Can biochar application improve the net economic benefits of tea plantations?

Biochar applied to the soil can contribute to the sustainability of agriculture by promoting ecosystem services. Tea production contributes to addressing hunger and poverty in developing countries. However, little is known about the impact of biochar amendment on ecosystem services in tea plantations. We evaluated ecosystem services from an economic assessment perspective to better understand the effects of biochar on ecosystem services and dis-services. We conducted field experiments in two subtropical tea plantations with three treatments: no fertilizer and compound fertilizers applied without and with biochar. Results showed that biochar increased the net ecosystem carbon budget by 17-fold through direct carbon addition, thus increasing regulating services. Compared to compound fertilizer alone, biochar application reduced total reactive nitrogen loss by an average of 1.8 % due to an average reduction of 16.2 % and 21.5 % in nitrous oxide and nitric oxide emissions, respectively. However, the high cost of biochar, the low environmental benefits due to the low carbon price, and the fact that biochar did not provide additional economic profit made the net ecosystem economic benefits unsatisfactory. For comparison, we set up an optimistic scenario based on the increased carbon price ($160/ton CO₂-equivalent) and the documented effects of biochar on yield (+9.6 %), nitrogen leaching/runoff (−24 %), and ammonia volatilization (+14 %). The scenario analysis showed that increased yields and higher carbon prices could contribute to the increase in net ecosystem economic benefits. Taken together, our findings suggest that the impact of biochar on yield benefits is the key to biochar application and that a market-regulated carbon price accompanied by appropriate ecological compensation is necessary to effectively promote biochar application by farmers.