PHOTO: Burkhard Schmidt-Brücken Institute of Material Science/TU Dresden

1. Biochar Properties Microbes & Climate Research report in professional journal Biogeochemistry Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Switzerland Technical University of Dresden, Germany University of Stockholm, Sweden Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Germany Leibniz University, Hanover, Germany Hyphomicrobiumbacteria (yellow) grow on solid surfaces & grains. When bacteria cells die, they deform or fragment until only cell envelopes remain. Contributions of bacteria remnants to soil fertility are underestimated Most plant debris in fertile soil is rapidly processed by microbes (bacteria) leading to more bacteria and thus, more cell fragments. This results in more Soil Organic Matter. Small fragment shells (red) form micro-particle matrix in soils. It was assumed Soil Organic Matter is mostly decomposed plant matter which directly converts to humicsubstances Lab experiments and field tests refute this. Easily degradable plant matter is converted to microbe biomass, which then provides source material toSoil Organic Matter Although most organic carbon is produced mainly by plants, a large part is residues of bacteria and fungi. This underscores the importance of bacteria in all types of soil. 40% of microbe biomass is converted to Soil Organic Matter Remains of dead bacteria are far greater in soils than previously assumed. Further, microbes are important for global climate: Decay of organic matter results in mineralization + CO2 + H2O CO2 escaping annually to the atmosphere from decaying Soil Organic Matter is in the same range of scale as annual greenhouse gas emissions. Soil Organic Matter is the largest fraction of carbon in the biosphere, and plays key roles in soil fertility and agricultural yields. Microbes also akey factor to control CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Climatic change can be slowed or accelerated, according to soil management PHOTO: Burkhard Schmidt-Brücken Institute of Material Science/TU Dresden COLOR: Christian Schurig/ UFZ Thus, progress in climate protection isn’t achievable without first protecting soil.

2. Biochar Properties residential refuges for micro-orgamisms Bacteria & Biochar Spores of G. Margarita germination higher than on soil Dr. Makato Ogawa 1991 biochar provides preferred habitat for soil microbes PHOTO: Makato Ogawa, Japan, 1991

3. Biochar Properties Bacteria & Biochar Bacteria populations show sharp increase after charcoal addition 3-fold increase Beijerinckia & Ogawa 1992

4. Biochar Properties Bacteria & Nitrogen Cycle Molybdenum nitrogenase enzyme Amino Acid synthesis Amino Acid conversion Protein digestion: proteolase • Rhizobia (symbiotic) • Frankia(symbiotic) Nitrogen-fixing bacteria • Azotobacters (free-living) • Azospirilim (free-living) Reduction Oxidation Cation+/Anion− Conversion

5. Biochar Properties Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria effect on soybean root growth & nodules PHOTO: M. Ogawa, Kansai Environmental, Japan

6. Biochar Properties Microbial Colonization Diversity Down Below Andrew M. Sugden Ecology: Ecol. Monogr. 84, 3 (2014) Despite a surge of research recently, challenges to soil biologists remain daunting. Even basic biodiversity below ground—species diversity and distribution —remains far more obscure than for life above the soil surface. Soil fungi are a case in point: key component of soil ecosystems, its global species diversity has been estimated by various methods. Fungi communities are highly structured, based on pH, soil horizon, species, and other conditions of the understory plant community. Fungi study in Alaskan boreal forest soils suggests previous estimates of diversity at .5 to 1.5 million species need to be revised upward. DNA data from fungal samples found over 1000 discrete fungal taxa— many more than estimated from non-molecular data. A fungus:plant ratio of 17:1 extrapolates to at least 6 million fungal species globally. This suggests 98% of fungi have yet to be discovered.