In the Inland Northwest US, Douglas-fir artificial regeneration commonly includes growing 10 seedlings in media containing sphagnum peat. Concerns over the sustainability of peat and 11 rising plant production costs are initiating investigation of growing media alternatives. Biochar 12 is a potential media amendment that has positive physical and chemical properties for seedling 13 production, including high water and nutrient retention due to large surface area, which may 14 reduce leaching losses and improve fertilizer use efficiency. We used different amounts of is an important and highly valuable timber species in the region. Artificial regeneration of 36 Douglas-fir is used in place of natural regeneration to improve genetics and assure stocking 37 (Hermann and Lavender 1990). 38Containerized growing stock utilizes irrigation, fertilizer application, and artificial 39 growing media in a nursery setting. Sphagnum peat is often a major growing media component 40 because it has many desirable features including high water-holding capacity, high cation 41 exchange capacity (CEC), and high air capacity at maximum water content (Landis et al. 1990; 42 Nelson 2012). It has low bulk density, pH, microbe activity, and nutrient content. Sphagnum 43 peat is free of weed seeds and pathogens, and it is homogenous. 44Recently there has been environmental and economic concerns with the use of peat. Peat 45 bogs are important habitats and carbon (C) stocks, which provide environmental services such as 46 local water quality regulation and flood protection (Alexander et al. 2008). Peat extraction has 47 negative environmental impacts (Alexander et al. 2008) as peat usually acts as a C sink, but 48 when a peatland is drained and extracted for other uses the peat decomposes quickly and emits 49 greenhouse gases (Cleary et al. 2005). Therefore, there is a search for alternatives to using peat 50 as a component of containerized growing media (Abad et al. 2001). 51One possible alternative or amendment to peat is biochar. Biochar is charcoal created via water-holding capacity, and total porosity (Mendez et al. 2015) and when pelleted, biochar added 57 to peat improves hydraulic water conductivity and water availability (Dumroese et al. 2011). 58Biochar-amended peat substrate has higher nutrient concentrations (Nemati et al. 2015 (Glaser et al. 2002). 66Many studies include biochar in conjunction with fertilizer. Biochar without fertilizer 67 does not provide enough P or K for container crops (Locke et al. 2013). Biochar with fertilizer 68 has both positive and negative effects on plant growth. When added to field soils, biochar both 69 increases crop fertilizer N uptake (Huang et al. 2014), and growth (Alburquerque et al. 2013). 70Biochar also causes plant biomass production to react both positively and negatively when 71 combined with fertilizer application, dependent on soil type (Van Zwieten et al. 2010 of nutrient pre-treated biochar in peat-based growing media or its use to grow tree seedlings. 82Biochar is often...
Restoring overstocked forests by thinning and pyrolyzing residual biomass produces biochar and other value‐added products. Forest soils amended with biochar have potential to sequester carbon (C), improve soil quality, and alter greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions without depleting nutrient stocks. Yet, few studies have examined the effects of biochar on GHG emissions and tree growth in temperate forest soils. We measured GHG emissions, soil C content, and tree growth at managed forest sites in Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. We applied biochar amendments of 0, 2.5, or 25 Mg/ha to the forest soil surface. Flux of carbon dioxide and methane varied by season; however, neither were affected by biochar amendment. Flux of nitrous oxide was not detected at these nitrogen‐limited and unfertilized forest sites. Biochar amendment increased soil C content by 41% but did not affect tree growth. Overall, biochar had no detrimental effects on forest trees or soils. We conclude that biochar can be used harmlessly for climate change mitigation in forests by sequestering C in the soil.
Artificial forest regeneration using nursery produced growing stock is commonplace in the Pacific Northwest. High quality seedlings are needed for outplanting success, which depends on a seedling's ability to establish new roots and overcome stress. Containerized seedling stock is typically grown in artificial growing media. Peat, a popular component of growing media, is a non-renewable resource. Biochar has similar physical attributes to peat, which makes it a potential alternative. In our study, we grew Douglas-fir seedlings in containers with biochar-amended peat-based growing media to determine if biochar could improve seedling quality. Douglas-fir seeds were sown in March 2016 and seedlings were grown under standard light and temperature conditions at an operational forest nursery for nine months. After nine months, seedling quality was assessed for height, diameter, cold hardiness, and root growth potential. Using biochar did not improve Douglas-fir seedling quality, except for slightly increasing cold hardiness and root growth potential for equivalently sized seedlings. Seedlings grown without biochar had increased height and diameter compared to seedlings with biochar and they had higher root growth potential (all dependent on fertilizer rates). Douglas-fir seedling quality might be improved with biochar amendment if negative growth impacts of soil reaction can be overcome.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.