Wood ash application increases pH but does not harm the soil mesofauna

Ecotoxicological Evaluation of Forest Biomass Ash on Springtails and Earthworms in Subtropical Soils of Brazil

“…The toxicity effect of forest biomass ash may vary according to the edaphic organisms, as verified by Qin et al (2017), who found no effect on the lethality and reproduction rates of mites (H. aculeifer) and enchytraeids (E. crypticus), but observed a reduction of these parameters in an ecotoxicological study with F. candida, at concentrations equivalent to 17.4 t ha -1 , in a soil of Denmark with predominance of sand and higher content of organic material, compared to that found in the Entisol of the present study. The authors suggest that ash toxicity is mainly caused by osmotic stress, since the increase of soil pH triggered an increase in the concentrations of Ca(OH) 2 , which when converted to osmolarity generates 1565 mOsm kg -1 of water from soil pores, while the osmolarity of the hemolymph of soil arthropods, such as collembolans, is usually around 300 mOsm kg -1 (Bayley & Holmstrup, 1999).…”

“…Authors such as Römbke et al (2009), evaluating the effect of ash from the carbonization of municipal waste, in the artificial soil OECD, on the lethality of earthworms (E. fetida), observed that these organisms were sensitive to this type of waste when evaluated through ecotoxicological tests. More recently, Qin et al (2017), through standardized ecotoxicological tests, found an effect on the survival and reproduction of springtails (F. candida) using forest biomass at concentrations equivalent to those used in…”

Unexplored potential of novel biochar-ash composites for use as organo-mineral fertilizers

“…The effects of wood ash on soil pH and nutrient status of the soil, however, are only shortlived due to the high solubility of K and Na oxides, hydroxides and carbonates which leach quickly (Ulery et al, 1993). Furthermore, the high K availability, general salinity (high electric conductivity (EC)) and high pH, change the soil chemistry rapidly which can result in toxicity in plants and soil organisms and shifts in soil microbial composition (Augusto et al, 2008;Bang-Andreasen et al, 2017;Demeyer et al, 2001;Etiegni et al, 1991b;Jagodzinski et al, 2018;Qin et al, 2017;Staples and Van Rees, 2001). Therefore, means to create an ash-M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 4 containing material which supplies nutrients in a more controlled way makes the use of ash in forestry and agriculture much more attractive and therefore, reduces the amount of ash being landfilled and closes the nutrient loops.…”

The Physicochemical Properties and Composition of Biomass Ash and Evaluating Directions of its Applications

“…Despite the general belief in the beneficial impact of biomass ash on the environment, numerous research has indicated the presence of heavy metals in biomass ash, and their content depends primarily on the type of biomass burned [14]. Concentrations of metals in wood ash varies in wide ranges: Cd 1-41 mg/kg [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30], Co 3-27 mg/kg [17, 19-21, 23, 27, 29], Cr 11-9914 mg/kg [15][16][17][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32], Cu 13-8793 mg/kg [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]…”