Olive Tree (Olea europaea) Biochar Differentially Affects N2O and CO2 Emissions in Neutral and Alkaline Olive Orchard Soils

Despite a growing interest in biochar for olive orchard fertility management, little is known about its effects on nitrogen (N) dynamics and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Mediterranean soils, particularly when comparing neutral (pH 6.7) and alkaline (pH 8.2) soils using farmer-accessible flame-curtain pyrolysis biochar. In this 60-day soil mesocosm study, we hypothesized that biochar amendments in fertilized soils would enhance soil N availability and potentially reduce N2O emissions, with effects modulated by soil pH. Treatments included: control, urea fertilizer, and urea plus biochar (5% w/w). Urea fertilization significantly increased soil ammonium (NH4+) and total oxidized nitrogen (NO3− + NO2−) in both soils, and co-application of biochar further increased these pools, particularly in the neutral soil (NH4+: + 91% and + 62% in neutral and alkaline soil, respectively). Biochar addition consistently reduced cumulative carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in both soils, supporting its role in stabilizing soil organic carbon. However, impacts on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions were soil-pH-dependent: biochar slightly reduced N2O emissions in neutral soil, though nearly doubled N2O emissions in alkaline soil, highlighting that biochar’s efficacy for GHG mitigation is context-specific. These findings underscore biochar’s potential to improve soil N availability and reduce carbon losses but reveal clear limitations for N2O mitigation in alkaline soils, necessitating site-specific application strategies that explicitly consider soil pH when targeting climate benefits in Mediterranean olive production.