Chicken Manure Biochar as Liming and Nutrient Source for Acid Appalachian Soil

Abstract

Acid weathered soils often require lime and fertilizer application to overcome nutrient deficiencies and metal toxicity to increase soil productivity. Slow-pyrolysis chicken manure biochars, produced at 350 and 700°C with and without subsequent steam activation, were evaluated in an incubation study as soil amendments for a representative acid and highly weathered soil from Appalachia. Biochars were mixed at 5, 10, 20, and 40 g kg into a Gilpin soil (fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Hapludult) and incubated in a climate-controlled chamber for 8 wk, along with a nonamended control and soil amended with agronomic dolomitic lime (AgLime). At the end of the incubation, soil pH, nutrient availability (by Mehlich-3 and ammonium bicarbonate diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid [AB-DTPA] extractions), and soil leachate composition were evaluated. Biochar effect on soil pH was process- and rate-dependent. Biochar increased soil pH from 4.8 to 6.6 at the high application rate (40 g kg), but was less effective than AgLime. Biochar produced at 350°C without activation had the least effect on soil pH. Biochar increased soil Mehlich-3 extractable micro- and macronutrients. On the basis of unit element applied, increase in pyrolysis temperature and biochar activation decreased availability of K, P, and S compared to nonactivated biochar produced at 350°C. Activated biochars reduced AB-DTPA extractable Al and Cd more than AgLime. Biochar did not increase NO in leachate, but increased dissolved organic carbon, total N and P, PO, SO, and K at high application rate (40 g kg). Risks of elevated levels of dissolved P may limit chicken manure biochar application rate. Applied at low rates, these biochars provide added nutritional value with low adverse impact on leachate composition.

Biochar reduces yield-scaled emissions of reactive nitrogen gases from vegetable soils across China

“…First, compared to B w , B m has a higher DOC content (Table S1), through which more nutrients may be directly introduced to the soil (Rajkovich et al, 2012). Secondly, besides their large amount of plant-available nutrients (Hass et al, 2012), biochars produced with manure have been generally considered significant for improving soil fertility by promoting soil structure development (Joseph et al, 2010), with the result that B m was found superior to B w in vegetable production enhancement in our case (Table 3e). As biochar effects on vegetable yield were variable, both biochar properties and soil conditions and crop species ought to be taken into account comprehensively before applying biochar to a certain soil condition.…”

Effect of biochar amendments on As and Pb mobility and phytoavailability in contaminated mine technosols phytoremediated by Salix

“…At least two mechanisms have been suggested to explain a DOC decrease after biochar application Kloss et al, 2014;Jain et al, 2014): (i) due to its structure, biochar addition increases the number of soil organic matter sorption sites (Hass et al, 2012); (ii) biochar improves microbial activity. In fact, Jokinen et al (2006) showed that an increase in pH led to an increase in microbial activity, and hence an increase in organic carbon degradation by microbiota (Hass et al, 2012).…”

Substitution of peat moss with softwood biochar for soil-free marigold growth

“…For example, pelleted wood BC (720-755°C) substitution for peat (< 15% (v/v) required adjustment of pH due to the liming effect of the BC (Vaughn et al, 2013). The neutral to alkaline pH of BCs and their liming potential (Glaser et al 2002;Hass et al, 2012;Van Zwieten et al, 2010) means that BC substitution for peat can increase pH beyond optimum for plant growth in potting media (Fryda and Visser, 2015;Steiner and Harttung, 2014;Vaughn et al, 2013). Explicit evaluation of BC effects on substrate pH and plant performance provides a basis to improve design of BC-based substrates and inform trade-offs in this application of BC (Jeffery et al, 2015).…”