Biochar is a soil conditioner made by heating biomass feedstock in an oxygen-free environment that can consist to more than 80% of organic carbon. Application to cropland can increase soil carbon sequestration in the long-term, reduce losses of applied fertilizer (including nitrate), increase water retention, and improve overall soil health.
Site and management specific benefits of biochar for agronomic relevant parameters need to be quantified.
Strategies for cost efficient and economic viable biochar production for soil application at scale need to be identified.
News
Nebraska scientists establish biochar on-farm research network
January 30, 2026
Fall biochar field day promotes conversations, teaches benefits
December 18, 2025
Biochar field day to showcase Nebraska research, redcedar management
September 8, 2025
Biochar Research at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
- Locally produced biochar increased soil carbon storage and influenced nutrient retention under field conditions. Two Nebraska field trials located near Mead and Clay Center at research sites of the Eastern Nebraska Research Education and Extension Center (ENREEC) used biochar produced in the Nebraska Sandhills from eastern redcedar. Biochar was applied at 31 tons/acre to assess its potential to increase soil carbon storage, improve nitrogen retention, and prevent nitrate leaching under rainfed and irrigated corn production. This resulted in persistent gains in soil carbon and improved nitrate-N retention especially under irrigated conditions.
- Biochar can be applied with equipment used for other organic amendments at scale. A conventional manure spreader successfully applied biochar at 8 tons/acre to establish a 16 acres field experiment in Lincoln, NE. Incorporation after application was necessary to minimize losses via wind and water erosion. Biochar retained nitrate-N and phosphate-P with higher efficiency than mineral or organic fertilizer alone, corresponding to amounts applied with 22 lb/acre of MAP or 11 lb/acre of biosolid fertilizer.
- Initiated in Fall 2025, an ongoing project funded by the American Farmland Trust through the NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant program with UNL researchers Guillermo Balboa and Michael Kaiser aims to use on-farm data to determine biochar impacts on N use efficiency in corn-soybean systems. Four five acres fields in Eastern and South-Central Nebraska (Cass, Merrick, and Hamilton counties) received 8 ton/ac of biochar, establishing on-farm, long-term field trials that will monitor the effect of biochar over multiple years. Each site tests three nitrogen application rates with and without biochar amendment and will monitor crop production beside soil and plant N dynamics.
Project Lead
Rancher-Farmer Partnership Network for Using Redcedar derived Biochar to Improve Soil Health Soil Health
Problem: A proposed feedstock for biochar production in Nebraska is Eastern Redcedar. A current A&H seed grant is conducting two pilot studies in Fall 2026 to begin initial testing of on-site and/or local biochar production from redcedar biomass. Conversion of redcedar to biochar could be a valuable use for this waste wood, but the viability of this practice has not been assessed across different scenarios in Nebraska.
Project Goals: Developing a partnership network to connect ranchers seeking to remove redcedar from rangeland and farmers interested in participating in field trials using the biochar that will be produced on-site.
Project Strategy:
- Rancher partners: Receive funding for labor costs of redcedar removal and biochar production, resources to implement appropriate management of treated acres.
- Farmer partners: Receive funding for biochar application and results from pre and post experiment soil health testing will be shared with participants.
- Both partners: Guidance will be provided at each step of the process from researchers and from other members of the network.
- Two pilot trials have been established in Seward and Lancaster county to begin producing biochar from locally harvested redcedar in Fall 2026.
- Additional partnerships are being recruited throughout Fall 2026. Protocols for biochar production and/or field trials can be adjusted to accommodate site-specific needs.
- Data will be used to develop protocols to inform stakeholders including recommendations for tree harvesting, biochar production, expected biochar yield and quality, labor requirements, production costs, and soil health benefits.
Publications
2026
Fossum B., Kaiser M., Koehler-Cole K., Malakar A. Linking biochar surface modification by iron oxides with enhanced soil nitrate retention in corn-soybean rotations under cover cropping and no-till - insights from two field experiments. Global Change Biology- Bioenergy, accepted.
2023
Cooper J., Malakar A., Kaiser M. Self-functionalization of soil-aged biochar surfaces by iron increases nitrate retention. Science of the Total Environment 861, 160644.
Li L., Long A., Fossum B., Kaiser M. Effects of pyrolysis temperature and feedstock type on biochar characteristics pertinent to soil carbon and soil health: A meta-analysis. Soil Use & Management 39, 43-52. 2022
2022
Cooper J., Drijber R., Malakar A., Jin V., Miller D., Kaiser M. Evaluating coal char as an alternative to biochar for mitigating nutrient and carbon loss from manure amended soils - insights from a greenhouse experiment. Journal of Environmental Quality 51, 272-287.
2020
Blanco-Canqui H., Kaiser M., Creech C., Maharjan B., Nielsen R., Easterly A. Soil and crop response to char application after two years. Journal of Environmental Quality 49, 1251-1263.
Dinesh P., Mikha M.M., Collins H.P., Jin V.L., Kaiser M., Cooper J., Malakar A., Bijesh M. Optimum rates of surface applied coal char decreased soil ammonia volatilization loss. Journal of Environmental Quality 49, 256-267.
Cooper J., Greenberg I., Hippich L., Glaser B., Fischer D., Ludwig B., Kaiser M. Effect of biochar and compost on soil properties and organic matter in aggregate size fractions under field conditions. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 295, 106882.
2019
Greenberg I., Kaiser M., Polifka S., Wiedner K., Glaser B., Ludwig B. The effect of biochar with biogas digestate or mineral fertilizer on fertility, aggregation and organic carbon contents of a sandy soil: Results of a 4-year temperate field experiment. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 182, 824-835.
Greenberg I., Kaiser M., Gunina A., Ledesma P., Polifka S., Wiedner K., Mueller C., Glaser B., Ludwig B. Substitution of mineral fertilizers with biogas digestate plus biochar increases physically stabilized soil carbon but not crop biomass in a field trial. Science of the Total Environment 680, 181-189.
Grunwald D., Kaiser M., Ludwig B. Effects of biochar and slurry application as well as drying and rewetting on soil macro-aggregate formation in silty loam soils. Soil Use & Management 34, 575-583.
2017
Grunwald D., Kaiser M., Junker S., Marhan S., Piepho H.-P., Poll C., Bamminger C., Ludwig B. Influence of elevated soil temperature and biochar application on organic matter associated with aggregate-size and density fractions in an arable soil. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 249, 79-87.
2016
Grunwald D., Kaiser M., Ludwig B. Effect of biochar and organic fertilizers on C mineralization and macro-aggregate dynamics under different incubation temperatures. Soil & Tillage Research 164, 11-17.
2014
Kaiser M., Ghezzeei T., Kleber M., Myrold D., Berhe A.A. Influence of calcium carbonate and charcoal applications on organic matter storage in silt-sized aggregates formed during a microcosm experiment. Soil Science Society of America Journal 78, 1624-1631.
Projects
Blanco H., Kaiser M. (2026-2029) USDA NIFA - Hatch Multistate Enhancement Program. Assessing the Long-Term Impacts of Biochar on Soil Health and Crop Yields Under On-Farm Conditions ($150,000).
Kaiser M. (2026-2027) Integrated Research Seed Grant - Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. Rancher-farmer partnerships for rangeland restoration and boosting soil health through redcedar derived biochar ($49,554).
Balboa G., Kaiser M. (2023-2028) USDA-NRCS and American Farm Trust. Breaking Down Barriers to Biochar Adoption on Farms from Coast to Coast. Subproject: Biochar and Nitrogen Efficiency ($175,000).
Kaiser M., Britt F. (2023-2026). Water for Food Daugherty Global Institute at the University of Nebraska. Graduate Student Support Award ($52,500).
Kaiser M., Malakar A., Koehler-Cole K. (2023-2026). Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research and Nebraska Forest Service. Co-application of biochar and biosolids for carbon sequestration and sustainable soil management in urban-agricultural landscapes ($189,190).
Malakar A., Kaiser M. (2023-2024). Nebraska Water Center/U.S. Geological Survey 104(b). Synergistic effect of biochar and biosolids to limit nitrate leaching beneath cropland ($10,000).
Wortman S., Kaiser M. (2022-2025). US Department of Agriculture - Natural Resource Conservation Service. Nebraska Urban Soil Health Initiative ($489,662).
Kaiser M., Malakar A., Koehler-Cole K. (2021-2025). Nebraska Forest Service and University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Agricultural Research Division/Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station, Hatch Multistate Enhancement Program. “Maximizing soil agro-ecosystem services by combining cover cropping under no-till with application of biochar derived from waste wood of invasive Red Cedar." ($215,000).
