Executive Summary: Holistic Biochar Systems Assessment

Summary of Project and Key Findings:
The problem
A local Māori trust needs a holistic biochar concept small-scale ‘prototype’ model to decide the implementation and scale of a waste-to-biochar process.

Client initiatives
A local Māori trust planted a forest estate in the far north from 1972 and now these assets consist of approximately 7,408 hectares in total.

This project
This project aims to enable a local Māori trust to decide the implementation and scale of a waste-to-biochar process by developing a holistic case study (i.e., an implementation scenario including economic, environmental, social benefits).

Key results
We modelled feedstock quantity and type from forests, baselined the farm soil and water quality, and assessed the quality and value of biochar produced and multiple benefits as a potential soil conditioner and animal feed for long-term carbon sequestration and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

We developed the “Parengarenga biochar dashboard” and populated it with preliminary data to estimate the performance of different land used with and without biochar applications at a farm level. The modelled outcomes could support a new way of using forestry waste materials in addressing some of the environmental issues associated with pastoral farming.

Implications of results for the client
This project could help the local Māori trust to address the problems associated with the environmental damage caused by forestry waste materials and provide an opportunity to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loss, GHG emissions from pasture farms and improve long-term crop productivity and resilience and soil carbon sequestration.

Further work
The biochar dashboard was not created for detailed analytical purposes, but rather to have a ‘whole picture’ when considering potential land uses and associated benefits and trade-offs. All data and assumptions built into the dashboard are subject to verification and modification by further research.