Biochar’s modern history begins with a much older soil story. Researchers studying carbon-rich Amazonian dark earth found evidence that charred material could remain in fertile soil for centuries.
That observation helped inspire a new question: could biomass be converted into a consistent carbon material and deliberately used in modern soils and environmental systems?
During the past 20 years, that question has grown into an international field of research, production, standards, and commercial applications.
Ancient soil and a modern idea
Amazonian dark earth, often called terra preta, developed around Indigenous settlements through long-term interactions among charred material, food remains, ash, bones, pottery, soil organisms, and land management.1
Its carbon-rich composition and lasting fertility attracted researchers interested in soil improvement and carbon storage. Terra preta was not simply modern biochar added to soil. It was a complex cultural and ecological system built across generations.
Its importance to biochar history lies in the lesson it offered: carbonized biomass can become a long-lasting part of productive soil.
Wakefield’s What Is Terra Preta? explores that history and Indigenous legacy in greater detail.
2006–2007: An international movement forms
The organized international movement began in July 2006. A group of researchers, businesses, government representatives, investors, nonprofit organizations, and policy advocates met during the World Soil Science Congress in Philadelphia.2
The participants shared an interest in advancing biochar research, production, demonstration projects, and commercial use. That meeting created the foundation for what became the International Biochar Initiative.
The first international conference followed in Australia in 2007. It brought together 107 participants from 13 countries. Conference participants voted to establish the International Biochar Initiative as an independent nonprofit organization.2
These events gave the emerging field a network through which researchers and practitioners could exchange findings, develop terminology, and coordinate future work.
2009–2012: Research and standards take shape
In 2009, Johannes Lehmann and Stephen Joseph published the first edition of Biochar for Environmental Management. The book brought research from soil science, pyrolysis, agriculture, and climate into a shared reference for the developing field.2
Work on common product definitions and testing methods also began in 2009. Until then, researchers and buyers did not have one widely shared framework for describing material sold or studied as biochar.
The International Biochar Initiative published the first version of its biochar standards in 2012. The standards created common definitions, testing expectations, and reporting practices for biochar intended for soil use.3 The program continued developing, including the later IBI Standard and revised testing guidelines.
The 2010s: More uses enter the picture
Research expanded beyond the original focus on agricultural soil. Scientists and organizations studied biochar in compost, growing media, mine-land restoration, stormwater systems, filtration, and other environmental applications.
Researchers also developed a clearer understanding of how feedstock, production temperature, particle size, and post-processing affect the finished material. Biochar increasingly became a category of materials with different properties rather than one uniform soil amendment.
For readers interested in those mechanisms, How Biochar Works explains how biochar interacts with water, nutrients, soil organisms, and carbon.
The 2020s: Carbon removal and commercial scale
During the 2020s, biochar became more closely connected with carbon-removal markets. Producers and carbon programs developed systems for measuring production emissions, carbon stability, storage conditions, and net carbon removal.
Commercial applications also continued expanding. Biochar is now being evaluated or used in agricultural soils, manufactured growing media, concrete, asphalt, filtration products, remediation systems, and other materials.
Standards have evolved with that growth. In 2024, the International Biochar Initiative and Carbon Standards International announced that the legacy IBI Standard would be brought together with the World Biochar Certificate.3 The partnership reflects a field moving toward broader international expectations for material quality, testing, and carbon accounting.
Twenty years of collaboration
In 2026, the International Biochar Initiative marks 20 years since the Philadelphia meeting that helped organize the modern movement.2
The field has changed considerably during that time. Early discussions centered largely on soil fertility and stable carbon. Today, biochar connects agriculture, biomass reuse, manufacturing, environmental management, and carbon removal.
That expansion does not replace biochar’s soil origins. It builds on them. The same durable carbon structure that drew attention to Amazonian dark earth continues to guide research into how biomass can support healthier soils, useful products, and long-term carbon storage.
Sources and notes
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State of the scientific knowledge on properties and genesis of Anthropogenic Dark Earths in Central Amazonia (terra preta de Índio) Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 82, 39–51 2012. Review of the materials, human activities, and soil processes associated with Amazonian dark earth. View Source ↩
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IBI History and IBI Beginnings International Biochar Initiative 2026. Organizational history covering the 2006 meeting, 2007 conference, 2009 reference book, and subsequent international work. Additional anniversary account: biochar-international.org/news/ibi-beginnings/. View Source ↩
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Biochar Standards International Biochar Initiative 2024. History of the standards-development process and the 2024 partnership with Carbon Standards International. IBI's organizational timeline records publication of the first standards version in 2012; the current standards page describes the later IBI Standard program and certification partnership. View Source ↩
