S. I. BIOCHAR Biochar engineered to enhance the potential performance of soil in the Mediterranean region of Turkey Mazhar Rafique 1,2 & Hassan Javed Chaudhary 2 & Ibrahim A. M. Ahmed 1 & Alexandra Bykova 1 & Ibrahim Ortas 1 Received: 15 February 2019 /Accepted: 9 May 2019 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2019 Abstract Biochar (BC) is a carbon-rich pyrolyzed material widely used in agriculture for soil amendment in order to enhance crop production and improve soil quality, carbon sequestration (C-sequestration), and mitigation of atmospheric C. Various functions of BC make it valuable; however, the heterogenic properties of BC raise questions regarding its suitability in a particular environment. The present study explored the heterogenic properties of BC with the aim of aligning its uses for soil and the environment. Different types of BC were prepared from feedstocks (FS) of sludge (S), animal waste (AW), and plants originating in the Mediterranean region. Physical and chemical characterization of BC was performed to evaluate its suitability for use in the Mediterranean region with regard to plant nutrient availability. To achieve this, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and proximate, ultimate, and nutrient analyses were performed. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was also undertaken, and the C-stability of BC was observed using thermogravimetric analysis. Plant FS–derived BC exhibits a high moisture content, volatile matrix, and fixed and total carbon (TC) compared with sludge biochar (SBC) and AW-derived BC. A high calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) content was observed in AW- derived BC. Furthermore, the porosity of BC revealed that soil microbes may be sustained inside the porous structure if used for soil amendment. The different FS-oriented BC studied here could potentially be used to amend soil. The AW-derived BC and plant FS– derived BC could be a good source of immediate nutrient release for plant growth in agriculture and C-sequestration, respectively. Keywords Biochar production . Plant-derived feedstocks . Pyrolyzing organic wastes . Carbon concentration . Carbon stability Introduction The thermal decomposition of biomass in the presence of oxygen results in a black carbonaceous product recognized as biochar (BC). This final carbon-enriched product is pro- duced by pyrolyzing organic wastes and feedstocks (FS) un- der anoxic conditions at 250–900 °C (Xie et al. 2015). The FS used for BC production are organic in nature such as animal manure (AM), i.e., chicken manure, cow manure, sheep and goat manure, poultry litter, etc., and plant-based material (wood biomass, agricultural and forestry residues) (Cantrell et al. 2012). BC enhances the soil moisture content and nutri- ent retention, increases stable organic-C, and also aids in pol- lutant adsorption along with C-sequestration in soil (Kookana et al. 2011). It has also been suggested that BC helps to avoid major environmental and soil quality repercussions associated with the removal of crop residue from land (Hansen et al. 2008). Certain physical and chemical characteristics, micro- porous structuring, active functional groups, and accessibility to cost-effective feedstock highlight the potential use of BC in agricultural and environmental industries (Tan et al. 2016). It is also considered to be one of the most efficient organic soil amendments that can increase stable C-stock and enable high nutrient availability in soil (Chan and Xu 2009). The sludge (S)-, animal waste (AW)-, and plant FS–derived BC have different physicochemical properties that can increase certain characteristics of soil such as C-sequestration, nutrient avail- ability in soil, and liming (Joseph and Lehmann 2009). The nutrient availability potential of BC directly influences plant growth and also improves soil quality in both short and long terms. An additional benefit includes the fact that waste treat- ment via pyrolyzation helps lessen the problem of waste dis- posal by decreasing the volume and weight (Johannes and This article is part of the Topical Collection on Implications of Biochar Application to Soil Environment under Arid Conditions * Ibrahim Ortas iortas@cu.edu.tr 1 Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Cukurova University, 01150 Adana, Turkey 2 Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan Arabian Journal of Geosciences (2019) 12:391 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-019-4528-4