"By increasing biological productivity BC also may contribute to SOC indirectly. Charcoal has been widely used throughout the world as a soil conditioner to increase crop and tree growth, improve germination, and reduce disease (Tryon, 1948; Goldberg, 1985; Kishimoto and Sugiura, 1985; Schmidt and Noack, 2000). Root growth in charcoal-amended soils is enhanced. Production of various legume crops is increased by 20 to 30 percent (Iswaran et al., 1979; Kishimoto and Sugiura, 1985). Exceptionally heavy nodulation has been reported for soybeans grown in charcoal-enriched soils, along with increased yield and N content of roots and shoots. This has been documented even for charcoal added to organic-rich mineral soils and peats. It has been hypothesized that charcoal sorbs agents toxic to rhizobia and other microorganisms of the rhizosphere, and that this effect is general to legumes (Chakrapani and Tilak, 1974; Rajput et al., 1983). The literature shows that charcoal in soil sorbs heavy metals, organic toxins, stimulates microbial activity, acts as a substrate for enhanced microbial growth, and generally stimulates N fixation, ammonification, and nitrification (Tryon, 1948; Kishimoto and Sugiura, 1985; Pietikainen et al., 2000; Schmidt and Noack, 2000). The literature further shows that prairie burning enhances productivity, root biomass levels, root turnover, and arthropods — the latter being especially active in incorporating surface BC throughout the soil profile (Lussenhop, 1976)."