Fig. 1: Available biomass feedstocks and negative emission potential of biochar in China.

a Potentials of available biomass feedstocks under various scenarios, namely, maximum theoretical potential, sustainable technical potential, and current technical potential. These feedstocks include agricultural residues, forestry residues, grass residues, and potential dedicated energy crops. b Negative emission potential of biochar produced from various types of feedstocks. Note that ‘other agricultural residues’ refers to the residues of 13 other types of crops excluding rice, wheat, and maize. c Comparison between negative emission demands in mitigation pathways from previous studies, and the negative emission potential of biochar estimated in this study. Source data are provided as a Source data file.