Science Friday interviews Zhang on benefits of adding biochar to soil
University of Maine assistant professor of applied plant physiology YongJiang Zhang interviewed with Science Friday to discuss benefits of adding biochar, a charcoal-like, burnt wood substance with high carbon density, to soil. Zhang said biochar can help soil maintain nutrients and water to disperse into plants over longer periods of time, as well as better contain harmful substances like PFAS to prevent it from being taken up into plants. The qualities it adds to soil would be especially beneficial for the sandy soils of blueberry barrens, he said.