Soil biochar amendment in a nature restoration area: effects on plant productivity and community composition

Voorde, Tess F. J. van de; Bezemer, T. Martijn; Groenigen, J.W. van; Jeffery, Simon; Mommer, Liesje

doi:10.1890/13-0578.1

Cited by 58 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 49 publications

(59 reference statements)

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“…Experiment I was set up in October 2010. Full details of the experimental set-up can be found in Van de Voorde et al (2014). In short, the experimental site is located on an ice pushed ridge formed during the Saalien Ice Age.…”

Section: Experimental Field Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was pyrolysed at 400°C or 600°C with a dwell time at this maximum temperature of 5 min (for a detailed description see: Van de Voorde et al, 2014). A portion of the unpyrolysed feedstock was shredded and air-dried before being stored in a cool dark barn.…”

Section: Biochar Production and Characterisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Atkinson et al (2010) predicted that positive effects should occur following biochar application to sandy soil due to slower draining and hence increased plant available water. To test this we conducted two field experiments: an ongoing field experiment in which the effects of biochars produced at two different pyrolysis temperatures are tested (Van de Voorde et al, 2014), and a field experiment in which different biochar application rates were tested. The field measurements were combined with lab analyses of biochar pore space characterisation (via computed X-ray tomography) and hydrophobicity (via contact angle measurements).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biochar application does not improve the soil hydrological function of a sandy soil

Jeffery

Meinders

Stoof³

et al. 2015

Geoderma

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263

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a b s t r a c tBiochar application to soil is currently being widely posited as a means to improve soil quality and thereby increase crop yield. Next to beneficial effects on soil nutrient availability and retention, biochar is assumed to improve soil water retention. However, evidence for such an effect in the primary literature remains elusive. Therefore, we studied the effect of biochar on soil hydrological characteristics in two separate field experiments on a sandy soil in The Netherlands. In Experiment I, biochar produced through slow pyrolysis of herbaceous feedstock at two temperatures (400°C and 600°C) was applied to soil at a rate of 10 t ha −1 . In Experiment II, the 400°C biochar was applied at rates of 1, 5, 20 and 50 t ha −1 . Soils were analysed for soil water retention, aggregate stability and other soil physical parameters after three growing seasons and one growing season for Experiment I and Experiment II, respectively. We characterised the pore structure of the biochar using X-ray computed micro-tomography (XRT) and hydrophobicity using contact angle measurements. We found no significant effects of biochar application on soil water retention in either experiment. Aggregate stability was also not significantly affected, nor was field saturated hydraulic conductivity. XRT analysis of the biochars showed that they were highly porous, with 48% and 57% porosity for the 400°C and 600°C biochar respectively. More than 99% of internal pores of the biochar particles were connected to the surface, suggesting a potential role for biochars in improving soil water retention. However, the biochars were highly hydrophobic. We postulate that this strong hydrophobicity prevented water from infiltrating into the biochar particles, prohibiting an effect on soil water retention. Our results suggest that, in addition to characterising pore space, biochars should be analysed for hydrophobicity when assessing their potential for improving soil physical properties.

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Section: Experimental Field Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Biochar Production and Characterisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biochar application does not improve the soil hydrological function of a sandy soil

Jeffery

Meinders

Stoof³

et al. 2015

Geoderma

Self Cite

263

151

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“…litter) on plant growth. Other recent studies showed that the addition of biochar to soils can alter the composition of grassland ecosystems (Schimmelpfennig et al 2014, van de Voorde et al 2014a. Taken together, this suggests that biochar additions to soil have the potential to induce either positive or negative feedbacks on plant performance in general and therefore may also impact invasive species success.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Taken together, this suggests that biochar additions to soil have the potential to induce either positive or negative feedbacks on plant performance in general and therefore may also impact invasive species success. Additionally, understanding how biochar amendments impact invasive species growth is particularly important if soil amendments like biochar are to be used as a management tool in either agricultural (Curaqueo et al 2014) or non-agricultural grassland ecosystems (Ohsowski et al 2012, Schimmelpfennig et al 2014, van de Voorde et al 2014a. Unfortunately the impact of biochar additions on the success of invasive plants remains understudied (Adams et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biochar amendment of grassland soil may promote woody encroachment by Eastern Red Cedar

Laungani

Elgersma

McElligott

et al. 2016

J. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr.

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Although carbon (C) additions to soil have been used in restoration to combat invasive species through changes in soil nitrogen (N) availability, carbon amendments to soil derived from plant material can impact soil N availability in a species-specific manner. As such, amendment-driven feedbacks on N may impact invasive species success and woody encroachment. Soil amendments like biochar, which is often added to soil to increase C storage in grassland systems, may unintentionally encourage woody encroachment into these grasslands by changing soil N dynamics. Few studies have examined biochar impacts on non-agricultural species, particularly invasive species. Woody encroachment of Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) into grasslands provides an ideal context for examining the impact of biochar in grasslands. In the greenhouse, we examined the effect of biochar or leaf litter derived from native and exotic grasses on J.virginiana seedling growth. Juniperus virginiana seedlings grew 40% bigger in biochar amended soil as compared to seedlings grown in litter amended soil. Additionally, we found a more than 2 order of magnitude increase in available NH 4 + in the biochar treatments compared to the litter amended soils. Furthermore we found that biochar feedstock type did not have an impact on the effect of biochar, as both native and exotic grass biochar had similar impacts on soil N levels and J. virginiana growth. Our work suggests that once grassland litter is converted to biochar, species impacts on soil N may disappear. In conclusion, our data suggests soil amendments of biochar may encourage woody encroachment into grasslands.

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Community‐level plant–soil feedbacks explain landscape distribution of native and non‐native plants

Kulmatiski

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Plant–soil feedbacks (PSFs) have gained attention for their potential role in explaining plant growth and invasion. While promising, most PSF research has measured plant monoculture growth on different soils in short‐term, greenhouse experiments. Here, five soil types were conditioned by growing one native species, three non‐native species, or a mixed plant community in different plots in a common‐garden experiment. After 4 years, plants were removed and one native and one non‐native plant community were planted into replicate plots of each soil type. After three additional years, the percentage cover of each of the three target species in each community was measured. These data were used to parameterize a plant community growth model. Model predictions were compared to native and non‐native abundance on the landscape. Native community cover was lowest on soil conditioned by the dominant non‐native, Centaurea diffusa, and non‐native community cover was lowest on soil cultivated by the dominant native, Pseudoroegneria spicata. Consistent with plant growth on the landscape, the plant growth model predicted that the positive PSFs observed in the common‐garden experiment would result in two distinct communities on the landscape: a native plant community on native soils and a non‐native plant community on non‐native soils. In contrast, when PSF effects were removed, the model predicted that non‐native plants would dominate all soils, which was not consistent with plant growth on the landscape. Results provide an example where PSF effects were large enough to change the rank‐order abundance of native and non‐native plant communities and to explain plant distributions on the landscape. The positive PSFs that contributed to this effect reflected the ability of the two dominant plant species to suppress each other's growth. Results suggest that plant dominance, at least in this system, reflects the ability of a species to suppress the growth of dominant competitors through soil‐mediated effects.

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Soil biochar amendment in a nature restoration area: effects on plant productivity and community composition

Cited by 58 publications

References 49 publications

Biochar application does not improve the soil hydrological function of a sandy soil

Biochar application does not improve the soil hydrological function of a sandy soil

Biochar amendment of grassland soil may promote woody encroachment by Eastern Red Cedar

Community‐level plant–soil feedbacks explain landscape distribution of native and non‐native plants

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