Application of biochar and organic fertilizer to saline‐alkali soil in the Yellow River Delta: Effects on soil water, salinity, nutrients, and maize yield

Abstract

Soil salinization is a global problem that limits agricultural productivity and sustainable development. As waste‐derived soil amendments, biochar and organic fertilizer have garnered considerable attention for their ability to improve soil physicochemical properties and contribution to agricultural waste resource recovery. However, comparable data on the effects of biochar and organic fertilizers on the physicochemical properties of saline‐alkali soils are lacking. Therefore, we applied biochar (B1: 5 t ha−1 year−1; B2: 10 t ha−1 year−1; and B3: 20 t ha−1 year−1) and organic fertilizer (OF1: 7.5 t ha−1 year−1 and OF2: 10 t ha−1 year−1) to saline‐alkali soil in the Yellow River Delta (YRD), China, continuously for 3 years. Because of the influence of their application on soil fertility and water‐salt status, maize yield increased by 55.01–62.51% and 15.01–26.67% for the biochar and organic fertilizer treated soils, respectively. Biochar and organic fertilizer increased soil water content, Ca2+, Mg2+, total phosphorus, available phosphorus, total nitrogen,NO3−‐N,NH4+‐N, organic matter, and microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, while decreasing the sodium adsorption ratio and soil pH. Compared with CK, Na+ and soil salt content were reduced by 3.83–8.16% and 2.45–12.08%, respectively, under biochar treatments and increased by 2.19–5.34% and 12.95–20.02%, respectively, under organic fertilizer treatments. Principal component analysis showed that biochar was more effective than organic fertilizer in increasing SWC and reducing salinity and Na+. Based on the evidence of this study, biochar presents an eco‐friendly agricultural strategy for improving saline‐alkali soils and increasing maize yield in the YRD.

Restoration strategies for water and salt transport in saline soils: A 20‐year bibliometric analysis

“…To solve the problem, a variety of improved technologies have been proposed. For example, physical measures include: (a) surface coverage (Chen et al, 2020; Tan et al, 2021) such as soil cover to reduce water loss caused by evaporation (Singh et al, 2006), (b) irrigation optimization (Xie et al, 2011; Siyal et al, 2013; Zeng et al, 2014; Samson et al, 2016; He et al, 2017) and drainage improvements (Wang et al, 2022; Yang et al, 2022; Zhang et al, 2022), such as drip irrigation, saltwater deficit irrigation and deficit irrigation can bring important economic benefits in terms of water‐saving and yield (Ramos et al, 2012). Also, chemical measures such as using chemical remediation agents (Feng et al, 2020) or soil improvement materials (Yao et al, 2022), as well as biological measures, for example, salt‐tolerant plants (Iqbal et al, 2017; Ruiz et al, 2016; Wang et al, 2017; Wang, Zhang, et al, 2021) and enhancing plant salt tolerance (Liu, Feng, et al, 2021; Niu et al, 2016; Zhang et al, 2021), have been tested.…”

Role of biochar toward carbon neutrality

“…The indirect effect of biochar on plant growth promotion should not be neglected. Improved water holding capacity (Bruun et al 2022;Razzaghi et al 2020), enhanced aggregation characteristics (Islam et al 2021), suppressed acidity (Dai et al 2017), reduced salinity (Wang et al 2022f ), suppressed activities of pathogens (de Medeiros et al 2021), as well as enhanced activities of soil fauna (Lehmann et al 2011) contribute to biochar's performance in promoting plant growth.…”

Sustainable soil management for food security

“…A 8-year-long field study in Ethiopia found that the application of both bone char and biochar can significantly increase maize and soybean, due to increased soil-P desorption capacity and enhanced P availability (Wakweya et al, 2022). Biochar application increased maize yield by 55% ~ 62% in saline-alkali soils in the Yellow River Delta of China (Wang et al, 2022).…”