Soil Nitrogen Sorption Using Charcoal and Wood Ash

Abstract

This paper reviews the use of charcoal and wood ash in acid soils as adsorbents to improve N availability at the same time improving their soil fertility and crop productivity. Soil acidification poses a major challenge in agricultural sustainability and it is serious in highly weathered soils such as Ultisols and Oxisols which are noted for nutrient deficiency and Al and Fe ions toxicities. Understanding sorption mechanisms and isotherms is important for the improvement of soil N availability particularly inorganic N. However, understanding the sorption mechanisms in relation to charcoal and wood ash as absorbents in the literature is difficult because the soil amendments vary depending on their raw materials or sources of origin. Therefore, one of the objectives of this review is to provide recent research findings and theory development on the role of charcoal and wood ash in agriculture. Furthermore, this review focuses on how charcoal and wood ash improve N availability through physical, chemical and biological processes in mineral acidic soils. Balanced application and good understanding of the role of charcoal and wood ash as soil amendments have potential benefits to improve N availability and crop productivity.

Soil Nutrient Retention and pH Buffering Capacity Are Enhanced by Calciprill and Sodium Silicate

“…Nevertheless, the inconsistent and slow effects of these organic amendments could be influenced by the recalcitrant property of charcoal, the raw materials used, and the handling methods. Besides, an unbalanced use of charcoal and sago bark ash can cause heavy metal toxicity, phosphorus fixation by calcium, soil salinization, and environmental pollution [27][28][29]. Therefore, amending soils with the right amount of inorganic liming materials which have relatively high neutralizing values and reactivity is essential.…”

Acid Soils Nitrogen Leaching and Buffering Capacity Mitigation Using Charcoal and Sago Bark Ash

“…Volume of monthly rainfall = Area of the rain gauge in cm 2 × Height of rainfall in cm per month Volume of water required for container with area in cm 2 = (Area of container in cm 2 × Volume of monthly rainfall)/area of rain gauge in cm 2 Leachates were collected and analyzed every five days. After 30 days of the leaching experiment, soil samples were collected, air-dried, crushed, and sieved to pass a 2 mm sieve.…”

“…Soil acidity is one of the world's top five limitations to increasing agricultural productivity [1]. Highly weathered tropical acid soils are characterized by low pH, low organic matter, low in cation exchange capacity (CEC), aluminium (Al), manganese (Mn), and iron (Fe) toxicities, and their macro and micro nutrients deficiencies [2]. The application of nitrogen (N) fertilizers plays an essential part in achieving significant reductions in soil acidity [3].…”

Indole-3-butyric acid immediately induced adventitious root of Dendrodium milla nayla x Dendrobium striaenopsis planted on coco-hust and wood charcoal

“…The most widely used substrates for acclimation of plant tissue culture are organic materials such as charcoal pieces, pine bark, cycas bark, coco-husk, coconut shells, sawdust, sphagnum moss, fern roots, or mineral materials such as perlite and vermiculite (da Silva et al, 2017), which have different properties in terms of water absorption and retention. Charcoal, which is made from plant residues, usually has higher nutrient content and lower water retention, but is capable of controlling acidity (Hamidi et al, 2021). Coco-husk, on the other hand, can absorb water (da Silva et al, 2017) preferable to the others (Wei et al, 2014).…”

“…Charcoal has wide surface, porous structures that retain water but lesser than cocohusk. The selection of medium during acclimation is essential for plant life processes (Hamidi et al, 2021). It is important to understand the characteristics of the substrate in terms of water capacity before administering water and nutrients.…”