The use of peat in traditional cultivation systems and in commercial nurseries is an environmental problem. In this work, we evaluated the partial replacement of peat with different amounts of biochar sourced from vineyard pruning as plant growing substrates. We studied its effect on the growth of lettuce plants under greenhouse and semi-hydroponic conditions. Substrate mixtures contained 30% (v/v) of vermiculite and 70% (v/v) of different biochar:peat treatments as follows: 0:70 (B0), 15:55 (B15), 30:40 (B30), 50:20 (B50), and 70:0 (B70). Higher biochar treatments increased the pH and electrical conductivity of the substrate, negatively affecting plant growth and germination (especially in B70). The partial substitution of peat by 30% biochar (B30) delayed seed germination but improved plant growth and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), with shoots containing higher levels of organic nitrogen and nitrate. Moreover, it increased the water holding capacity (WHC) and led to an efficient use of nutrients. Our study demonstrates that biochar can successfully replace and reduce peat and N fertilizer consumption. This has the potential to promote more sustainable farming with positive impacts on both plant growth and the environment.
<p>The use of peat in traditional agricultural systems and nursery enterprises is an environmental concern. Since the high CO<sub>2</sub> and greenhouse gas emission due to peat excavation contributes considerably to climate change and global warming it is key to find new valuable resources in the field of carbon based materials production and application. This approach not only contributes to the concept of circular economy and the reduction of contaminants and waste, such as excessive nitrogen (N) fertilizers, but is also beneficial with respect to nutrient recovery and use efficiency. In this work we partially replaced peat with different amounts of biochar obtained from vineyard pruning as plant growing substrates while implementing N fertirrigation. We studied the effect on the growth, different content of N forms and other nutrient dynamics impact of lettuce plants grown under greenhouse and semi-hydroponics conditions. Substrate mixtures contained 30% of vermiculite and 70% of different biochar:peat treatments as follows: 0:70 (B0), 15:55 (B15), 30:40 (B30), 50:20 (B50), and 70:0 (B70). Higher biochar treatments increased pH and electrical conductivity of the substrate, negatively affecting plant growth and germination (especially in B70). The substitution of 30% peat by biochar (B30) delayed seed germination but improved plant growth and N use efficiency. This is related with a higher nitrate (NO<sub>3</sub><sup>&#8210;</sup>) retention capacity in the substrate, leading to higher contents of organic N and NO<sub>3</sub><sup>&#8210;</sup> in the plant shoot. The treatment B30 also increased the water holding capacity of the substrate, which may enhance soil moisture characteristics and pore size distribution, maximizing water availability to plants. Our study demonstrates that the use of biochar can reduce the consumption of peat and excessive N fertilizers, while promoting a more sustainable farming with positive impact on both the plant growth and the environment.</p> <p>Acknowledgement: This research was funded by European Union&#8217;s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme un-der the Marie Sk&#322;odowska-Curie grant agreement No 895613 and EIT Food program (Black to the Future Project, EIT-21217). This EIT Food activity has received funding from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, under Horizon Europe, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. A.F. Garcia-Rodriguez acknowledges the Spanish National Research Council for providing JAE Intro-ICU grant.</p>
<p>Rangelands in Namibia have experienced a shift from herbaceous to woody plant dominance which has reduced indigenous plant and animal biodiversity. It is also altering ecosystem function, and threatening subsistence pastoralism. A common approach to reduce these negative impacts is bush thinning. It is expected that removal of brushes will favorite the development of grasslands with a positive impact on their soil organic matter (SOM) stocks. On the other hand, harvesting bush from those systems removes not only biomass but also nutrients that are stored in it. Such losses can decrease soil fertility which is likely to affect the soil carbon stocks on a long term. In search of a better understanding of the consequences of such a restoration approach, the objective of the present work is to study the impact of bush removal on the quantity, quality and biochemical recalcitrance of SOM as well as nutrient contents in soils of an encroached savannah which was subjected to bush harvesting. Therefore, we sampled a chronosequence of soils with up to fifteen years after bush thinning. Their SOM was characterized by solid-state NMR spectroscopy and composition was related to its biochemical recalcitrance determined by measuring the CO<sub>2</sub> evolution during microbial degradation in a microcosms experiment of 3 months. First results indicate that up to two years after bush harvesting SOM contents of the soil were decreased, although a recovery was observed with increasing time after harvesting. Ongoing analysis of the stable isotopic ratios are performed to identify if this dynamic is caused by lower litter input due to the change of vegetation from bush to grass or by a faster turnover of the SOM, induced by alteration of the environmental conditions due to bush removal (light, soil moisture, temperature etc.).</p> <p>&#160;</p> <p>Acknowledgement: The authors would like to express their gratitude to the European Commission for the financial support of this research within the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (Grant No. 101036401).</p>
<p>Biochar has become an accepted soil amendment due to its potential to improve soil properties and as a tool to increase carbon sequestration. The latter is based on its relatively high biochemical recalcitrance augmenting the slow C pool after its addition to soils. However, newer studies indicated that the longevity of biochar and naturally produced pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) in soils is lower than commonly assumed. Many of those studies are based on the determination of CO2 production changes or on the recovery of their isotopic labels in the soil after amendment of biochar or PyC incorporation. Most probably because of the lack of appropriate techniques to differentiate between the natural soil organic matter fraction and the added black carbon, only few reports are available which relate turn-over data with chemical alterations of biochar during aging or the impact of the latter on the quality of the total SOM pool. &#160;In order to fill this gap, we applied virtual fractionation of SOM into different organic matter pools by different solid-state NMR techniques. Whereas the most common combines the determination of turnover rates via stable isotope techniques, an alternative approach takes advantage of different relaxation behavior of biochar and humified SOM. In both cases spectra can be calculated that show either the added biochar or the respective SOM.&#160; In the frame of the present work, the concept and the potential of the two approaches will be explained by using examples studied in our laboratory. &#160;With this, we intend to provide a further powerful tool which can lead to a better understanding of the biochemistry related to the transformation of PyC and biochar during aging and their subsequent integration into the soil organic matter fraction.</p><p>&#160;</p><p>Acknowledgement: Financial support has been provided by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, under Horizon2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (Project 21217 Black to the future - biochar and compost as soil amendment)</p>
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