Progress report for SW24-002
Project Information
Hazardous fuels are a major problem in wildlands in Alaska and throughout the West. Foresters traditionally pile and burn material from fuels reduction projects, but air quality restrictions and longer fire seasons have made open pile burning much more difficult. Biochar kilns are a new approach to hazardous fuels management that directly addresses forest and woodland health, fire resilience, sustainable forest management, biomass utilization and fire recovery, while directly addressing climate change by sequestering carbon in a durable form in soil. This concept is being adopted across the US and this project will introduce this approach to Alaskans. Perhaps the most accessible and ‘shovel ready’ approach to durably sequestering carbon is by producing biochar with low-tech, in-woods methods and applying the biochar to soils. Compared to the traditional approach of open pile burning this method reduces air quality impacts and is less damaging to soils than the extreme heat of open pile burning. Through this project we intend to improve technical, social, and economic knowledge and abilities of forest and rangeland managers and owners. This is needed because forest and rangeland resources in Alaska are negatively affected by drought, wildfire, invasive species, insects, diseases, and development. This project will focus on biochar production and application on Alaska farmland, and evaluating the benefits of biochar for agricultural production.
Produce biochar in-woods in Alaska with low-tech methods
Apply biochar to farms in Alaska
Teach people how to make biochar with accessible flame-cap biochar kilns in Alaska
Teach producers how to apply biochar to their farmlands in Alaska
Study the effects of biochar application on Alaska farmlands
Sequester carbon
February, 2024: DM presents on biochar production at the Alaska Forum on the Environment. (prework)
March 2024: DM produces Alaska based post-fire publication. (prework)
April 2024: Team plans locations, logistics and specific timing of biochar production workshops in Alaska.
May 2024: Team plans locations, logistics and specific timing of biochar production workshops in Alaska. Research demonstration sites are established, treatments are applied, and initial soil samples are collected at three locations.
June 2024: Team hosts a biochar production workshop at the Matanuska Experiment Farm in Palmer, producing enough biochar for the applications on Producers properties
July 2024: Team hosts a biochar production workshop near Fairbanks.
August 2024: Sabbatical Researcher works with the team to host a biochar production workshop in a location TBD in Southeast Alaska, working with indigenous leaders. Final soil and plant productivity samples are collected at all three locations. All soil samples analyzed for properties of interest.
September 2024: Sabbatical Researcher writing up reports and final Extension Education documents.
Fall/Winter 2024: Sabbatical Researcher continues to provide formal presentations at Alaska conferences and workshops, and write up results of field work.
Cooperators
- (Researcher)
- - Producer
Research
The specific research objective of the project is to evaluate how Alaska-produced biochar influences soil nutrient availability, carbon content, and water-holding capacity when applied to agricultural soils. To address this objective, we will establish demonstration research plots at three locations: the UAF Fairbanks Experiment Farm (Fairbanks, AK), the UAF Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center (Palmer, AK), and on the Schultz Farm (Delta Junction, AK). At each location, we will establish thrice-replicated plots (approximately 3 m x 3 m) with the following treatments: control (no amendment), biochar charged with compost, untreated biochar, and compost alone. Amendment materials will be applied by hand in the spring of 2024 and immediately planted with a barley crop and managed according to standard practices for each location (no irrigation, starter fertilizer at standard rates, potential post-emergence herbicide application) for the duration of the season.
To evaluate how the amendments affect soil properties, we will collect baseline soil samples from each plot in the spring of 2024 (0-15 cm depth). Soil samples will be analyzed for: pH, soluble salts, soil organic matter, available macronutrient content, carbon content, and water content. Some soil analyses will be completed in the soil science research lab at the Matanuska Experiment farm, while others will be completed by a commercial laboratory. We will also submit the biochar and compost materials for nutrient and structural analysis by a commercial laboratory. Just prior to crop harvest, we will repeat the soil sampling and analysis in each plot and we will hand-harvest the barley biomass and grain to assess productivity and yield.
Research Outcomes
We conducted a field research trial to apply locally created biochar to agricultural soils at 3 locations (Fairbanks, Palmer, and Delta Junction, Alaska). We applied biochar to replicated plots at a rate of 6.5 ton/ac either alone or in combination with an equal mass of compost, and compared to compost alone and a control plot (which received no amendments). We measured a suite of soil physical and chemical properties and monitored barley growth after application. We did not observe any significant differences in soil or plant properties across the treatments at any location. We suspect that the biochar application rate is too low to impact soil properties and/or it requires more time to impact soil and plant properties. Alaskan soils are generally very high in organic matter, and literature supports that biochar is most effective in depleted soils that are low in organic matter. However, biochar application did not damage soil properties or plant growth and soil application of biochar as a fuel-reduction program is a valid approach.
From this trial, we recommend continued evaluation of biochar application to agricultural soils in Alaska. We recommend trials to evaluate different types of biochar, applied at higher rates, and in combination with fertility sources. Future research could identify specific regions or baseline soil characteristics that may respond positively to biochar additions, along with rate recommendations and maintenance application schedules.
Education and Outreach
Participation Summary:
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Grant objectives are listed below with a short statement on how each were accomplished. The grant objectives were to: -Produce biochar in-woods in Alaska with low-tech methods: We produced biochar in Willow, Nanwalek, Soldotna, Fairbanks, Gustavus and Petersburg. We used Ring-of-Fire kilns for four of these workshops, and by request, open pits at Nanwalek and Soldotna. -Apply biochar to farms in Alaska: Biochar was applied to the McKinley Peony Farm in Willow, the Farragut Farm in Farragut Bay, the Shultz Farm in Delta, the Matanuska Experiment Station farm in Palmer, and the Lancashire Farm in Soldotna. -Teach people how to make biochar with accessible flame-cap biochar kilns in Alaska: in addition to the above-mentioned workshops, we also did presentations in Juneau, Palmer, and three online presentations. -Teach producers how to apply biochar to their farmlands in Alaska: We taught farmers how to apply biochar at the McKinley Peony Farm in Willow, the Farragut Farm in Farragut Bay, the Shultz Farm in Delta, the Matanuska Experiment Station farm in Palmer, and the Lancashire Farm in Soldotna. -Study the effects of biochar application on Alaska farmlands: We did a study at the Shultz Farm in Delta, the Matanuska Experiment Station farm in Palmer, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks farm in Fairbanks. -Sequester carbon: as a result of this project, carbon was sequestered with nearly a thousand year half-life in Willow, Palmer, Fairbanks, Petersburg, Soldotna, Nanwalek, and Delta. PI DeShana York worked with Co-PI Darren McAvoy to bring Darren to Alaska for several biochar production presentations prior to living in Alaska for the summer of 2024, with the intention of developing connections and a community of potential biochar practitioners. By presenting at the Alaska Forum on the Environment and the Alaska Chapter of the Society of American Foresters Conference, as examples, we developed contacts that led to invitations to give the workshops we delivered in Willow, Fairbanks, Soldotna, Nanwalek, and Petersburg. |
Perhaps the biggest measure of success of an outreach or Extension program is adoption of the ideas/methods you suggest in your programming. As a result of our workshop in Fairbanks in August, Dan Rees, Forester with Fort Wainwright, has taught his own biochar production workshops to dozens of people, and even built his own Big Box biochar kiln, out of a repurposed shipping container after being coached in the processes by Darren McAvoy. Furthermore, one of the people that attended one of Dan’s workshops has been in contact about biochar application on his native seed farm near Fairbanks where he has been applying and producing biochar.
We reached an underserved community in Nanwalek, Alaska when we did a biochar production workshop there. As the Ring-of-Fire kilns we were using in other locations would not fit into the small airplane Darren McAvoy flew in to get to this community, where they dug a shallow pit to produce the biochar. This biochar was applied to the tomato plants in the greenhouse, helping to stretch valuable fertilizers and increase food security.
While our study on biochar’s effects on Alaska soils showed no positive effect of the biochar application, it also showed no negative effect, so no harm was done, and we know that we did some good by increasing the organic matter in the soils we applied biochar to, and sequestered carbon in these soils.
In May of 2025, Darren McAvoy gave a professional presentation and a poster titled Biochar Production, Application, and Education in Alaska, USA, at the Biochar IV Conference in Colombia, South America to 150 international biochar scientists. He also presented information about this work at the National Biochar Conference in Minneapolis, MN in September of 2025, to the National Conference of the Society of American Foresters in Hartford, CT, to a group called Dirty Gaia in Rhinecliff, NY in October of 2025, and to the Fall Virtual Conference of the Association of Consulting Foresters in October of 2025.
Education and Outreach Outcomes
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We recommend that future biochar workshops are funded and conducted in Alaska. The amount of interest in this topic was clear, with the amount of turnout and enthusiasm for this topic across the state. Also more on-line workshops and presentations are warranted. Fact sheets and videos on biochar production and applications are also recommended. Continued presentations at professional meetings and informal gatherings of farmers, ranchers and gardeners are suggested. Continue to study biochar application on farms in Alaska. Quantify the amount of carbon stored through biochar production and application in Alaska. |
- Biochar production
Biochar production and application