Effect of biochar on the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of two amended soils

Villagra-Mendoza, Karolina; Horn, Rainer

doi:10.1515/intag-2017-0025

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Long-term application of heavy rates of manure may cause more unfavorable hydrological Flow through an unsaturated soil is complex and non-linear and is strongly dependent on the pore geometry, water content, and matric potential [61,62]. Studies reporting the effects of soil amendments on K unsat are very few [37,38]. According to Villagra-Mendoza [37], addition of BC enhances soil microporosity, hence enhancing K unsat at higher matric potentials and rapidly decreasing towards lower potentials of sandy and sandy loam soils.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies reporting the effects of soil amendments on K unsat are very few [37,38]. According to Villagra-Mendoza [37], addition of BC enhances soil microporosity, hence enhancing K unsat at higher matric potentials and rapidly decreasing towards lower potentials of sandy and sandy loam soils. Another study found that long-term manure application had little or no effect on K unsat (−0.3, −0.5, −0.7, and −1.0 kPa) [38].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies reporting the effects of BC and DM on K sat vary in the literature and those reporting the effects on K unsat are very limited and inconclusive, particularly relating to podzolic soils common in boreal ecosystems [37,38]. Generally, podzolic soils are formed from coarse-to medium-textured, acidic parent materials under forest or health vegetation in cool climates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of Soil Amendments on the Hydraulic Conductivity of Boreal Agricultural Podzols

et al. 2019

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Hydraulic properties of soil are the basis for understanding the flow and transport through the vadose zone. It has been demonstrated that different soil amendments can alter the soil properties affecting soil hydrology. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of soil amendments on hydraulic conductivity (K) of a loamy sand podzolic soil under both unsaturated (Kunsat) and near-saturated (near Ksat) conditions in an agricultural setting. A field experiment was conducted with two common soil amendments: Dairy manure (DM) in 2016 and 2017 and biochar (BC) once only in 2016. DM and BC were incorporated up to a depth of 0.15–0.20 m at a rate of 30,000 L ha−1 and 20 Mg ha−1, respectively. A randomized complete block experimental design was used and the plots planted with silage corn (Zea mays L.) without irrigation. The treatments were: Control without amendment (0N), inorganic N fertilizer (IN), two types of DM (IN+DM1 and IN+DM2), and two treatments with BC (IN+BC and IN+DM1+BC). Infiltration data were collected using a mini disk infiltrometer under three tension levels in which −0.04 and −0.02 m was ascribed as unsaturated (at the wet end) and −0.001 m as near-saturated condition. Based on the measured infiltration rates, Kunsat and near Ksat hydraulic conductivities were calculated. There were no significant effects of DM and BC on bulk density and near Ksat. Treatments IN+DM1, IN+DM2, and IN+DM1+BC significantly reduced the Kunsat compared to the control. Since these soil amendments can influence soil hydrology such as reduced infiltration and increased surface runoff, carefully monitored application of soil amendments is recommended.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of Soil Amendments on the Hydraulic Conductivity of Boreal Agricultural Podzols

et al. 2019

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“…This might assume a higher resistance of the biochar amendments to internal pore changes and to the formation of macro-aggregates during drying. As reported in Villagra-Mendoza and Horn [59], under initial infiltration conditions, when the soil is partially moistened, the higher the fraction of biochar, the higher is the transport of water (in terms of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity) due to the intensification of a finer inter-particle pore formation, especially in the sandy loam amendments. This could be another mechanism that may help to keep similar infiltration conditions along the WD cycles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Changes in Water Infiltration after Simulated Wetting and Drying Periods in two Biochar Amendments

Villagra-Mendoza

Horn

2019

Soil Systems

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Biochar impacts soil-water related processes such as infiltration and contributes to the hydrological response of catchments. The aim of this work is to determine the impact of wetting and drying conditions on the infiltration behavior of two biochar amendments and to validate the performance of three infiltration models: Kostiakov, Horton, and Philips. Two materials, sand and a sandy loam, were mixed with 0%, 2.5%, and 5% (by dry wt.) mango wood biochar produced at a highest heating rate of 600 °C and with a particle size of <63 μm. A sequence of four wetting and drying cycles were simulated. In each cycle, infiltration was measured. We found that biochar addition decreased infiltration because the formation of narrower pores reduced infiltration capacity. The higher the biochar dosage, the more resilient the treatment became concerning the changes on the water infiltrated. Repetitive wetting and drying cycles resulted in a reconfiguration of structural pores affecting the transport of water and air. The infiltration models of Kostiakov and Horton could predict the infiltration dynamics in the amended materials, although they show some instabilities along the WD cycles.

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“…Owing to the high sensitivity to pore size distribution influenced by soil texture and management practices, SHC displays relatively high spatial variability 9,15,20,22,23 . Therefore, knowledge of the spatial distribution of SHC is essential in selection of the most appropriate localised management practices and amendments to improve water use efficiency in agriculture and to minimise the use and leaching of chemicals 24,25,26,27 . The spatial distribution of soil properties, including saturated hydraulic conductivity, can be assessed by classical and spatial statistics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Variability of Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity and its Links with other Soil Properties at the Commune Scale

Usowicz

Lipiec

2021

Preprint

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Saturated hydraulic conductivity (SHC) is a key property for evaluating soil water movement and quality. Most studies on spatial variability of SHC have been performed soil at a field or smaller scale. Therefore, the aim of this work was to assess (quantify) the spatial distribution of SHC at the commune scale and its relationship with other soil properties, including intrinsic sand, silt, and clay contents, relatively stable organic carbon, cation exchange capacity (CEC), dynamic water content (WC), total porosity (FI), and dry bulk density (BD) in the surface layer (0–20 cm). The spatial relationships were assessed using a semivariogram and a cross-semivariogram. The studied commune (140 km2) with predominantly permeable sandy soils with low fertility and productivity is located in the south-eastern part of Poland (Podlasie region). The mean sand and organic carbon contents are 74 andobablyctknąć, czy o to chodzid mniej znacznie mniejszed? ? 0.86 and their ranges (in %) are 45-95 and 0.002-3.75, respectively. The number of individual samples varied from 216–228 (for SHC, WC, BD, FI) to 691 for the other soil properties. The best fitting models were adjusted to the empirical semivariogram (exponential) and the cross-semivariogram (exponential, Gaussian, or linear) used to draw maps with kriging. The results showed that, among the soil properties studied, SHC was most variable (coefficient of variation 77.3%) and significantly (p <0.05) positively correlated with total porosity (r = 0.300) and negatively correlated with soil bulk density (r = –0.283). The mean SHC was 2.597 m day–1 and ranged from 0.01 up to 11.54 m day–1. The spatial autocorrelation (range) of SHC in the single (direct) semivariograms was 0.081° (8.1 km), while it favourably increased up to 0.149–0.81° (14.9–81 km) in the cross-semivariograms using the OC contents, textural fractions, and CEC as auxiliary variables. The generated spatial maps allowed outlining two sub-areas with predominantly high SHC above 3.0 m day–1 in the northern sandier (sand content >74%) and less silty (silt content <22%) part and, with lower SHC in the southern part of the commune. Generally, the spatial distribution of the SHC values in the commune area depended on the share of individual intrinsic textural fractions. On the other hand, the ranges of the spatial relationship between SHC and the intrinsic and relatively stable soil properties were much larger (from ~15 to 81 km) than between SHC and the dynamic soil properties (0.3-0.9 km). This knowledge is supportive for making decisions related to land management aimed at reduction of hydraulic conductivity and chemical leaching and improvement of soil water resources and crop productivity.

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Effect of biochar on the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of two amended soils

Cited by 21 publications

References 22 publications

Impact of Soil Amendments on the Hydraulic Conductivity of Boreal Agricultural Podzols

Impact of Soil Amendments on the Hydraulic Conductivity of Boreal Agricultural Podzols

Changes in Water Infiltration after Simulated Wetting and Drying Periods in two Biochar Amendments

Spatial Variability of Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity and its Links with other Soil Properties at the Commune Scale

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