Sustainable crop management through the use of biochar and manure based biofertilizers

The application of biochar to soil can contribute to reducing climate change through the development of the bioeconomy. However, biochar does not provide adequate amounts of nitrogen to the soil. Therefore, it is necessary to develop biofertilizers based on a mixture of biochar with a residual source rich in nitrogen such as manure from dairy farms. In this context, it is important to be aware that in Galicia (NW Spain) manure is very abundant because this region produces 40% of the raw milk from Spain. Moreover, these new biofertilizers could also be enriched with inoculums to improve soil health. BIOFER-CC is a Spanish project with the main aim to develop a crop-targeted biofertilizer based on the mix of commercial biochar with manure to sustainable improve soil health and enhance soil carbon sequestration while increasing crop production in annual (maize and pasture) and permanent crops (vineyard and chestnut trees) of high interest in the Galician region. BIOFER-CC includes a characterization of different commercial biochar and manure that will be used to prepare biofertilizers based on biochar and manure. The biofertilizers with the best properties will be tested on annual and perennial crops under greenhouse conditions to then be evaluated in the field. The biofertilizers will also be analyzed from a sustainable perspective that includes economic analysis (cost/benefit analysis), environmental (life cycle analysis (LCA) and carbon footprint) and social analysis (social LCA).