Pyrogenic carbon and carbonating minerals (PyMiCCS) for enhanced plant growth and carbon capture and storage

Project description

The PyMiCCS project is part of the BMBF research program on land-based CO₂ removal methods (CDRterra). As part of PyMiCCs, research is being conducted into the combined application of biochar and rock flour to improve the storage of organic and inorganic carbon in the soil. This empirical data will be used to improve models for carbon sinks and economic feasibility, and to estimate the improvement of soil quality on a regional scale.

Fig.: Seedtke/created with BioRender.com

The Soil Protection and Soil Technology working group investigates the influence of enhanced weathering, biochar and PyMiCCS materials on different soils to identify physico-chemical changes in the soil and to quantify their influence on soil organic carbon turnover. In controlled laboratory experiments, the influence of PyMiCCS addition on the efficiency of microbial carbon turnover and stabilization in soil carbon pools is tracked by 13C isotope labeling and the long-term C sequestration potential is estimated. In cooperation with the Hochschule Geisenheim University, lysimeter experiments will be carried out to test the influence on plant growth in agricultural applications under field conditions. The effects on CDR rates, SOC accumulation, nutrient leaching and physico-chemical soil quality will be investigated and the data collected will be used for model parameterization.

The working group Dynamics of Soil Processes contributes to the BMBF project "PYMICCS" with a work package on process-based soil modeling. The aim is to develop a dynamic soil model that can explain the effects of rock flour and biochar and their combination on the soil carbon balance, soil properties and CO2 exchange with the atmosphere. In cooperation with the Ecological Modeling working group of the Department of Biology, the result should help to provide the CDRterra synthesis project with a global estimate of the CO2 sequestration potential.

Fig.: Seedtke/created with BioRender.com

Staff at Institute of Soil Science

Prof. Dr. Christian Beer
Prof. Dr. Annette Eschenbach 
Dr. Joscha Becker
Franziska Busch (Doctoral Researcher)
Maria Seedtke (Doctoral Researcher)
Annika Naumann (Technical staff)

Collaboration partners

• Biology Department, Ecological Modeling group
• Ithaka Institute: Hans-Peter Schmidt, Dr. Nikolas Hagemann
• Hochschule Geisenheim: Prof. Dr. Claudia Kammann
• Potsdam Institut für Klimafolgenforschung: Dr. Alexander Popp

Theses

• Master Thesis, Annemarie Lübeck: "Priming-Effekt von kombinierter Biokohle-Gesteinsmehl-Zugabe in landwirtschaftlichen Böden", 2024