Liming Power of Different Particle Fractions of Biochar

Zaccheo, P.; Crippa, L.; Cattivello, C.

doi:10.17660/actahortic.2014.1034.45

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…Changes in soil porosity and size aggregate distribution following biochar applications promote soil structure modifications, leading also to ameliorations of many other chemical-physical properties such as electrical conductivity (EC), CEC, pH, and water holding capacity (De Pasquale et al, 2012;Ouyang et al, 2013) that have a fundamental role in the standardization of substrate for greenhouse crops. Up to now several researches on biochar agricultural use have been focused on its application on soil, few studies were conducted in containers (Altland & Locke, 2013;Vaughn et al, 2013;Street et al, 2014;Zaccheo et al, 2014), even less regarded its utilization as growing substrate for ornamental potted plants (Tian et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2014).…”

Section: Greenhouse Facilities and Plant Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Altland & Locke (2013), in a study on the impact of biochar amendment of sphagnum peat:perlite on nutrients retention and leaching, reported that increasing levels of biochar will add a substantial quantity of K to the substrate and should be accounted for in fertility programs though representing a modest source of P for ornamental plant production. Zaccheo et al (2014) …”

Section: Nutrients Uptakementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our results on physical characteristics of the substrates agree with those from Tian et al (2012) who referred that the addition of green waste biochar to a peat-based substrate tended to increase the bulk density of the mixture as well as the percentage of 0.25-2.00 mm particle-size fraction optimal for plant growth as retaining sufficient water and also providing adequate gas exchanges. Zaccheo et al (2014) showed that additional benefits of pine wood biochar include improving substrates physical properties such as an increase in air content, a reduction in water availability and a lower shrinkage, suggesting that biochar can be used in place of lime in peat-based growing media. Vaughn et al (2013) referred that, in a study for replacement of peat moss in soilless substrates used for containerized crops, wheat straw and wood biochars had significantly higher pHs, ECs and bulk densities than peat.…”

Section: Chemical and Physical Characteristics Of Growing Substratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of biochar as peat substitute for growing substrates of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants

Dispenza

Pasquale

Fascella³

et al. 2017

Span. j. agric. res.

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Biochar from conifers wood was used in soilless culture as growing substrate alternative to peat for ornamental crops. Potted plants of Euphorbia × lomi Rauh cv. ‘Ilaria’ were grown with different mixtures (v:v) of brown peat and biochar in order to evaluate main physical and chemical characteristics of this biomaterial as well as its effect on plant growth, ornamental characteristics and nutrients uptake. Biochar addition to peat increased pH, EC and K content of the growing substrates, as well as air content and bulk density. Biochar content of substrates significantly affected plant growth and biomass partitioning: higher number of shoots and leaves, leaf area and leaf dry weight were recorded in plants grown in 40% peat-60% biochar, with respect to plants grown in 100% peat and secondarily in 100% biochar. Leaf chlorophyll content was higher in plants grown in 60% and 80% biochar, while biomass water use efficiency was higher with 60% biochar. Plant uptake of K and Ca increased as biochar content of the substrates increased. Hence, a growing substrate containing 40% brown peat and 60% conifers wood biochar was identified as the more suitable mixture allowing to have a high-quality production of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants.

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Section: Greenhouse Facilities and Plant Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nutrients Uptakementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Chemical and Physical Characteristics Of Growing Substratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of biochar as peat substitute for growing substrates of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants

Dispenza

Pasquale

Fascella³

et al. 2017

Span. j. agric. res.

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“…As a consequence of all the above, research into locally available organic and indeed inorganic materials continues apace. Innovative approaches include the use of alternative biomass such as whole pine trees derived from plantation thinning and waste or “slash” from forest residues in the United States (Bilderback et al, 2013; Fields et al, 2014), the manufacture of wood fiber from the oversize fraction of green waste composting in the United Kingdom (Carlile and Waller, 2013), solid digestate from biogas plants (Do and Scherer, 2012; Crippa et al, 2013), and the use of biochar (Altland and Locke, 2013; Zaccheo et al, 2014). Worldwide, much research is focused on the transformation of agricultural, industrial, and municipal wastes (Evans et al, 2011; Raviv, 2013; Moral et al, 2013) into resources that can be used in growing media, with the benefit of diverting wastes from landfills and land spreading, and this approach seems likely in the future to provide large quantities of organic growing media, particularly in arid and semiarid regions of the globe.…”

Section: Environmental Pressures and Change In Patterns Of Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Organic Growing Media: Constituents and Properties

Carlile

Cattivello²,

Zaccheo

2015

Vadose Zone Journal

104

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Organic growing media are essentially bulk products. Availability in large quantity allied to its excellent air and water retention, low pH and salinity, and freedom from pests and diseases has led to peat being the dominant organic constituent of growing media in many parts of the world for the last 50 yr. The unique microporous properties of Sphagnum peat and its resistance to degradation are matched by few other growing media constituents. Nevertheless, local scarcity of Sphagnum peat and the expense of transport has led to the use of other materials in growing media. Notable among these is coir, which unlike peat, a CO2 sink, is widely regarded as a rapidly renewable resource. Indeed, advances in processing and quality control in situ have led to a huge upsurge in the export and use of coir in growing media, particularly in Europe but also in the western United States. Locally available organic materials such as bark, composted materials including green (yard) wastes, municipal solid wastes, and even sewage sludge are also used in growing media. While possessing advantages such as the high air content of bark and nutrient supply of many composted materials, these media components may have disadvantages, from limited supplies due to bioenergy pulls and N lock‐up in bark, to physical, chemical, and microbial contaminants in composts. Current innovative approaches involve increasing use of wood fiber in Europe, whole pine‐tree thinnings in the United States, and realizing the use and transformation of composted wastes as next‐generation constituents of growing media.

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“…However, only in few plant growth trials the nutrients presented in biochar were taken into account when used as a growing medium [30,31]. On the other hand, biochar's high pH was considered and the rates of lime were reduced [32,33]; or lime rate can be eliminated [34], when biochar is added. Bedussi et al [32] used biochar that was produced by gasification instead of pyrolysis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Nutrient Availability and pH of Biochars and Their Fractions, with the Possible Use as a Component in a Growing Media

et al. 2019

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Biochar has the potential to be used as a growing media component, and therefore plays a role in reducing peat usage. It has unique properties apart from the ability to sequester carbon. Here we investigated the nutrient contents of four commercial biochars and their fractions. The biochars’ feedstock was wood waste, except for one with paper fibres and husk. The fine or finer fractions in wood waste biochars contained higher levels of nutrients that were available to plants. The coarse fraction of the biochar derived from husk and paper fibre feedstock had a higher level of total N, P and K in contrast to the other three biochars. The pH of the finer fraction (pH of 9.08) was also higher compared with coarse fraction (pH of 8.71). It is important that when biochar a is used as a component of a peat based growing media, particle size information should be provided, as fractions from the same biochar can have different levels of total extractable nutrients and pH levels. If biochar is used to replace or reduce lime application rates of a peat-biochar mixtures, one must take into account the levels of total and extractable Ca and Mg levels, as these can vary. The variation of these elements was not only between biochars’ feedstocks, even at similar pH-values, but within different fractions in the same biochar. We concluded that biochars should be characterized from the feedstock as well as from the particle size aspect, as it could have a profound effect on nutrient availability of Ca and Mg. This could lead to nutrient imbalances in cultivating plants on substrate mixtures. In addition to nutrient ratios, the suitable pH-level for a given grown species should be adjusted.

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Liming Power of Different Particle Fractions of Biochar

Cited by 16 publications

References 0 publications

Use of biochar as peat substitute for growing substrates of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants

Use of biochar as peat substitute for growing substrates of Euphorbia × lomi potted plants

Organic Growing Media: Constituents and Properties

Plant Nutrient Availability and pH of Biochars and Their Fractions, with the Possible Use as a Component in a Growing Media

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