Can char carbon enhance soil properties and crop yields in low-carbon soils?

Restoring soil carbon (C) lost due to intensive farming is a long-term endeavor under current conservation management practices. Application of coal combustion residue (293 g C kg ) from a sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) processing factory, hereafter referred to as char, could rapidly restore soil C and productivity in degraded croplands, but data on this potential strategy are unavailable.