Greater microbial carbon use efficiency and carbon sequestration in soils: Amendment of biochar versus crop straws

Liu, Zhiwei; Wu, Xiulan; Liu, Wei; Bian, Rongjun; Ge, Tida; Zhang, Wei; Zheng, Jufeng; Δρόσος, Μάριος; Liu, Xiaoyu; Zhang, Xuhui; Cheng, Kun; Li, Lianqing; Pan, Genxing

doi:10.1111/gcbb.12763

Cited by 36 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…The WEOC contents generally increased with biochars and FYM but was significantly higher for the corncob biochar. The biochar-specific changes in WEOC contents could be the result of differences in C adsorption which controls C retention and use by microbes [88,89]. Therefore, the effects on microbial biomass (MBC, MBN and MBP) were similar to those on WEOC in this study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Evaluating the Effects of Biochar with Farmyard Manure under Optimal Mineral Fertilizing on Tomato Growth, Soil Organic C and Biochemical Quality in a Low Fertility Soil

et al. 2021

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Biochar amendments are widely recognized to improve crop productivity and soil biogeochemical quality, however, their effects on vegetable crops are less studied. This pot study investigated the effects of cotton stick, corncob and rice straw biochars alone and with farmyard manure (FYM) on tomato growth, soil physico–chemical and biological characteristics, soil organic carbon (SOC) content and amount of soil nutrients under recommended mineral fertilizer conditions in a nutrient-depleted alkaline soil. Biochars were applied at 0, 1.5 and 3% (w/w, basis) rates and FYM was added at 0 and 30 t ha−1 rates. Biochars were developed at 450 °C pyrolysis temperature and varied in total organic C, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) contents. The results showed that biochars, their amounts and FYM significantly improved tomato growth which varied strongly among the biochar types, amounts and FYM. With FYM, the addition of 3% corncob biochar resulted in the highest total chlorophyll contents (9.55 ug g−1), shoot (76.1 cm) and root lengths (44.7 cm), and biomass production. Biochars with and without FYM significantly increased soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and cation exchange capacity (CEC). The soil basal respiration increased with biochar for all biochars but not consistently after FYM addition. The water-extractable organic C (WEOC) and soil organic C (SOC) contents increased significantly with biochar amount and FYM, with the highest SOC found in the soil that received 3% corncob biochar with FYM. Microbial biomass C (MBC), N (MBN) and P (MBP) were the highest in corncob biochar treated soils followed by cotton stick and rice straw biochars. The addition of 3% biochars along with FYM also showed significant positive effects on soil mineral N, P and K contents. The addition of 3% corncob biochar with and without FYM always resulted in higher soil N, P and K contents at the 3% rate. The results further revealed that the positive effects of biochars on above-ground plant responses were primarily due to the improvements in below-ground soil properties, nutrients’ availability and SOC; however, these effects varied strongly between biochar types. Our study concludes that various biochars can enhance tomato production, soil biochemical quality and SOC in nutrient poor soil under greenhouse conditions. However, we emphasize that these findings need further investigations using long-term studies before adopting biochar for sustainable vegetable production systems.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Evaluating the Effects of Biochar with Farmyard Manure under Optimal Mineral Fertilizing on Tomato Growth, Soil Organic C and Biochemical Quality in a Low Fertility Soil

et al. 2021

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“…Biochar can cause negative priming directly by (1) substrate switching where the easily mineralizable C from biochar may be preferentially consumed by microbes to temporarily replace the use of SOC (DeCiucies et al, 2018; Kuzyakov et al, 2000) and (2) a dilution effect of substrates where added biochar temporarily reduces the mineralization of the more readily mineralizable C in soil (Whitman et al, 2014) and indirectly from (3) the sorption of organic compounds by biochar (DeCiucies et al, 2018; Kasozi et al, 2010), (4) improved organo‐mineral protection and stable aggregation slowing down the mineralization of SOC within the organo‐mineral complexes (Fang et al, 2018; Weng et al, 2017, 2018), and (5) inhibition of microbial activity by polyaromatic toxic compounds (Zhang et al, 2018). Biochar amendments reduced the activities of soil enzymes associated with C cycling by 6% (Zhang et al, 2019), improved C‐use efficiency (Liu, Zhu, et al, 2019, 2020), increased soil microbial biomass (Li et al, 2020), and lowered the metabolic quotient by 12%–21% (i.e., respiration rate CO 2 ‐C per unit of microbial biomass C) compared with the unamended soils (Zhou, Zhang, et al, 2017), the latter attributed to improved microbial habitats and alleviation of environmental stresses including acid soil constraints. Negative priming is found to result mainly from substrate switching (Ventura et al, 2019) and dilution (DeCiucies et al, 2018) in the short term, with adsorption being more important after several weeks.…”

Section: Biochar's Role In Climate Change Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

How biochar works, and when it doesn't: A review of mechanisms controlling soil and plant responses to biochar

et al. 2021

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We synthesized 20 years of research to explain the interrelated processes that determine soil and plant responses to biochar. The properties of biochar and its effects within agricultural ecosystems largely depend on feedstock and pyrolysis conditions. We describe three stages of reactions of biochar in soil: dissolution (1–3 weeks); reactive surface development (1–6 months); and aging (beyond 6 months). As biochar ages, it is incorporated into soil aggregates, protecting the biochar carbon and promoting the stabilization of rhizodeposits and microbial products. Biochar carbon persists in soil for hundreds to thousands of years. By increasing pH, porosity, and water availability, biochars can create favorable conditions for root development and microbial functions. Biochars can catalyze biotic and abiotic reactions, particularly in the rhizosphere, that increase nutrient supply and uptake by plants, reduce phytotoxins, stimulate plant development, and increase resilience to disease and environmental stressors. Meta‐analyses found that, on average, biochars increase P availability by a factor of 4.6; decrease plant tissue concentration of heavy metals by 17%–39%; build soil organic carbon through negative priming by 3.8% (range −21% to +20%); and reduce non‐CO2 greenhouse gas emissions from soil by 12%–50%. Meta‐analyses show average crop yield increases of 10%–42% with biochar addition, with greatest increases in low‐nutrient P‐sorbing acidic soils (common in the tropics), and in sandy soils in drylands due to increase in nutrient retention and water holding capacity. Studies report a wide range of plant responses to biochars due to the diversity of biochars and contexts in which biochars have been applied. Crop yields increase strongly if site‐specific soil constraints and nutrient and water limitations are mitigated by appropriate biochar formulations. Biochars can be tailored to address site constraints through feedstock selection, by modifying pyrolysis conditions, through pre‐ or post‐production treatments, or co‐application with organic or mineral fertilizers. We demonstrate how, when used wisely, biochar mitigates climate change and supports food security and the circular economy.

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“…Zhao et al (2020) and Liu et al (2014) found that SOC increased by 12.3% and 7.6% with agricultural residues retention to cropland, respectively. Liu et al (2020) suggested that biochar can outperform straw retention to increase biological carbon sequestration potential due to greater microbial carbon use efficiency in biochar‐amended soil. Therefore, if the crop residues are used for biochar production, the SOC sequestration from crop residue retention will not be achieved.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Biochar can also enhance the formation of soil aggregates through the associations of soil minerals and biochar by blocking contacts between microorganisms and SOC particles (Zheng et al, 2018). A greater microbial carbon use efficiency and carbon sequestration potential were found with biochar amendment compared to crop straw (Liu et al, 2020). Liu et al (2016) analyzed the responses of soil CO 2 flux, SOC, and soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) to biochar additions using 148 paired field SOC data from 50 publications and found that SOC was increased significantly by 40% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 32–51) within 4 years compared to the non‐biochar addition treatment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global soil organic carbon changes and economic revenues with biochar application

Han

Zhao

et al. 2021

GCB Bioenergy

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Biochar has been proposed as a promising negative CO2 emission technology to mitigate future climate change with the additional benefit of increasing agricultural production. However, the spatial responses of soil organic carbon (SOC) to biochar addition in cropland are still uncertain, and the economic feasibility of large‐scale biochar implementation remains unclear. Here, we analyzed the response of SOC to biochar addition using 389 paired field measurements. The results show that biochar addition significantly increased SOC by 45.8% on average with large regional variations. Using a random forest model trained with soil, climate, biotic, biochar, and management factors, we found that the response of SOC to biochar addition was mainly dependent on biochar application rates, initial SOC, edaphic (e.g., pH), and climatic (e.g., mean annual precipitation) variables. Combined with the predicted SOC changes to biochar addition on the global cropland, we assessed the revenue of the biochar system based on the current and potential pyrolysis plants in the world using the life‐cycle analysis. Net revenue of the currently existing 144 pyrolysis plants increases with larger plant capacity and higher carbon price. Potential revenue of building new plants is high in regions like America and Europe but low in regions with infertile soil, low crop residues availability, and inconvenient transportation. The global CO2 removal of biochar application is 6.6 Tg CO2e (CO2 equivalent) year−1 with a net revenue of $ 177 million dollars at a carbon price of $ 50 t−1 CO2 for current pyrolysis plants with a biomass‐processing capacity of 20,000 t year−1. Our study provides a full economic assessment of idealized biochar addition scenarios and identifies the locations with maximal potential revenues with new pyrolysis plants.

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Greater microbial carbon use efficiency and carbon sequestration in soils: Amendment of biochar versus crop straws

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 36 publications

References 66 publications

Evaluating the Effects of Biochar with Farmyard Manure under Optimal Mineral Fertilizing on Tomato Growth, Soil Organic C and Biochemical Quality in a Low Fertility Soil

Evaluating the Effects of Biochar with Farmyard Manure under Optimal Mineral Fertilizing on Tomato Growth, Soil Organic C and Biochemical Quality in a Low Fertility Soil

How biochar works, and when it doesn't: A review of mechanisms controlling soil and plant responses to biochar

Global soil organic carbon changes and economic revenues with biochar application

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