Growing global demand for food production places significant pressure on agricultural soils, particularly those under intensive cultivation. Hence, agricultural producers face the challenge of balancing the need to sustain or improve crop yield while preserving soil resources and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. Biochar, a carbon-rich material produced from pyrolysis of biomass (e.g., crop residue, animal manure, biosolids), has gained recognition as a "climate-smart" agricultural practice because of its agronomic and environmental benefits. However, there needs to be more understanding of how biochar can be effectively integrated into other management practices, such as no-till, cover cropping, and nitrogen management. The first chapter explored the individual and combined effects of biochar, no-till, cover cropping, and nitrogen management on soil health indicators. Results suggest that integrating these practices, especially biochar, in a traditional corn-soybean system increases soil extracellular enzyme activities (EEAs) and soil organic carbon (SOC). In the second chapter, we explored the impact of biochar application rate and incorporation depth on soil health. Overall, increasing the biochar rate from 5 Mg ha-1 to 15 Mg ha-1 leads to higher production of EEAs and an increase in SOC, indicating that biochar can aid in nutrient acquisition and C sequestration (i.e., 1-2 years after application). This study will help inform decisions about integrating biochar into existing soil conservation methods.
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