Effects of Biochar and Straw Application on the Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Paddy Soils in Northeast China

Zheng, Yu; Han, Xianpei; Li, Yuying; Yang, Jinfeng; Li, Na; An, Ning

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-52978-w

Cited by 58 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 61 publications

(86 reference statements)

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“…For example, increasing values of cation exchange capacity (CEC) was reported [14], soil water interaction, and retention (including degraded soils) [15], saturated hydraulic conductivity [16], soil aggregation and stability [17] following soil amendment with biochar. Furthermore, biochar has also been reported to influence soil health by enhancing microbial abundance and diversity in the rhizosphere, as well as modifying the favorable microbial environments by adjusting nutrients, increasing soil pH [18][19][20] and modifying plant growth performance through improved fertility, and direct supply of carbon (C) rich substrates [21,22]. Biochar application or amendment is also well recognized as a useful potential climate change mitigation strategy [23,24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pore sizes can be used to further characterize biochar where pores less than 2 nm in size are referred to as micropores, 2-50 nm as mesopores, and larger than 50 nm as macro-pores [27,40]. Biochar properties such as elemental composition, pH, redox potential (Eh), CEC, and surface functional groups control the interaction between soil and biochar properties [20,[41][42][43] and can modulate soil performance. There is very little information in the current scientific literature on how these modulations affect podzolic soil performance and crop production in the boreal ecosystem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigating the Influence of Biochar Amendment on the Physicochemical Properties of Podzolic Soil

et al. 2020

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Research into biochar, as an amendment to soil, has increased over the last decade. However, there is still much to understand regarding the effects of biochar type and rates on the physicochemical properties of different soil types. This study aimed to investigate the effects of biochar application on the physicochemical properties of podzolic soils. Soil samples were collected from the research site in Pasadena, Newfoundland, Canada. Experimental treatments consisted of three types of soils (topsoil, E-horizon soil and mixed soil (topsoil 2: E-horizon soil 1)), two biochar types (granular and powder) and four biochar application rates (0%, 0.5%, 1% and 2% on a weight basis). Ten physicochemical parameters (bulk density (BD), porosity, field capacity (FC), plant available water (PAW), water repellency (WR), electrical conductivity (EC), pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), total carbon (TC), and nitrogen (N)) were investigated through a total of 72 experimental units. Biochar morphological structure and pore size distribution were examined using a scanning electron microscope, whereas specific surface area was assessed by the Brunauer−Emmett−Teller method. The result indicated that the E-horizon soil was highly acidic compared to control (topsoil) and mixed soils. A significant difference was observed between the control and 2% biochar amendment in all three soil mixtures tested in this experiment. Biochar amendments significantly reduced the soil BD (E-horizon: 1.40–1.25 > mixed soil: 1.34–1.21 > topsoil: 1.31–1.18 g cm−3), increased the CEC (mixed soil: 2.83–3.61 > topsoil: 2.61–2.70 > E-horizon: 1.40–1.25 cmol kg−1) and total C (topsoil: 2.40–2.41 > mixed soil: 1.74–1.75 > E-horizon: 0.43–0.44%). Water drop penetration tests showed increased WR with increasing biochar doses from 0 to 2% (topsoil: 2.33–4.00 > mixed soil: 2.33–3.33 > E-horizon: 4.00–4.67 s), and all the biochar–soil combinations were classified as slightly-repellent. We found significant effects of biochar application on soil water retention. Porosity increased by 2.8%, FC by 10%, and PAW by 12.9% when the soil was treated with powdered biochar. Additionally, we examined the temporal effect of biochar (0 to 2% doses) on pH and EC and observed an increase in pH (4.3–5.5) and EC (0.0–0.20 dS/m) every day from day 1–day 7. Collectively the study findings suggest 2% powder biochar application rate is the best combination to improve the physicochemical properties of the tested mixed podzolic soil. Granular and powdered biochar was found to be hydrophobic and hydrophilic, respectively. These findings could be helpful to better understand the use of biochar for improving the physicochemical properties of podzolic soils when used for agricultural practices in boreal ecosystems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the Influence of Biochar Amendment on the Physicochemical Properties of Podzolic Soil

et al. 2020

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“…Crop straw has become an effective way to supplement soil nutrients and increase crop yield in modern agriculture because it is rich in various nutrients and physiologically active substances 1 . Straw mulching has important ecological significance for maintaining farmland fertility, reducing the use of chemical fertilizers, improving the carbon sink capacity of terrestrial soil, promoting the soil nitrogen cycle 2 , 3 , and reducing or avoiding environmental pollution caused by burning 4 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of straw mulching practices on soil nematode communities under walnut plantation

Song

Tariq

Pan

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Agricultural management techniques such as mulching with crop straw can impact soil properties and may in turn change the structure and function of the soil food web. We investigated different straw mulching types and straw mulching coverage levels on soil nematodes community structure in walnut orchards. We set up a randomized experimental design with three straw mulch types, and three straw mulch distance treatments in a walnut plantation. The results indicated that the number of soil nematodes after straw mulching was lower than that found in the control (CK). However, the metabolic and structure footprints of the omnivore-predator nematodes showed higher values as compared to CK. The abundances of plant parasite and omnivore-predator nematodes were negatively correlated with ammonium nitrogen (NH4+–N) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), whereas soil moisture content (SM) had a negative correlation with the abundance of total nematodes. High structure index (SI), maturity index (MI) and low enrichment index (EI) values revealed a structured soil food web, medium soil enrichment, and fungal decomposition channel under the mix straw mulching treatments. Soil nematodes should be used as an indicator of soil functional changes resulting from straw mulching.

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Section: The Right Application Ratementioning

confidence: 68%

“…Soil amendment at 2-5 mass% with low-nutrient biochars like those derived from wood and crop residues requires combined chemical N and P fertilization to achieve the plant growth promoting effects. The synergic effects of biochar amendment in combination with chemical fertilization were validated by other researchers [69,85]. In field trials, a wide range of biochar amendment rates from 5 to 50 Mg ha −1 has been employed, with higher rates yielding generally greater results in enhancing soil health [67,86].…”

Section: The Right Application Ratementioning

confidence: 93%

The 3R Principles for Applying Biochar to Improve Soil Health

Guo

2020

Soil Systems

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Amending soil with biochar is a promising approach to persistently improve soil health and promote crop growth. The efficacy of soil biochar amendment, however, is soil specific, biochar dependent, and influenced by the biochar application programs. To maximize the benefits of biochar application, this paper proposes the 3R principles for applying biochar to soils: right biochar source, right application rate, and right placement in soil. The quality of biochar as a soil amendment varies significantly with the feedstock and the production conditions. Biochar products capable of everlastingly sustaining soil health are those with high stable organic carbon (OC) content and high water- and nutrient-holding capacities that are manufactured from uncontaminated biomass materials. Acidic, coarse-textured, highly leached soils respond remarkably more to biochar amendment than other types of soils. Soil amendment with particular biochars at as low as 0.1 mass% (equivalent to 2 Mg ha−1) may enhance the seasonal crop productivity. To achieve the evident, long-term soil health improvement effects, wood- and crop residue-derived biochars should be applied to soil at one time or cumulatively 2–5 mass% and manure-derived biochars at 1–3 mass% soil. Optimal amendment rates of particular biochar soil systems should be prescreened to ensure the pH of newly treated soils is less than 7.5 and the electrical conductivity (EC) below 2.7 dS m−1 (in 1:1 soil/water slurry). To maximize the soil health benefits while minimizing the erosion risk, biochar amendment should be implemented through broadcasting granular biochar in moistened conditions or in compost mixtures to cropland under low-wind weather followed by thorough and uniform incorporation into the 0–15 cm soil layer. Biochars are generally low in plant macronutrients and cannot serve as a major nutrient source (especially N) to plants. Combined chemical fertilization is necessary to realize the synergic beneficial effects of biochar amendment.

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Effects of Biochar and Straw Application on the Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Paddy Soils in Northeast China

Cited by 58 publications

References 61 publications

Investigating the Influence of Biochar Amendment on the Physicochemical Properties of Podzolic Soil

Investigating the Influence of Biochar Amendment on the Physicochemical Properties of Podzolic Soil

Effects of straw mulching practices on soil nematode communities under walnut plantation

The 3R Principles for Applying Biochar to Improve Soil Health

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