Standard Extraction Methods May Underestimate Nitrate Stocks Captured by Field‐Aged Biochar

Haider, Ghulam; Steffens, Diedrich; Müller, Christoph; Kammann, Claudia

doi:10.2134/jeq2015.10.0529

Cited by 95 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…The findings of this study are consistent with the results of other biochar researches carried out under controlled laboratory-based conditions (Mizuta et al, 2004;Yao et al, 2012;Liang et al, 2014), which observed some nitrate adsorption with some high temperature biochars. They are also in line with the results of a field experiment recently reported by Haider et al (2016). The authors observed that on a cultivated temperate sandy soil biochar reduced nitrate leaching.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Effect of biochar amendment on nitrate retention in a silty clay loam soil

et al. 2016

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Biochar incorporation into agricultural soils has been proposed as a strategy to decrease nutrient leaching. The present study was designed to assess the effect of biochar on nitrate retention in a silty clay loam soil. Biochar obtained from the pyrogasification of fir wood chips was applied to soil and tested in a range of laboratory sorption experiments. Four soil treatments were considered: soil only (control), soil with 2, 4 and 8% of biochar by mass. The Freundlich sorption isotherm model was used to fit the adsorbed amount of nitrate in the soil-biochar mixtures. The model performed very well in interpreting the experimental data according to a general linear regression (analysis of co-variance) statistical approach. Nitrate retention in the soilbiochar mixtures was always higher than control, regardless the NO3 -concentration in the range of 0-400 mg L -1 . Different sorption capacities and intensities were detected depending on the biochar application rate. The highest adsorption capacity was observed in the soils added with 2 and 4% of biochar, respectively. From the results obtained is possible to infer that nitrate retention is higher at lower biochar addition rate to soil (2 and 4%) and at lower nitrate concentration in the soil water solution. These preliminary laboratory results suggest that biochar addition to a typical Mediterranean agricultural soil could be an effective management option to mitigate nitrate leaching.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Effect of biochar amendment on nitrate retention in a silty clay loam soil

et al. 2016

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“…Similarly, 313 ± 5.77 mg NH 4 + kg -1 biochar and 120 mg NH 4 + kg -1 biochar was observed for hot nutrient-enriched biochar to be added at 1% and 4% dosages, respectively (Table B in S1 File). These N min contents were likely underestimated as only one singular KCl extraction was done while Kammann et al [29] and Haider et al [39] have recently demonstrated that serial KCl extractions of biochar may lead to significant higher N min quantities captured by biochar. Total N contents for hot nutrient-enriched biochar were 4.3% and 2.5%, respectively, for the biochar to be added at 1% and 4% dosages.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biochar from "Kon Tiki" flame curtain and other kilns: Effects of nutrient enrichment and kiln type on crop yield and soil chemistry

et al. 2017

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Biochar application to soils has been investigated as a means of improving soil fertility and mitigating climate change through soil carbon sequestration. In the present work, the invasive shrub "Eupatorium adenophorum" was utilized as a sustainable feedstock for making biochar under different pyrolysis conditions in Nepal. Biochar was produced using several different types of kilns; four sub types of flame curtain kilns (deep-cone metal kiln, steel shielded soil pit, conical soil pit and steel small cone), brick-made traditional kiln, traditional earth-mound kiln and top lift up draft (TLUD). The resultant biochars showed consistent pH (9.1 ± 0.3), cation exchange capacities (133 ± 37 cmolc kg-1), organic carbon contents (73.9 ± 6.4%) and surface areas (35 to 215 m2/g) for all kiln types. A pot trial with maize was carried out to investigate the effect on maize biomass production of the biochars made with various kilns, applied at 1% and 4% dosages. Biochars were either pretreated with hot or cold mineral nutrient enrichment (mixing with a nutrient solution before or after cooling down, respectively), or added separately from the same nutrient dosages to the soil. Significantly higher CEC (P< 0.05), lower Al/Ca ratios (P< 0.05), and high OC% (P<0.001) were observed for both dosages of biochar as compared to non-amended control soils. Importantly, the study showed that biochar made by flame curtain kilns resulted in the same agronomic effect as biochar made by the other kilns (P > 0.05). At a dosage of 1% biochar, the hot nutrient-enriched biochar led to significant increases of 153% in above ground biomass production compared to cold nutrient-enriched biochar and 209% compared to biochar added separately from the nutrients. Liquid nutrient enhancement of biochar thus improved fertilizer effectiveness compared to separate application of biochar and fertilizer.

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“…Biochar nutrients capture increased plant growth considerably when such composted biochar particles were used as soil amendment, compared with the same but untreated, pristine biochar (Kammann et al , ). Some studies reported reduced N (nitrate) leaching (Major et al , ; Ventura et al , ; Haider et al , ) when biochar was applied to soil combined with mineral or organic N fertilizer.…”

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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Standard Extraction Methods May Underestimate Nitrate Stocks Captured by Field‐Aged Biochar

Cited by 95 publications

References 77 publications

Effect of biochar amendment on nitrate retention in a silty clay loam soil

Effect of biochar amendment on nitrate retention in a silty clay loam soil

Biochar from "Kon Tiki" flame curtain and other kilns: Effects of nutrient enrichment and kiln type on crop yield and soil chemistry

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

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