Effects of physical, chemical, and biological ageing on the mineralization of pine wood biochar by a Streptomyces isolate.

If biochar is to be used for carbon (C) management, we must understand how weathering or ageing affects biochar C mineralization. Here, we incubated aged and unaged eastern white pine wood biochar produced at 350 and 550°C with a Streptomyces isolate, a putative biochar-decomposing microbe. Ageing was accelerated via three different processes, namely, (a) physical ageing-subjecting biochar to alternating freeze-thaw and wet-dry cycles, (b) chemical ageing-treating biochar with concentrated hydrogen peroxide and (c) biological ageing-incubating biochar in the presence of nutrients and microorganisms.

Pyrolyzed Substrates Induce Aromatic Compound Metabolism in the Post-fire Fungus, .

Wildfires represent a fundamental and profound disturbance in many ecosystems, and their frequency and severity are increasing in many regions of the world. Fire affects soil by removing carbon in the form of CO and transforming remaining surface carbon into pyrolyzed organic matter (PyOM). Fires also generate substantial necromass at depths where the heat kills soil organisms but does not catalyze the formation of PyOM.