The competing demand for food and bioenergy requires new solutions for the agricultural sector as, for instance, the coupling of energy production from gasification technology and the application of the resulting biochar as soil amendment. A prerequisite for the implementation of this strategy is the scale\uffe2\uff80\uff90specific assessment of both the energetic performance and of the impacts in terms of greenhouse gases (GHG) emission and crop responses. This study considered the gasification process developed by Advanced Gasification Technology (AGT, Italy), which is a fixed\uffe2\uff80\uff90bed, down\uffe2\uff80\uff90draft, open core, compact gasifier, having 350\uffc2\uffa0kW of nominal electric capacity (microgeneration); this gasifier uses biomass feedstock deriving from agricultural/forest products and byproducts. In this study, the resulting biochar, derived from conifer wood chips of mountain forestry management in North\uffe2\uff80\uff90western Italy, was applied to a nearby paddy rice field, located in the largest rice agricultural area of Europe. We performed a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) adapting the BEAT2 model specifically focusing on the GHG balance of the supply chain, from the forestry management to the field distribution of the resulting biochar. The results indicated that the gasification stage had the highest impact in the supply chain in terms of emissions, but net emissions allocated to biochar were always negative (ranging between \uffe2\uff88\uff920.54 and \uffe2\uff88\uff922.1\uffc2\uffa0t CO2e\uffc2\uffa0t\uffe2\uff88\uff921 biochar), hypothesizing two scenarios of 32% and 7.3% biochar mineralization rate in soil, over a time period of 100\uffc2\uffa0years. Finally, biochar had a marginal but positive effect on rice yield, thus increasing the sustainability of this energy\uffe2\uff80\uff90biochar chain.
", "keywords": ["330", "gasification", "01 natural sciences", "7. Clean energy", "630", "Paddy rice", "Environment (including Climate Change)", "12. Responsible consumption", "Life cycle assessment", "Rural Digital Europe", "life cycle assessment", "11. Sustainability", "biochar", "Energy-biochar chain", "European Commission", "Rice yield", "Waste Management and Disposal", "Knowmad Institut", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "FP7", "2. Zero hunger", "EC", "Renewable Energy", " Sustainability and the Environment", "SP1-Cooperation", "Forestry", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Energy Research", "rice yield", "Biochar", "13. Climate action", "paddy rice", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "energy-biochar chain", "Agronomy and Crop Science", "Gasification"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12028"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/GCB%20Bioenergy", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/gcbb.12028", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/gcbb.12028", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/gcbb.12028"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2012-12-21T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.3390/su10051371", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-05-30T16:22:02Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-04-27", "title": "Effect Of Biochar Amendment On Methane Emissions From Paddy Field Under Water-Saving Irrigation", "description": "Biochar has been proposed as a new countermeasure to mitigate climate change because of its potential in inhibiting greenhouse gas emissions from farmlands. A field experiment was conducted in Taihu Lake region in China to assess the effects of rice-straw biochar amendment on methane (CH4) emissions from paddy fields under water-saving irrigation using three treatments, namely, control with no amendment (C0), 20 t ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921 (C20), and 40 t ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921 rice-straw biochar amendments (C40). Results showed that biochar application significantly decreased CH4 emissions by 29.7% and 15.6% at C20 and C40 biochar addition level, respectively. C20 significantly increased soil dissolved organic carbon, total nitrogen, and NH4+-N by 79.5, 24.5, and 47.7%, respectively, and decreased NO3\uffe2\uff88\uff92-N by 30.4% compared with C0. On the other hand, no significant difference was observed in soil pH and soil organic carbon in all treatments. C20 and C40 significantly increased and decreased soil oxidation-reduction potential, respectively. Compared with C0, rice yield and irrigation water productivity significantly increased by 24.0% and 33.4% and 36.3% and 42.5% for C20 and C40, respectively. Thus, rice-straw biochar amendment and water-saving irrigation technology can inhibit CH4 emissions while increasing rice yield and irrigation water productivity. The effects of increasing rice yield and irrigation water productivity were more remarkable for C40, but C20 was more effective in mitigating CH4 emission.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "biochar; water-saving irrigation; methane emission; rice yield", "7. Clean energy", "6. Clean water"]}, "links": [{"href": "http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/5/1371/pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051371"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Sustainability", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.3390/su10051371", "name": "item", "description": "10.3390/su10051371", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3390/su10051371"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2018-04-27T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.3390/su10020537", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:22:02Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-02-20", "title": "The Short-Term Effects Of Rice Straw Biochar, Nitrogen And Phosphorus Fertilizer On Rice Yield And Soil Properties In A Cold Waterlogged Paddy Field", "description": "Crop productivity in cold waterlogged paddy fields can be constrained by chronic flooding stress and low temperature. Farmers typically use chemical fertilizer to improve crop production, but this conventional fertilization is not very effective in a cold waterlogged paddy field. Biochar amendment has been proposed as a promising management approach to eliminating these obstacles. However, little is known about the performance of biochar when combined with N fertilizer and P fertilizer in cold waterlogged soils. The aim of this study was, therefore, to assess the main effects and interactive effects of rice straw biochar, N and P fertilizer on rice growth and soil properties in a cold waterlogged paddy field. The field treatments consisted of a factorial combination of two biochar levels (0 and 2.25 t ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921), two N fertilizer levels (120.0 and 180.0 kg ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921) and two P fertilizer levels (37.5 and 67.5 kg ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921) which were arranged in a randomized block design, with three replicates. Results confirmed that biochar application caused a significant increase in the soil pH due to its liming effect, while this application resulted in a significant decrease in soil exchangeable cations, such as exchangeable Ca, Mg, Al and base cations. The interactive effect of N fertilizer, P fertilizer and biochar was significant for soil total N. Moreover, a negative effect of biochar on the internal K use efficiency suggested that K uptake into rice may benefit from biochar application. According to the partial Eta squared values, the combined application of N fertilizer and biochar was as effective as pure P fertilization at increasing straw P uptake. The addition of biochar to farmers\uffe2\uff80\uff99 fertilization practice treatment (180.0 kg N ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921, 67.5 kg P2O5 ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921 and 67.5 kg K2O ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921) significantly increased rice yield, mainly owing to improvements in grains per panicle. However, notable effects of biochar on rice yield and biomass production were not detected. More studies are required to assess the long-term behavior of biochar in a cold waterlogged paddy field. This study may lay a theoretical foundation for blended application of biochar with fertilizer in a cold waterlogged paddy field.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "biochar; fertilizer; cold waterlogged paddy; rice yield; soil properties", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "6. Clean water"]}, "links": [{"href": "http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/537/pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020537"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Sustainability", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.3390/su10020537", "name": "item", "description": "10.3390/su10020537", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.3390/su10020537"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2018-02-17T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.rbnzs7hf0", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:22:31Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Biochar and nitrogen fertilizer promote rice yield by altering soil enzyme activity and microbial community structure", "description": "unspecifiedBiochar can significantly change soil properties and improve soil quality. However, the effects of long-term combined application of biochar (B) and nitrogen (N) fertilizer on relationships between soil enzyme activity, microbial community structure and crop yield are still obscure. We characterized these relationships in a long-term (8 years) field experiment with rice, two biochar rates of 0 and 13.5 t ha-1 year-1 (B0 and B) and two N fertilizer rates of 0 and 300 kg N ha-1 year-1 (N0 and N). The repeated, long-term combined applications of biochar and N fertilizer significantly increased microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (MBC and MBN), but biochar decreased the abundance of total bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as the amount of total phospholipid fatty acids. The activity of leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) decreased significantly in the biochar-amended and N fertilized treatment, but the LAP activity either remained unchanged or increased with biochar amendment at N0. The relative abundance of bacterial phylum Chloroflexi was increased in the combined biochar and N fertilizer treatment. The changes in soil organic matter and the activity of \u03b1-1,4-xylosidase were the major properties influencing soil bacterial community composition, whereas the structure of fungal community was governed by MBC, MBN and LAP activity. In addition, long-term biochar and N fertilizer applied together significantly increased rice yield (more than biochar and nitrogen fertilizer applied alone). Yield was significantly positively correlated with LAP activity, but significantly negatively correlated with the relative abundance of Chloroflexi. In conclusion, long-term biochar and nitrogen fertilizer applications increased rice yield, which was associated with altered soil microbial community and enhanced activity of some enzymes.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Microbial community", "FOS: Agricultural sciences", "biochar", "phospholipid fatty acids", "15. Life on land", "6. Clean water", "long-term experiment", "nitrogen fertilizer", "enzyme activity", "rice yield"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Zhang, Aiping", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rbnzs7hf0"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.rbnzs7hf0", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.rbnzs7hf0", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.rbnzs7hf0"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-09-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10261/220255", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:25:47Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2020-01-09", "title": "SHui, an EU-Chinese cooperative project to optimize soil and water management in agricultural areas in the XXI century", "description": "Open AccessThis work has been supported by Project SHui which is co-funded by the European Union Project GA 773903 and the Chinese MOST. This work has been supported by P12-AGR-0931 (Andalusian Government), RTA2014-00063- C04-03 (Spanish government), SHui (European Commission Grant Agreement number: 773903) and EU\u2012FEDER funds", "keywords": ["Yield", "550", "EROSION", "FLOW", "Cropping", "SIMULATE YIELD RESPONSE", "Soil Science", "Environmental Sciences & Ecology", "RICE YIELDS", "01 natural sciences", "630", "12. Responsible consumption", "4104 Environmental management", "4105 Pollution and contamination", "DRYING IRRIGATION", "11. Sustainability", "FAO CROP MODEL", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "Science & Technology", "1. No poverty", "Agriculture", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)", "6. Clean water", "4106 Soil sciences", "Cooperation", "Sustainability", "13. Climate action", "Physical Sciences", "Water Resources", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "TA1-2040", "Life Sciences & Biomedicine", "Environmental Sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10261/220255"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/International%20Soil%20and%20Water%20Conservation%20Research", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10261/220255", "name": "item", "description": "10261/220255", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10261/220255"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2020-03-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "3000130041", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-30T16:27:20Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2020-01-10", "title": "SHui, an EU-Chinese cooperative project to optimize soil and water management in agricultural areas in the XXI century", "description": "Open AccessThis work has been supported by Project SHui which is co-funded by the European Union Project GA 773903 and the Chinese MOST. 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