TSS - Biochar Working Group

HISTORY

Island, Forest, Embers: The Japanese Canadian Charcoal Kilns of the Southern Gulf Islands

A history of charcoal production by Japanese Canadians in the Gulf Islands a century ago. Published by the Salt Spring Japanese Garden Society. Copies available at ‘Nook’ in Ganges.

BIOCHAR

Burn: Using Fire to Cool the Earth

https://biochar-international.org/burn-using-fire-to-cool-the-earth/ Alan Bates and Kathleen Draper
book available to borrow from the Biochar Working Group

Biochar from Biomass: A Strategy for Carbon Dioxide Sequestration, Soil Amendment, Power Generation, CO2 Utilization, and Removal of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Environment

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4614-6431-0_80-2

Biochar: Carbon Mitigation from the Ground Up

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2649247/

Application of Biochar for Carbon Sequestration Mitigating Impacts of Climate Change: An Analysis of Detention Basins in Fargo, North Dakota

https://library.ndsu.edu/ir/bitstream/handle/10365/32226/Application%20of%20Biochar%20for%20Carbon%20Sequestration%20Mitigating%20Impacts%20of%20Climate%20Change%20-%20An%20Analysis%20of%20Detention%20Basins%20in%20Fargo%2C%20North%20Dakota.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

A mycorrhizal fungus grows on biochar and captures phosphorus from its surfaces

paper downloaded from academia.edu

Biochar Basics: An A-to-Z Guide to Biochar Production, Use, and Benefits

https://www.fs.usda.gov/rmrs/sites/default/files/documents/SYCU-Bulletin-BiocharAtoZ-May2022.pdf. 2022. US-FS, Rky Mtn Research Stn, Sci You Can Use Bulletin 54.

Forest management and biochar for continued ecosystem services

https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs_journals/2022/rmrs_2022_franco_c001.pdf. 2022. Franco et al. J Soil and Water Conserv 77(4). 3 pgs.

Biochar effects on soil biota – A review

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0038071711001805?via%3Dihub. 2011. Lehmann et al. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 43(9). 24 pgs.

Biochar for sustainable soil and environment: a comprehensive review

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12517-018-4074-5. 2018. Muhammad et al. Arabian Journal of Geosciences 11, Article number: 731. 14 pgs.

Life in the ‘charosphere’ – Does biochar in agricultural soil provide a significant habitat for microorganisms?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0038071713002149?via%3Dihub. 2013. Stephen Wade et al. Soil Biology & Biochemistry (2013) 1-7. 7 pgs.

CARBON DYNAMICS

Should New York City Burn Its Parks? This Scientist Thinks So.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/climate/new-york-city-park-fires-controlled-burns.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Q1A.T5L8.3V5WgHGCmUO2&smid=url-share New York Times March 5, 2026

Forest carbon status and trends

https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fs_media/fs_document/Hot-Topic-Carbon-Status.pdf. 2021. Anon. US-FS, Research and Development Hot Topics, Fact Sheet FS-1189c. 2 pgs.

Forest carbon estimation and monitoring

https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fs_media/fs_document/Carbon-Estimation.pdf. 2021. Anon. US-FS, Research and Development Hot Topics, Fact Sheet FS-1189d. 2 pgs.

Wild Carbon: A Synthesis of Recent Findings on Carbon Storage in Old Forests.

https://ijw.org/wild-carbon-storage-in-old-forests/ 2021. Anderson. J Wilderness 27(3).

Sinks for plant surplus carbon explain several ecological phenomena

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11104-022-05390-9. 2022. Prescott. Plant and Soil 476: 689-698.

Disturbance and management effects on forest soil organic carbon stocks in the Pacific Northwest.

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.2611?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=R3MR425&utm_content=LifeSciences 2022. Nave et al. Ecol Apps 32(6).

Field-based tree mortality constraint reduces estimates of model-projected forest carbon sinks

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29619-4.pdf. 2022. Yu et al. Nature Commun 13: Art 2094.

Carbon and nitrogen cycling dynamics following permafrost thaw in the Northwest Territories, Canada

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969722043868. 2022. Dieleman et al. Sci Total Environ 845.

Operational assessment tool for forest carbon dynamics for the US: A new spatially explicit approach linking the LUCAS and CBM-CFS3 models

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13021-022-00201-1. 2022. Sleeter et al. Carbon Balance and Mgmt 17: Art 1.

Fire Management and Carbon Programs: A Systematic Literature Review and Case Study Analysis

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08941920.2022.2053618. 2022. da Veiga and Nikolakis. Society and Nat Resources 35(8).

The essential carbon service provided by northern peatlands

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.2437. 2022. Harris et al. Frontiers Ecol and Environ 20(4).

Carbon 5–60 Years After Fire: Planting Trees Does Not Compensate for Losses in Dead Wood Stores

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.868024/full. 2022. Clason et al. Frontiers Forest Global Chg, June 16/22.

Tree Diversity, Site Index, and Carbon Storage Decrease With Aridity in Douglas-Fir Forests in Western Canada

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2021.682076/full. 2022. Roach et al. Frontiers Forest Global Chg, June 23/22.

CARBON POLICY

The Relative Merits of Carbon Pricing Instruments: Taxes versus Trading

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/717773. 2022. Stavins. Review Environ Econ and Policy 16(1).

Limited impacts of carbon tax rebate programmes on public support for carbon pricing

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01268-3. 2022. Mildenberger et al. Nature Climate Chg 12: 141-147.

Carbon conundrums: Do US current carbon market baselines represent an undesirable ecological threshold?

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.16215 2022. D’Amato et al. Global Chg Biol 28(13). 4 pgs.

Forest carbon incentive programs for non-industrial private forests in Oregon: Impacts of program design on willingness to enroll and landscape-scale program outcomes

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389934122000909. 2022. Graves et al. Forest Policy and Econ 141.

Carbon monitoring and above ground biomass trends: Anchor forest opportunities for tribal, private and [US] federal relationships

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719322001091. 2022. Corrao et al. Trees, Forests, People 9.

Does a Carbon Tax Reduce CO2 Emissions? Evidence from BC

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10640-022-00679-w. 2022. Pretis. Environ and Resource Econ 83: 115-144. OTHER KEYWDS: climate mitigation

Further Reading on Biochar