Impacts of biochar concentration on the growth performance of a leafy vegetable in a tropical city and its global warming potential

Shen, Ye; Song, Shuang; Thian, Brian Wen Yao; Fong, Siew Lee; Ee, Alvin Wei Liang; Arora, Srishti; Ghosh, Subhadip; Li, Sam Fong Yau; Tan, Hugh Tiang Wah; Dai, Yanjun; Wang, Chi-Hwa

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121678

Cited by 29 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Here we found only slight but detectable effects of biochar addition on soil pH in the context of a typical urban topsoil mix, with pH remaining within an optimal range (7.2-7.4). This result is consistent with the few prior studies examining biochar effects on pH of neutral to alkaline urban soils, which also report only slight liming effects [70][71][72], or no detectable effect [73], at least for low to moderate dosages.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Optimizing Biochar Particle Size for Plant Growth and Mitigation of Soil Salinization

Tang¹,

Liao²,

Thomas³

2023

Preprint

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Pyrolyzed waste biomass, or biochar, has been suggested as a means to increase plant growth and to mitigate soil salinization, which is a widespread agricultural issue and can reach extreme levels in urban soils impacted by de-icing salts. Soil mixing is enhanced by reduced biochar particle size; however, biochar properties vary with particle size and recent studies suggest that plant growth responses may be maximized at intermediate particle sizes. We examined the responses of two plant species (cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti)) to biochar amendments that spanned a wide range of particle sizes obtained by sieving, with and without de-icing salt additions. The smallest size fractions of biochar reduced plant growth relative to unamended controls. Plant biomass production was generally maximized at intermediate biochar particle size treatments, with particles sizes of 0.5-2.0 mm showing the best response. Mitigation of salt effects was also improved at intermediate biochar particle sizes in this particles size range. Our results emphasize the importance of optimizing biochar particle size to best enhance plant responses to biochar, with particular reference to saline soils.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Optimizing Biochar Particle Size for Plant Growth and Mitigation of Soil Salinization

Tang¹,

Liao²,

Thomas³

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Here, we found only slight but detectable effects of biochar addition on soil pH in the context of a typical urban topsoil mix, with pH remaining within an optimal range (7.2-7.4). This result is consistent with the few prior studies examining biochar effects on the pH of neutral to alkaline urban soils, which also report only slight liming effects [70][71][72] or no detectable effect [73], at least for low to moderate dosages.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Optimizing Biochar Particle Size for Plant Growth and Mitigation of Soil Salinization

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pyrolyzed waste biomass, or biochar, has been suggested as a means to increase plant growth and mitigate soil salinization, which is a widespread agricultural issue and can reach extreme levels in urban soils impacted by de-icing salts. Soil mixing is enhanced by reduced biochar particle size; however, biochar properties vary with particle size, and recent studies have suggested that plant growth responses may be maximized at intermediate particle sizes. We examined the responses of two plant species (cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti)) to biochar amendments that spanned a wide range of particle sizes obtained by sieving, with and without de-icing salt additions. The smallest size fractions of biochar reduced plant growth relative to unamended controls. Plant biomass production was generally maximized at intermediate biochar particle size treatments, with particle sizes of 0.5–2.0 mm showing the best response. Mitigation of salt effects was also improved at intermediate biochar particle sizes in this particle size range. Our results emphasize the importance of optimizing biochar particle size to best enhance plant responses to biochar, with particular reference to saline soils.

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“…Biochar is known to improve the soil physical, chemical, and biological characteristics as well as reduce the bioavailability of pollutants in vegetables leading to a decrease in risks for humans [16]. Biochar contains a high cation exchange capacity, a large surface area and pore size, an excellent aromatic structure, carbon content, and functional groups which help in the efficient adsorption of TEs and PPCPs, as found in recent studies [17][18][19][20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

The Environmental Significance of Contaminants of Concern in the Soil–Vegetable Interface: Sources, Accumulation, Health Risks, and Mitigation through Biochar

et al. 2022

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Vegetable consumption is considered as an important part of the human diet as it serves as an essential source of vitamins, nutrients, and minerals. In this regard, the demand for new technologies and ideas in the agricultural sector has grown steadily to help expand the production of vegetable crops. The uptake and accumulation of trace elements (TEs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) as contaminants in vegetables have been accelerated by man-made activities. The dietary intake of these contaminated vegetables often poses significant human health risks. To counteract this, mitigation strategies in the form of environmental amendments have received increasing attention in the last decade. The incorporation of amendments in the form of biochar has been shown to reduce the uptake of contaminants in the soil and their accumulation in vegetables. The present review is organized to offer an overview of the occurrence and sources of important contaminants of concern particularly associated with vegetable plants. The factors influencing their uptake and accumulation in the edible parts of vegetable plants are discussed briefly along with the human health risk imposed via the consumption of contaminated vegetables. Furthermore, this review also explores feasible mitigation strategies through the use of biochar for these contaminants, along with future perspectives for addressing this issue of food contamination.

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Impacts of biochar concentration on the growth performance of a leafy vegetable in a tropical city and its global warming potential

Cited by 29 publications

References 46 publications

Optimizing Biochar Particle Size for Plant Growth and Mitigation of Soil Salinization

Optimizing Biochar Particle Size for Plant Growth and Mitigation of Soil Salinization

Optimizing Biochar Particle Size for Plant Growth and Mitigation of Soil Salinization

The Environmental Significance of Contaminants of Concern in the Soil–Vegetable Interface: Sources, Accumulation, Health Risks, and Mitigation through Biochar

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