Pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) can derive from natural (e.g., wildfire charcoal), as well as anthropogenic sources (e.g., biochar). Due to pyrolysis, PyOM is a highly condensed, aromatic material which is recognized as an important carbon sink in terrestrial and aquatic systems. With the potential to make wildfires a net sink of carbon or enhance carbon storage when applied in soils as biochar. Depending on its properties, PyOM can influence physical-, chemical-, and microbial soil functions. This can include, for example, releasing aromatic compounds, sorbing native organic matter, changing redox- and pH conditions, disintegrating into micro- and nanoparticles, and forming aggregates by mineral surface interactions. Thereby, PyOM can impact nutrient cycling and plant productivity, pollutant mobility, the soil microbiome, and edaphic fauna. These processes are of high importance for soil biochemistry, functioning, and carbon cycling but remain still largely unknown on the process- to field-scale. This is further related to the challenge of quantifying and measuring PyOM in complex soil matrices. To better understand the effects of PyOM on soils and affected ecosystems, a better knowledge of the abovementioned interlinked processes and novel methods are urgently needed.
This session aims to bring together monodisciplinary as well interdisciplinary research on PyOM-soil biogeochemistry. Early career researchers and underrepresented groups in the field are strongly encouraged to apply, including submissions from micro- to landscape scale experiments as well as modeling, or meta-analytical approaches and analytical developments.