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The benefits of biochar application are well described in tropical soils, however there is a dearth of information on its effects in agricultural temperate soils. An interesting and little explored interaction may occur in an intensive agriculture setting; biochar addition may modify the effect of commonplace N-fertilization. We conducted a field experiment to study the effects of biochar application at the rate of 0, 10 and 20 t ha

Biochar application to agricultural soils has a significant potential to influence soil resource availability and thus crop performance. A factorial experiment investigating effects of different biochar application rates combined with nitrogen fertilizer was conducted in field conditions on a Haplic Luvisol. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of biochar and biochar combined with fertilization on soil organic matter and soil structure parameters. The treatments comprised combinations of biochar application of 0, 10 and 20 t ha

Direct nitrous oxide emissions from a light-textured arable soil typical of North-Western Russia and subject to different management systems were measured during three growing seasons (MaySeptember) in [2003][2004][2005]. Cumulative fluxes varied between 0.26 ± 0.06 and 2.98 ± 1.56 kg N 2 O-N ha -1 , with the lowest flux produced where no N was added as mineral fertilizers/manures or where green manure/low inputs of mineral fertilizer were used as a source of N. Highest cumulative fluxes were measured from the plots where high inputs of farmyard manure were used. Of the crops studied, potatoes produced the highest N 2 O fluxes; this was attributed to the use of furrows, in which the soil tended to be more compact with higher water-filled pore space, making the soil more prone to denitrification than that in fields without furrows. The available N content of the soil at the start of each growing season was quite low and cumulative N 2 O fluxes were significantly affected by N-fertilizer application within one growing season. However, for different growing seasons with highly changeable rainfall patterns and with different soil management for different crops, the quite high yearly correlation between N application and N 2 O fluxes was much reduced.

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