Improving stormwater infiltration and retention in compacted urban soils at impervious/pervious surface disconnections with biochar.

Urban development often results in compacted soils, impairing soil structure and reducing the infiltration and retention of stormwater runoff from impervious features. Biochar is a promising organic soil amendment to improve infiltration and retention of stormwater runoff. Soil at the disconnection between impervious and pervious surfaces represents a critical biochar application point for stormwater management from urban impervious features.

Effects of fir-wood biochar on CH oxidation rates and methanotrophs in landfill cover soils packed at three different proctor compaction levels.

Application of biochar to landfill cover soils can purportedly improve methane (CH) oxidation rates, but understanding the combined effects of soil texture, compaction, and biochar on the activity and composition of the methanotrophs is limited. The amendment of wood biochar on two differently textured landfill cover soils at three compaction levels of the Proctor density was explored by analyzing changes in soil physical properties relevant to methane oxidation, the effects on CH oxidation rates, and the composition of the methanotrophic community. Loose soils with and without biochar were pre-incubated to equally elevate the CH oxidation rates.