical range, with regional assessments from North America, Europe, the Near East, and Southeast Asia, this interdisciplinary volume focuses on the entire biochar supply chain, from the availability and economics of biomass resources, to pyrolysis, and ultimately to the impacts on soil properties. The combination of theory with practical examples makes this a valuable book for researchers, policymakers, and graduate students alike, in fields such as soil science, sustainable development, climate change mitigation, biomass and bioenergy, forestry, and environmental engineering.

  • Part III - Biochar Production

  • Edited by Viktor J. Bruckman, Esin Apaydın Varol, Bașak B. Uzun, Jay Liu
  • Book:
    Biochar
    Published online:
    01 December 2016
    Print publication:
    24 November 2016, pp 197-288

  • Summary

    Abstract

    This chapter gives an overview of the key technologies to produce biochar. First, an introduction will be given to the different thermochemical conversion techniques of dry biomass (including pyrolysis) which result in char as one of the product fractions. A second part of this chapter is devoted to the discussion on how the biochar physicochemical properties result from the type of biomass feedstock used, as well as from the prevailing process conditions applied during thermochemical conversion – as some of these physicochemical properties in biochar have a major impact on the functionality and stability of biochar in soil. A major challenge for the successful deployment of biochar systems is to render its production economically profitable. Hence, this chapter concludes with an economic assessment of biochar. This last part of the chapter also emphasizes the potential increase in value creation in the biochar production process by identifying potential economic uses of co-products, including bio-oil and producer gas.

  • Part II - Sustainable Biomass Resources

  • Edited by Viktor J. Bruckman, Esin Apaydın Varol, Bașak B. Uzun, Jay Liu
  • Book:
    Biochar
    Published online:
    01 December 2016
    Print publication:
    24 November 2016, pp 121-196

  • Summary

    Abstract

    Forests are important for providing wood for products and energy, and the demand for wood is expected to increase over the next decades. The potential woody biomass supply was estimated for the period 2000–2020 for stem wood as well as residues, taking into account economic, environmental and technical restrictions. Constraints reducing the availability of forest biomass were defined and quantified for three mobilisation scenarios and five wood price scenarios in order to estimate the realisable potentials. The theoretical biomass potential was estimated from Austrian forest inventory data and applying the PROGNAUS forest growth simulator. It lies between 32.7 and 38.4 million m3 equivalents yr-1 over bark for the period 2000–2020. The realisable potential in Austria was estimated in a range between 23.9 and 31.1 million m3 equivalents yr-1 over bark for the period 2000–2020. These potentials represent 73–84% of the theoretical potential. Nutrient sustainability in the context of whole-tree harvesting appeared to be an important constraint when considering how much biomass is realisable from forests. The attitude of private forest owners towards increased harvest of forest biomass is also of major importance for the realisable potential, given the small-scale structure of forest ownership in Austria.

  • 2 - A Supply Chain Approach to Biochar Systems

  • from Part I - The Interdisciplinary Approach
  • Edited by Viktor J. Bruckman, Esin Apaydın Varol, Bașak B. Uzun, Jay Liu
  • Book:
    Biochar
    Published online:
    01 December 2016
    Print publication:
    24 November 2016, pp 25-45

  • Summary

    Abstract

    Biochar systems are designed to meet four related primary objectives: improve soils, manage waste, generate renewable energy, and mitigate climate change. Supply chain models provide a holistic framework for examining biochar systems with an emphasis on product life cycle and end use. Drawing on concepts in supply chain management and engineering, this chapter presents biochar as a manufactured product with a wide range of feedstocks, production technologies, and end use options. Supply chain segments are discussed in detail using diverse examples from agriculture, forestry and other sectors that cut across different scales of production and socioeconomic environments. Particular attention is focused on the environmental impacts of different production and logistics functions, and the relationship between supply chain management and life cycle assessment. The connections between biochar supply chains and those of various co-products, substitute products, and final products are examined from economic and environmental perspectives. For individuals, organizations, and broad associations connected by biochar supply and demand, achieving biochar’s potential benefits efficiently will hinge on understanding, organizing, and managing information, resources and materials across the supply chain, moving biochar from a nascent to an established industry.

  • 15 - Opportunities and Uses of Biochar on Forest Sites in North America

  • from Part IV - Biochar Application as a Soil Amendment
  • Edited by Viktor J. Bruckman, Esin Apaydın Varol, Bașak B. Uzun, Jay Liu
  • Book:
    Biochar
    Published online:
    01 December 2016
    Print publication:
    24 November 2016, pp 315-335

  • Summary

    Abstract

    Biochar may be useful for restoring or revitalizing degraded forest soils and help with carbon sequestration, nutrient leaching losses, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, biochar is not currently widely used on forested lands across North America. This chapter provides an overview of several biochar experiments conducted in North America and discusses the feasibility of using in-woods mobile pyrolysis systems to convert excess forest biomass into biochar. Biochar may be applied to forest sites in order to positively influence soil properties (nutrient leaching, water holding capacity), but its biggest benefit may be in facilitating reforestation of degraded or contaminated sites, and in sequestering carbon in soils. The majority of data on biochar applications on forest sites focus on seedling responses and short-term impacts on nutrients, soil physical properties and microbial changes. Long-term field research is necessary to determine water use, carbon sequestration, nutrient use, and greenhouse gas emissions, and the subsequent alteration of forest growth and stand dynamics.

  • 1 - Biochar in the View of Climate Change Mitigation: the FOREBIOM Experience

  • Edited by Viktor J. Bruckman, Esin Apaydın Varol, Bașak B. Uzun, Jay Liu
  • Book:
    Biochar
    Published online:
    01 December 2016
    Print publication:
    24 November 2016, pp 1-22

  • Summary

    Abstract

    Biochar is currently one of the dominant topics in soil research, despite the fact that it is not a new discovery. It has the potential to address some of the most pressing questions humanity is currently facing, that is climate change, food security, energy security and environmental pollution. However, a soil system is very complex and together with the multitude of biochar production settings and nearly infinite number of potential feedstock resources it becomes evident that there is no single solution for these challenges available. This is specifically an issue when addressing the potential of biochar for climate change mitigation via reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG). Systems approaches are needed, covering the entire supply chain and backed up with life cycle assessments to ensure a positive impact by using biochar as a tool for environmental management.

    This chapter provides a summary and brief introduction of the subsequent chapters of this book, with a focus on biochar for climate change mitigation, including an economic assessment of GHG abatement costs. The FOREBIOM project will be briefly introduced and results on biochar erosion after amendment of a forest floor are presented.

  • 12 - Pyrolysis: a Sustainable Way From Biomass to Biofuels and Biochar

  • from Part III - Biochar Production
  • Edited by Viktor J. Bruckman, Esin Apaydın Varol, Bașak B. Uzun, Jay Liu
  • Book:
    Biochar
    Published online:
    01 December 2016
    Print publication:
    24 November 2016, pp 239-265

  • Summary

    Abstract

    Biomass provides 14% of the world’s primary energy production, but it is largely wasted by inefficient and unsustainable use. To exploit the full potential of this energy source, new approaches and modern technologies such as pyrolysis and gasification are needed. Pyrolysis is the most promising thermal decomposition method for the conversion of biomass into valuable bio-products. The process produces a solid fraction (biochar), a liquid fraction (bio-oil) and a mixture of gases. Depending on pyrolysis conditions, biochar for soil amendment, activated carbon, carbon fibers, bio-fuels, value-added chemicals (PF type adhesives, phenolics, levoglucosan, octane enhancers, fertilizers) and gas products (hydrogen, methane, ethane and propane) could be achieved. The ratio of the products varies with the chemical composition of the biomass and operating conditions such as pyrolysis temperature, heating rate, reactor configuration, pyrolysis atmosphere, reaction time, particle size and so on. In the scope of this issue, this chapter covers the definition and sources of biomass, thermal behavior of biomass and its components, fundamentals of the pyrolysis process, and effects of the process parameters on yields and composition of products. Moreover, properties of bio-oil and biochar are explained according to their utilization areas.

  • 7 - Sustainable Biomass Potentials from Coppice Forests for Pyrolysis: Chances and Limitations

  • from Part II - Sustainable Biomass Resources
  • Edited by Viktor J. Bruckman, Esin Apaydın Varol, Bașak B. Uzun, Jay Liu
  • Book:
    Biochar
    Published online:
    01 December 2016
    Print publication:
    24 November 2016, pp 139-161

  • Summary

    Abstract

    Coppice forests, originating from vegetative propagation (stump stools or root suckers), are an important component of forest ecosystems worldwide. Even though their economic importance has been reduced in Europe, especially since the Second World War, they still serve as important sources of raw materials (mostly firewood) for local communities. In addition, coppice forests could be considered as ‘hotspots of biodiversity’, having high habitat, historical and genetic resource values while being relatively resistant to environmental impacts such as droughts.

    In this context, our chapter emphasizes the main characteristics of silvicultural coppice systems (e.g. simple coppice, short-rotation coppice, high coppice, coppice selection and coppice with standards), their ecology, history and current significance in Europe.

    The two case studies on carbon stocks of coppice with reserves and coppice with standards in Austria are important arguments for considering coppice forests as a sustainable source of sawlogs for highly valuable wood products and of biomass (energy wood) that can be used for firewood as well as in pyrolysis processes.

  • 18 - Biochar Amendment Experiments in Thailand: Practical Examples

  • from Part IV - Biochar Application as a Soil Amendment
  • Edited by Viktor J. Bruckman, Esin Apaydın Varol, Bașak B. Uzun, Jay Liu
  • Book:
    Biochar
    Published online:
    01 December 2016
    Print publication:
    24 November 2016, pp 368-389

  • Summary

    Abstract

    This chapter briefly summarizes the use of biochar to increase the productivity of crop yields and to improve the soil properties in Thailand. The data presented in this chapter are based on research experiments in various types of problematic soils such as infertile sandy clay soil and clay loam. The characteristics of the biochar obtained from the controlled temperature biochar retort for slow pyrolysis are similar to those of laboratory-scale produced biochar. The retort is cost-efficient and can be built easily using locally available materials and in addition can use locally available biomass as feedstock.

    The study investigated the effects on crop yield of incorporating soil with biochar in the experimental area. Both soil samples and biochar samples were collected before and after cultivation. The results showed that biochar amendment improved the soil properties in terms of organic matter, nutrients and cation exchange capacity. The yield and growth of crops increased significantly when the soil was treated with biochar. In addition, the soil properties, yield and growth of crops increased even more when the soil had been incorporated with both biochar and organic fertilizer. The combination offers a significant improvement of soil and crop yield.

Page 102 of 386