Improved soil fertility from compost amendment increases root growth and reinforcement of surface soil on slopes

Donn, Suzanne; Wheatley, Ron E.; McKenzie, Blair M.; Loades, Kenneth; Hallett, Paul D.

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.07.066

Cited by 85 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The most common organic material used as soil amendment are compost and animal manure (Scotti et al 2015). Compost, a by-product of organics recycling programme, contains significant amount of humic substances, valuable plant nutrients, and essential trace elements (Donn et al 2014;Bedada et al 2014). It restores soil organic matter which has direct effects on soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities (Ouni et al 2013;Blanchet et al 2016), consequently improving crop growth and yield (D'Hose et al 2014;Ninh et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biochar-compost mixture as amendment for improvement of polybag-growing media and oil palm seedlings at main nursery stage

Radin

Bakar

Ishak

et al. 2017

Int J Recycl Org Waste Agricult

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Purpose Production of oil palm seedling in the nursery mainly utilises top soil as polybag medium. These soils, especially in tropical regions, are acidic and have low organic matter content. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) biochar and compost incorporation as amendment in polybag medium for oil palm seedlings growth at the nursery stage. Methods A polybag experiment was conducted with four biochar rates (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% w/w C addition), two compost rates (0 and 30% v/v), and two fertiliser application rates (75 and 100% of recommended rate). The effects of biochar, compost, and biochar-compost combination on oil palm seedling growth was evaluated and the effectiveness of EFB biochar in retaining soil nutrients was determined indirectly by measuring amount of nutrient leached through the polybag medium. Results Biochar, compost, and biochar-compost amendment improved polybag media's chemical properties (pH, total C and N, C:N ratio, CEC, Mg, and Ca). There were no significant effects of the amendments on shoot biomass. However, root growth and shoot:root ratio significantly improved with 1.5% w/w C addition and 30% (v/v) compost with 75% recommended fertiliser rates applied. Furthermore, nutrient leaching measurement indicates that, EFB biochar significantly reduced ammonium-N leaching up to 21-46%. Conclusions Overall, this study demonstrates the potential of biochar and compost co-application to improve the chemical properties of polybag medium and root development of oil palm seedlings.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biochar-compost mixture as amendment for improvement of polybag-growing media and oil palm seedlings at main nursery stage

Radin

Bakar

Ishak

et al. 2017

Int J Recycl Org Waste Agricult

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“…However, eroded areas often do not offer satisfactory conditions to support natural colonization or artificial revegetation due to soil loss as well as low water and nutrient availability. Therefore, the success of bioengineering works and revegetation operations can depend on previous stages of soil fertility improvement (Donn et al, 2014;Young et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of wood chip amendments on the revegetation performance of plant species on eroded marly terrains in a Mediterranean mountainous climate (Southern Alps, France)

Breton

Crosaz²,

Rey

2016

Solid Earth

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Abstract. The establishment of plant species can limit soil erosion dynamics in degraded lands. In marly areas in the Southern French Alps, both harsh water erosion and drought conditions in summer due to the Mediterranean mountainous climate prevent the natural implementation and regeneration of vegetation. Soil fertility improvement is sometimes necessary. With the purpose of revegetating such areas, we aimed to evaluate the effects of wood chip amendments on the revegetation performance of different native or subspontaneous plant species. We conducted two experiments on steep slopes over three growing seasons (2012)(2013)(2014). The first consisted of planting seedlings (10 species), and the second consisted of seeding (nine species including six used in the first experiment). First we noted that wood chips were able to remain in place even in steep slope conditions. The planting of seedlings showed both an impact of wood chip amendment and differences between species. A positive effect of wood chips was shown with overall improvement of plant survival (increasing by 11 % on average, by up to 50 % for some species). In the seeding experiment, no plants survived after three growing seasons. However, intermediate results for the first and second years showed a positive effect of wood chips on seedling emergence: seeds of four species only sprouted on wood chips, and for the five other species the average emergence rate increased by 50 %.

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“…In general, the basic principle behind the effectiveness of any soil amendment material or additive apart from nutrient enhancement (in some cases) is the ability of such material or additive to effect some positive microstructural changes in the soil (Ajayi et al, 2016;Donn et al, 2014;Yoo et al, 2014). For instance, the increase in surface area and the attendant enhancement of available binding sites, the improved aggregation and concomitant decrease in tensile strength and changes in pore configuration (modification of the proportions of wide-coarse, narrow-coarse, medium and fine pores) in amended soils are direct consequences of microstructural changes in the amended soil (Ajayi et al, 2016;Arthur et al, 2014;Yoo et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing the potentials of clay and biochar in improving water retention and mechanical resilience of sandy soil

Ajayi¹,

Horn²

2016

International Agrophysics

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A b s t r a c t. Changing climate is threatening rainfall regularity particularly in the semi-arid and arid regions; therefore, strategies to conserve water within their coarse-grained soils and to improve water use efficiency of crops are critical. This study compared the effectiveness of biochar and two types of clay materials in augmenting water retention and improving mechanical resilience of fine sand. The amendment of fine sand with woodchip-biochar and kaolinite (non-swelling clay) and Na-bentonite (swelling clay) improved the water retention capacity and interparticle bonding of the substrate depending of the rate of amendment and water content of the substrates. Na-bentonite was more effective at increasing water retention capacity at more negative matric potentials. Biochar was more effective at saturation due to the increased porosity, while kaolinite responds similarly to biochar. It is, however, shown that most of the water retained by the Na-betonite may not be available to plants, particularly at high amendment rate. Furthermore, the clay and biochar materials improved particle bonding in the fine sand with the Na-bentonite being more effective than biochar and kaolinite (in that order) in strengthening interparticle bonds and improving the resilience of fine sand, if the rate of amendment is kept at ≤50 g kg -1 .

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Improved soil fertility from compost amendment increases root growth and reinforcement of surface soil on slopes

Cited by 85 publications

References 42 publications

Biochar-compost mixture as amendment for improvement of polybag-growing media and oil palm seedlings at main nursery stage

Biochar-compost mixture as amendment for improvement of polybag-growing media and oil palm seedlings at main nursery stage

Effects of wood chip amendments on the revegetation performance of plant species on eroded marly terrains in a Mediterranean mountainous climate (Southern Alps, France)

Comparing the potentials of clay and biochar in improving water retention and mechanical resilience of sandy soil

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