ArticleEnvironmental monitoring and assessment2016
Assessing biochar ecotoxicology for soil amendment by root phytotoxicity bioassays.
Article in Environmental monitoring and assessment, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 163 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comprehensive characterization of viticultural biomass and its derived biochars: insights into copper sorption potential.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2026Article
- Agricultural potential and safety assessment of biochar obtained from river biomass.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- A versatile Lepidium sativum bioassay for use in ecotoxicological studies.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Managing Arsenic Pollution from Soil-Plant Systems: Insights into the Role of Biochar.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Article
- Impacts of kaolinite enrichment on biochar and hydrochar characterization, stability, toxicity, and maize germination and growth.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Modified Natural Diatomite with Various Additives and Its Environmental Potential.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Nano Modifications of Biochar to Enhance Heavy Metal Adsorption from Wastewaters: A Review.ACS omega · 2022Review
- Effects of Wood-Derived Biochar on Germination, Physiology, and Growth of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris L.)Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Effect of temperature on PTEs deportment and ecological risks of the biochars obtained from sewage sludge.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2022Article
- Pyrolytic and hydrothermal carbonization of date palm leaflets: Characteristics and ecotoxicological effects on seed germination of lettuce.Saudi journal of biological sciences · 2019Article
- Safety assessment of gasification biochars using Folsomia candida (Collembola) ecotoxicological bioassays.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2018Article
- A Rapid-Test for Screening Biochar Effects on Seed Germination.Communications in soil science and plant analysis · 2018Article
- Detection, Occurrence and Fate of Emerging Contaminants in Agricultural Environments.Water environment research : a research publication of the Water Environment Federation · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Soil amendment with biochar has been proposed as effective in improving agricultural land fertility and carbon sequestration, although the characterisation and certification of biochar quality are still crucial for widespread acceptance for agronomic purposes. We describe here the effects of four biochars (conifer and poplar wood, grape marc, wheat straw) at increasing application rates (0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50% w/w) on both germination and root elongation of Cucumis sativus L., Lepidium sativum L. and Sorghum saccharatum Moench. The tested biochars varied in chemical properties, depending on the type and quality of the initial feedstock batch, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) being high in conifer and wheat straw, Cd in poplar and Cu in grape marc. We demonstrate that electrical conductivity and Cu negatively affected both germination and root elongation at ≥5% rate biochar, together with Zn at ≥10% and elevated pH at ≥20%. In all species, germination was less sensitive than root elongation, strongly decreasing at very high rates of chars from grape marc (>10%) and wheat straw (>50%), whereas root length was already affected at 0.5% of conifer and poplar in cucumber and sorghum, with marked impairment in all chars at >5%. As a general interpretation, we propose here logarithmic model for robust root phytotoxicity in sorghum, based on biochar Zn content, which explains 66% of variability over the whole dosage range tested. We conclude that metal contamination is a crucial quality parameter for biochar safety, and that root elongation represents a stable test for assessing phytotoxicity at recommended in-field amendment rates (<1-2%).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.