Influence of biochar and compost on soil properties and tree growth in a tropical urban environment

Ghosh, Subhadip; Ow, Lai Fern; Wilson, Brian

doi:10.1007/s13762-014-0508-0

Cited by 70 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…BCA applications and NS, in general, significantly increased stem diameter, seedling height, RDM, TFM, SDM, and QID of seedlings, in comparison with BC and CS substrates (Figure 3). These results agree with the literature, which, in general, shows strong positive growth responses of seedlings to the use of biochar in the nursery phase (Cernansky, 2015;DeLuca et al, 2015;Ghosh et al, 2015;Thomas & Gale, 2015).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Biochar in substrate composition for production of teak seedlings

Rezende

Santos

Maia

et al. 2016

Pesq. agropec. bras.

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-The objective of this work was to evaluate the development and quality of clonal seedlings of teak (Tectona grandis) grown in substrate with two types of biochar. The assay was carried out in a randomized complete block design, with ten treatments and four replicates: CS, commercial substrate, composed of pine bark and vermiculite at a ratio of 4:1; NS, nursery substrate composed of carbonized rice husk and coconut fiber at 1:1; and the remaining treatments were composed of the inclusions of biochar (BC) or activated biochar (BCA) in the CS, at the proportions of 25, 50, 75, and 100%. The development and quality parameters of seedlings were evaluated 90 days after striking the minicuttings in the substrates. BCA substrate additions at 25, 50, and 100% allowed for a development of height and stem diameter comparable to that of the NS. Biochar without the activation procedure does not improve quality parameters of seedlings, in comparison with the commercial substrate. The use of 25% activated biochar added to the commercial substrate is enough to improve seedling growth performance to the same level as that provided by the already validated NS.Index terms: Tectona grandis, agroindustrial waste, biochar activity, pyrolysis, seedling quality. Biochar na composição de substratos para a produção de mudas de tecaResumo -O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desenvolvimento e a qualidade de mudas clonais de teca (Tectona grandis) cultivadas em substrato com dois tipos de biochar. O ensaio foi realizado em delineamento de blocos ao acaso, com dez tratamentos e quatro repetições: SC, substrato comercial, composto de casca de pinus e vermiculita à proporção de 4:1; SV, substrato do viveiro, composto de casca de arroz carbonizada e fibra de coco a 1:1; e o restante dos tratamentos foi composto de inclusões de biochar (B) e biochar ativado (BA), nas proporções de 25, 50, 75 e 100% do SC. Os parâmetros de desenvolvimento e qualidade das mudas foram avaliados 90 dias após o plantio das estacas nos substratos. A adição de 25, 50 e 100% de BA possibilitou o desenvolvimento em altura e diâmetro do coleto comparável ao proporcionado pelo SV. O biochar sem o procedimento de ativação não melhora os parâmetros de qualidade das mudas, em comparação ao substrato comercial. A adição de biochar ativado na proporção de 25% já é suficiente para melhorar o crescimento das mudas para o mesmo nível proporcionado pelo já validado SV.Termos para indexação: Tectona grandis, resíduo agroindustrial, atividade do biochar, pirólise, qualidade de mudas.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Biochar in substrate composition for production of teak seedlings

Rezende

Santos

Maia

et al. 2016

Pesq. agropec. bras.

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“…Considering both species, treatment BC1 + F had the most positive impact on seedlings' developmental indicators in comparison to treatment with biochar or fertilizer alone and to the control, and in most cases exceeded or was equal to higher application rates of biochar + fertilizer (BC5 + F). Similarly, Ghosh et al [44] reported that the concomitant addition of biochar and compost had a stronger effect than biochar or compost alone on growth of two native tropical species in equivalent soil type (pH: 5.5 and density: 1.6 g/cm 3 ).…”

Section: Plant Growth and Developmentmentioning

confidence: 96%

Biochar Effects on Two Tropical Tree Species and Its Potential as a Tool for Reforestation

Lefebvre¹,

Román-Dañobeytia

Soete

et al. 2019

Forests

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Research Highlights: We find that biochar plus fertilizer has synergistic and positive effects on seedling growth and robustness, but slightly lowers early seedling survival. Biochar plus fertilizer has the potential to greatly decrease costs associated with afforestation as compared to traditional fertilization and gives better results. Background and Objectives: Biochar can improve soil fertility and plant yield in crops. However, there is little information regarding the effects of biochar on trees, even though reforestation/afforestation projects are increasing and are often unsuccessful due to soil fertility limitations. This study aims to increase knowledge of biochar use as a reforestation tool. Materials and Methods: We measured survival and growth in an early ((Guazuma crinita Mart. [n = 240])) and a late (Terminalia amazonia (J.F. Gmel.) Exell. [n = 240]) successional species under 6 different biochar treatments in a 6-month nursery experiment. Results: (i) Survival was highest in the 1 t/ha biochar treatment, while treatments containing fertilizers or biochar at 5 t/ha lowered the survival rate of both species compared to the control; (ii) simultaneous addition of biochar and fertilizer lead to significant increases in height, diameter, total number of leaves, and aboveground and belowground biomass of both species as compared to other treatments; (iii) biochar treatment containing 1 t/ha with and without fertilizer showed significantly better results than applications of 5 t/ha; and (iv) Guazuma crinita responded more strongly to treatments containing biochar and fertilizers compared to Terminalia amazonia, which is suggestive of greater synergetic effects of biochar and fertilizer addition on early successional tree species. Conclusions: Applying biochar and fertilizer is synergistic and outperforms any single treatment, as well as the control, in terms of plant performance. This case study suggests that biochar can greatly improve reforestation/afforestation projects by increasing plant performance while substantially reducing fertilizer and labor maintenance costs. Field experiments and testing of additional species is needed to generalize the findings.

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“…Contrary to earlier experimental approaches, the formation of highly fertile black anthrosols (Amazon or African Dark Earths) was not due to the presence of pure biochar but rather to the amendment of mixtures of biochar with nutrient‐rich organic matter (Glaser & Birk, ; Solomon et al , ). Some field and pot trials tested therefore the combination of biochar and compost delivering results that indicate a synergy between the highly porous and recalcitrant biochar and nutrient‐rich organic substrates (Steiner et al , ; Schulz et al , ; Ghosh et al , ; Kammann et al , ; Vandecasteele et al , ). Prost et al () showed that biochar was enriched in nitrate, phosphate and other potential plant nutrients during the composting process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biochar‐Based Fertilization with Liquid Nutrient Enrichment: 21 Field Trials Covering 13 Crop Species in Nepal

Schmidt¹,

Pandit²,

Cornelissen

et al. 2017

Land Degrad Dev

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Biochar produced in cost‐efficient flame curtain kilns (Kon‐Tiki) was nutrient enriched either with cow urine or with dissolved mineral (NPK) fertilizer to produce biochar‐based fertilizers containing between 60–100 kg N, 5–60 kg P2O5 and 60–100 kg K2O, respectively, per ton of biochar. In 21 field trials, nutrient‐enriched biochars were applied at rates of 0·5–2 t ha−1 into the root zone of 13 different crops. Treatments combining biochar, compost and organic or chemical fertilizer were evaluated; control treatments contained same amounts of nutrients but without biochar. All nutrient‐enriched biochar substrates improved yields compared with their respective no‐biochar controls. Biochar enriched with dissolved NPK produced on average 20% ± 5·1% (N = 4 trials) higher yields than standard NPK fertilization without biochar. Cow urine‐enriched biochar blended with compost resulted on average in 123% ± 76·7% (N = 13 trials) higher yields compared with the organic farmer practice with cow urine‐blended compost and outcompeted NPK‐enriched biochar (same nutrient dose) by 103% ± 12·4% (N = 4 trials) respectively. Thus, the results of 21 field trials robustly revealed that low‐dosage root zone application of organic biochar‐based fertilizers caused substantial yield increases in rather fertile silt loam soils compared with traditional organic fertilization and to mineral NPK or NPK‐biochar fertilization. This can be explained by the nutrient carrier effect of biochar, causing a slow nutrient release behaviour, more balanced nutrient fluxes and reduced nutrient losses, especially when liquid organic nutrients are used for the biochar enrichment. The results open up new pathways for optimizing organic farming and improving on‐farm nutrient cycling. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Influence of biochar and compost on soil properties and tree growth in a tropical urban environment

Cited by 70 publications

References 41 publications

Biochar in substrate composition for production of teak seedlings

Biochar in substrate composition for production of teak seedlings

Biochar Effects on Two Tropical Tree Species and Its Potential as a Tool for Reforestation

Biochar‐Based Fertilization with Liquid Nutrient Enrichment: 21 Field Trials Covering 13 Crop Species in Nepal

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