The agronomic use of charcoal from biomass pyrolysis (biochar) represents an interesting option for increasing soil fertility and sequestering atmospheric CO 2 . However, before moving toward large-scale biochar applications, additional research must evaluate all possible land-atmosphere feedbacks. Despite the increasing number of studies investigating the effect of biochar on soil physical, chemical and biological properties, only a few have been done on surface albedo variations on agricultural lands. The present work had the aim of characterizing the annual albedo cycle for a durum wheat crop in Central Italy, by means of a spectroradiometer measurement campaign. Plots treated with biochar, at a rate of 30-60 t ha −1 , showed a surface albedo decrease of up to 80% (after the application) with respect to the control in bare soil conditions, while this difference tended to decrease during the crop growing season, because of the prevailing effect of canopy development on the radiometer response. After the post-harvesting tillage, the soil treated with biochar again showed a lower surface albedo value (<20-26% than the control), while the measurements taken in the second year after application suggested a clear decrease of biochar influence on soil color. The modeling of the surface energy balance highlighted changes in the partitioning of heat fluxes and in particular a substantial increase of ground heat fluxes on an annual basis.

Incorporation of charcoal produced by biomass pyrolysis (biochar) in agricultural soils is a potentially sustainable strategy for climate change mitigation. However, some side effects of large-scale biochar application need to be investigated. In particular a massive use of a low-reflecting material on large cropland areas may impact the climate via changes in surface albedo. Twelve years of MODIS-derived albedo data were analysed for three pairs of selected agricultural sites in central Italy. In each pair bright and dark coloured soil were identified, mimicking the effect of biochar application on the land surface albedo of complex agricultural landscapes. Over this period vegetation canopies never completely masked differences in background soil colour. This soil signal, expressed as an albedo difference, induced a local instantaneous radiative forcing of up to 4.7 W m −2 during periods of high solar irradiance. Biochar mitigation potential might therefore be reduced up to ∼30%. This study proves the importance of accounting for crop phenology and crop management when assessing biochar mitigation potential and provides more insights into the analysis of its environmental feedback.

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