Beyond Carbon: How Biochar Turns Removal into Regeneration

Carbon removal markets price tonnes of CO₂. Period. Everything else—soil health, water quality, biodiversity—gets filed under "co-benefits," acknowledged but unmonetized. For biochar, that accounting misses the point.High‑quality biochar projects don't just sequester carbon for centuries – they rebuild soils, protect water, and support biodiversity. When you zoom out, biochar isn't only a climate tool; it's a way to restart the natural systems that keep our planet livable.Here's the tension: most carbon removal standards measure only tonnes of CO₂, treating everything else as unmeasured 'co-benefits.' That accounting leaves value on the table—and creates a market blind spot where the most regenerative projects can't command premium pricing for the full scope of their impact.

This is where “carbon removal” becomes ecosystem regeneration - and where biochar's real competitive advantage lies.

Soil: The Overlooked Climate Engine

Globally, soils store an estimated 1,200–1,800 gigatonnes of carbon – roughly three times more than the atmosphere and about four times more than all plant biomass (IPCC, 2019).

Yet we’ve been drawing down this natural carbon bank. Land degradation has already reduced productivity on around 23% of global terrestrial area, and about 75% of the land surface has been significantly transformed by humans (IPBES, 2019).

That’s bad news for food security and climate stability. The good news: better land management practices collectively – including but not limited to biochar – could let soils re‑sequester roughly 0.4–0.8 gigatonnes of carbon per year – about 1.5–3 gigatonnes of CO₂ annually (Lal et al., 2018; Paustian et al., 2016).

Biochar is powerful here because it changes both how much carbon is stored, and how the soil ecosystem works:

• It is highly stable carbon. Unlike crop residues that decompose in a few seasons, a large fraction of biochar carbon can persist in soils for hundreds to thousands of years.
• Its porous structure gives microbes and fungi protected micro‑habitats, helping rebuild the soil food web that drives nutrient cycling and plant growth.

So every tonne of CO₂ stored as biochar isn’t just parked; it’s also helping to reboot a living system.

Water, Nutrients, and Cleaner Watersheds

Healthy, carbon‑rich soils behave like sponges. Agricultural extension data often cite that each 1 percentage point increase in soil organic matter can let soil hold on the order of 16,000–20,000 extra gallons of water per acre (roughly 150,000–185,000 liters per hectare), though this varies significantly by soil texture and structure (Hudson, 1994; NRCS).

That extra water in the root zone means:

• Crops stay alive longer in droughts
• Less runoff and erosion in heavy rain
• More stable baseflows in streams and rivers

Biochar amplifies these effects by improving soil structure and water infiltration, while also acting like a nutrient filter. Recent reviews and meta‑analyses show that biochar can:

• Cut nitrate leaching by roughly 15–70%, depending on the biochar, soil, and climate (Kammann et al., 2015; Cayuela et al., 2014).
• Reduce nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions by around 30–40% on average in many fertilized cropping systems (Cayuela et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2019).

These ranges reflect significant variability—biochar from different feedstocks, applied at different rates, in different soil types will show different magnitudes of effect. But the direction is consistent.Nitrate retained in the root zone is nitrate crops can actually use – and N₂O that isn't emitted avoids a greenhouse gas about 265-298 times more potent than CO₂ over 100 years (IPCC AR6, 2021).

From a watershed perspective, these reductions matter. Less nutrient loss means fewer algal blooms, fewer dead zones, and less contamination of wells and rivers. A carbon removal project that keeps nutrients out of waterways is doing double duty: stabilizing the climate and cleaning up the hydrological system downstream.

Food and Farmers: Productivity as a Climate Co‑Benefit

Biochar’s effects show up not just in lab measurements, but in harvests.

Multiple global meta‑analyses now converge on a similar picture:

• On average, biochar increases crop yields by around 10–20%, with the largest gains in degraded, acidic, or sandy soils (Jeffery et al., 2017; Biederman & Harpole, 2013).
• When combined with fertilizers, yield boosts can be even higher, because biochar helps retain nutrients in the root zone and improves water use efficiency (Ye et al., 2020).

Some big patterns emerge:

• Degraded soils: where organic matter is low, biochar can provide a step‑change in structure and fertility.
• Acidic soils: biochar often raises pH slightly and improves nutrient availability, so yield gains tend to be larger.
• Sandy soils: the pores and surfaces of biochar improve water and nutrient retention, helping crops cope with drought and poor fertility.

For farmers, that translates into more stable yields with less input risk. If they can maintain or increase yields with lower fertilizer doses thanks to better nutrient retention, they reduce costs and the emissions associated with fertilizer production and use.

For carbon‑removal buyers, it means each credit is tied to a real shift towards regenerative, climate‑resilient agriculture, not just a one‑off carbon number.

Biodiversity and Resilience: Beyond the Farm Gate

Biochar itself is not a magic biodiversity solution – but as part of regenerative land management, it supports more complex ecosystems.

When biochar improves soil structure and moisture:

• Vegetation becomes denser and more diverse, offering food and habitat for insects, birds, and small mammals.
• Better root systems anchor soil, reducing erosion and dust, which benefits nearby freshwater and coastal ecosystems.
• Landscapes become more resilient to climate extremes – able to absorb intense rain without washing away, and hold on to water through longer dry periods.

In forest and agroforestry systems, integrating biochar with tree planting or restoration can speed up the recovery of soil function and carbon stocks, which in turn helps stabilize local microclimates and support richer communities of species.

So the biodiversity story is indirect but important: stronger soils → stronger plants → more robust food webs.

Biochar's Unique Position in the CDR Landscape

This co-benefit density is what sets biochar apart in the carbon removal landscape.

Direct Air Capture with Carbon Storage (DACCS) stores carbon durably but offers no soil or ecosystem uplift. Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) concentrates on scale and industrial infrastructure. Enhanced weathering can improve soil pH but operates on geological timescales with limited near-term agronomic benefits.

Biochar operates at the nexus of carbon removal and agricultural regeneration—making it uniquely positioned for buyers who want climate impact that also supports food security, water quality, and landscape resilience. The carbon gets locked away for centuries, while the material continues to improve the growing environment.

That combination is rare in the CDR toolkit. And it's exactly what makes biochar both a climate solution and a regenerative agriculture solution at the same time.

From “Co‑Benefit” to Design Rule

Historically, soil health, water quality, and biodiversity were filed under “co‑benefits” – nice bonuses on top of carbon. That framing is starting to flip.

Standards bodies, buyers, and project developers are increasingly asking:

• How durable is the carbon storage?
• Does the project measurably improve soil function and water regulation?
• Are there clear, monitored benefits for local ecosystems and communities?

Here's the gap: most biochar methodologies today focus narrowly on carbon quantification, with soil health and water quality relegated to qualitative claims or generic statements. The next generation of high-integrity biochar credits will need to close this—verifying not just carbon durability, but measurable improvements in soil organic carbon, nutrient retention, water infiltration, and yield stability.

Buyers are starting to notice. Corporate sustainability teams don't just want a tonne of CO₂ removed—they want to fund projects that align with broader ESG goals around soil health, water stewardship, and biodiversity. The market is moving toward carbon removal that demonstrates regenerative impact, not just asserts it.

Orejen Carbon: Putting Co‑Benefits at the Center

Orejen Carbon is built around this broader vision of carbon removal. Rather than treating soil health, water quality, and biodiversity as “nice extras,” Orejen sees them as core to what high‑quality biochar projects should deliver.

In practice, that means:

• Prioritising durable biochar projects where carbon is locked away for centuries, with transparent monitoring protocols and conservative permanence accounting.
• Focusing on soil‑first design, partnering with projects that measure soil organic carbon changes, nutrient retention, and water infiltration—not just claim them anecdotally.
• Deploying in agricultural systems where farmers see tangible benefits—yield stability, improved input efficiency, and diversified income through carbon revenue—building economic models where regeneration actually pays.
• Tracking environmental outcomes beyond the field boundary, including nutrient leaching reductions and N₂O emissions cuts that contribute to cleaner watersheds and lower overall climate impact.

Orejen's geographic focus in Southeast Asia and India positions projects where biochar can address urgent challenges around soil degradation, water scarcity, and smallholder resilience—regions where the co-benefit case isn't theoretical, it's essential.

When someone backs Orejen Carbon's biochar-based removal, they're not just paying for tonnes on a ledger. They're funding a model where carbon, soil, water, and biodiversity are restored together—the kind of integrated climate solution that delivers durability and regeneration at scale.

References

• Biederman, L. A., & Harpole, W. S. (2013). Biochar and its effects on plant productivity and nutrient cycling: a meta-analysis. GCB Bioenergy, 5(2), 202-214.
• Cayuela, M. L., et al. (2014). Biochar and denitrification in soils: when, how much and why does biochar reduce N₂O emissions? Scientific Reports, 4, 5980.
• Hudson, B. D. (1994). Soil organic matter and available water capacity. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 49(2), 189-194.
• IPBES (2019). Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
• IPCC (2019). Climate Change and Land: Special Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
• IPCC AR6 (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Sixth Assessment Report.
• Jeffery, S., et al. (2017). Biochar boosts tropical but not temperate crop yields. Environmental Research Letters, 12(5), 053001.
• Kammann, C. I., et al. (2015). Biochar as a tool to reduce the agricultural greenhouse-gas burden. GCB Bioenergy, 7(4), 673-687.
• Lal, R., et al. (2018). The carbon sequestration potential of terrestrial ecosystems. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 73(6), 145A-152A.
• Liu, X., et al. (2019). Biochar's effect on crop productivity and the dependence on experimental conditions—a meta-analysis of literature data. Plant and Soil, 373(1-2), 583-594.
• NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service). Soil Health – Water Infiltration. USDA.
• Paustian, K., et al. (2016). Climate-smart soils. Nature, 532, 49-57.
• Ye, L., et al. (2020). Biochar effects on crop yields with and without fertilizer: A meta-analysis of field studies using separate controls. Soil Use and Management, 36(1), 2-18.

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