During their lives, plants absorb massive amounts of carbon, which is then naturally released as CO2 into the atmosphere as plants decay. When plant matter is pyrolyzed and converted to biochar, some of the carbon is released instantly in the pyrolysis process, but the rest becomes more stable.
It has been suggested that biochar initially loses 50% of its carbon as CO2 during pyrolysis, but locks up the other 50% for hundreds or maybe thousands of years (Figures A & B). However, recent studies have shown that biochar may not lock up the carbon for as long as previously thought, due to physical degradation processes when it is applied to soil. Researchers at ISTC have done a number of studies on biochar to try to improve its ability to sequester carbon long-term.
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