Biochar is a charcoal-like product that contains no petroleum. It is made by heating biomass such as herbaceous or woody crop residues, non-salvageable timber and slash, or animal manure, in a contained system.

Biochar may also be used as a soil amendment for two purposes – to improve plant health and to store carbon. It is predicted that at least 50% of the carbon in any piece of waste turned into biochar becomes stable, locking away that carbon for a period of several to hundreds of years, offsetting its contribution as a greenhouse gas in the form of carbon dioxide.

Biochar has ancient roots. In the Amazon, pockets of soil are widely believed to have been amended or mulched with charcoal waste from pre-Columbian Indian hearths thousands of years ago. Those soils, known as “terra preta” (dark earth) are dark, loamy, and fertile.