Biochar as a Climate-Smart Approach for Soil Health Improvement and Nano-/Microplastic Mitigation in Sustainable Agriculture: A Review

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:GX研究者は、バイオ炭のNMP相互作用と炭素隔離メカニズムの最新知見を参照できる。

🏢実務担当者:農業関連企業は、土壌改良と炭素クレジット創出の両面でバイオ炭の導入を検討できる。

🏛政策担当者:政策担当者は、農業セクターの排出削減策としてバイオ炭の位置づけを再評価できる。

The increasing accumulation of nano-/microplastics (NMPs) in agricultural soils has become an emerging environmental concern, posing risks to soil health, crop productivity, and food safety. Due to their persistence and small size, NMPs can disrupt soil structure, alter microbial communities, and facilitate the transport and uptake of contaminants by plants. In this context, biochar has attracted significant attention as a climate-smart soil amendment capable of improving soil quality while mitigating emerging pollutants. This review explores the potential role of biochar, including modified biochar, as a sustainable strategy for enhancing soil health and reducing the risks associated with NMPs contamination in agricultural systems. The unique physicochemical properties of biochar—such as its high surface area, porous structure, and abundant functional groups—enable interactions with plastic particles and associated contaminants through adsorption, aggregation, and immobilization processes. These interactions can reduce mobility, bioavailability, and plant uptake of NMPs in soil. In addition, biochar contributes to soil fertility improvement by enhancing nutrient retention, increasing water holding capacity, improving soil structure, and stimulating beneficial microbial activity. Biochar application also plays an important role in climate change mitigation by stabilizing carbon in soils and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural systems. Although biochar is considered a promising material for sustainability, some types of biochar may have adverse effects in saline–alkaline soils due to their high pH and salinity, particularly when produced at high pyrolysis temperatures. Overall, integrating biochar or modified biochar into sustainable agricultural practices offers multiple co-benefits, including soil restoration, pollutant mitigation, improved soil health, and enhanced climate resilience. This review synthesizes recent advances in understanding the mechanisms by which biochar influences NMPs behavior in soil–plant systems and highlights current knowledge gaps and future research directions needed to support its effective application in sustainable agriculture.

• openalex https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202605.0844.v1first seen 2026-06-02 04:43:00 · last seen 2026-06-12 04:39:27