Canadian Journal of Pure & Applied Sciences

Abstract: Addition of biochar to soils has the potentials to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases from soil. The primary objectives of this study were to see the impacts of biochar and the corresponding biomass application on the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), phosphine (PH3) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from soil investigated in a closed container experiment. Three replications of seven different treatments were applied: i) soil only (control), soil incorporated with - ii) rice husk, iii) biochar produced from rice husk, iv) straw, v) biochar from straw, vi) saw dust and vii) biochar produced from saw dust. The study reveals that addition of biochar had significant effects (P<0.05) on reducing CO2 and PH3 emission while no statistically significant effects on VOCs emanation was evident. Application of biochar could not suppress the CO emissions. Our study indicates that, different types of biochars have different effects on the emission of different gases.