Use of biochar on two volcanic soils: effects on soil properties and barley yield

Abstract

The use of biochar in agricultural soils appears to be promising because it is known to improve soil properties and increase crop production. However, few studies have been conducted with biochar on volcanic soils. Two field experiments were conducted simultaneously to evaluate the effect of oat hull biochar (OBC) on various physical-chemical properties of two volcanic soils, an 'Inceptisol' and an 'Ultisol', and to evaluate the resulting effects on the yields of barley (Hordeum vulgare) grown on these soils. The OBC doses applied to field microplots were equivalent to 0, 5, 10 and 20 Mg ha -1 . The results showed that pH, total exchangeable bases, and electrical conductivity increased at the highest dose of OBC in both soils. Glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) was significantly high in the Ultisol at a rate of 20 Mg OBC ha -1 . Water-stable aggregates (WSA) and mean weight diameter (MWD) were enhanced at the highest doses of OBC in both soils. However, water-holding capacity (WHC) only increased in the Ultisol when amended with OBC at rates of 10 and 20 Mg ha -1 . Barley yield (grain weight m -2 ) significantly increased at the highest OBC dose by 31.3% and 21.9% for crops grown on the Inceptisol and Ultisol, respectively. Significant relationships were observed between WHC and glomalin fractions (r = 0.81, p < 0.01 for easily extractable-GRSP and r = 0.62, p < 0.01 for Total-GRSP) as well as between organic C and WSA and both glomalin fractions. According to this study, biochar may be used effectively to improve the quality of these two volcanic soils and promote sustainable grain production.

Effect of various biochar rates on winter rye yield and the concentration of available nutrients in the soil

“…Qayyum et al (2014) and Kloss et al (2014) found a much higher increase in soil organic carbon content after biochar application, whereas in the study by Curaqueo et al (2014) and Abrishamkesh et al (2015) this content was found to be lower. The distinct increase in carbon content in the third year of the experiment, especially in the treatments with biochar addition at the rates of 20 and 30 t/ha is difficult to explain.…”

“…The obtained results are evidence of the complexity of the processes taking place in the soil as affected by the biochar rates applied. After biochar application, Curaqueo et al (2014), Břendová et al (2015) and Gul et al (2015) also found an increase in soil pH. In turn, Kloss et al (2015) found a decrease in soil pH after 7 months from incorporation of straw-derived biochar.…”

Biochar and Soil Physical Properties

“…In some cases, soils with organic C concentrations as low as 0.43% may not exhibit any changes in wet aggregate stability after biochar application (Dong et al, 2016). On the other hand, soils with organic C concentrations as high as 10% on a grassland in New Zealand (Herath et al (2013) and 4.5% on a volcanic soil in Chile (Curaqueo et al, 2014) exhibited greater soil aggregate stability than the controls after biochar addition.…”

Biochar effects on nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiencies of zucchini plants grown in a calcareous sandy soil

“…Biochar improves physical properties of soil, such as water holding capacity and soil aggregation (Obia et al, 2016;Curaqueo et al, 2014). It also recovers soil chemical properties such it increases the soil cation exchange capacity (Mohamed et al, 2016), thus increases nutrients against leaching and makes some of them more available to plants e.g., N, P and K (Amin, 2016;Gao et al, 2016;Muhammad et al, 2016;Shen et al, 2016).…”