Adding biochar to soil might be a good way to cut pollution from agriculture while improving fertility.

By: David Biello, Scientific American

The ancient inhabitants of Amazonia knew how to keep fragile soils fertile—and may have hit upon a way to combat present-day climate change. That technique? Biochar, or any plant or animal waste turned to charcoal and put back into the ground.

Studies suggest as much as 900 million metric tons of carbon a year could be locked up this way—and improve the soil’s ability to grow crops as well. That’s nearly 20 percent of current CO2 emissions as a result of burning fossil fuels.

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