Impact of biochar amendment on soil hydrological properties and crop water use efficiency: A global meta‐analysis and structural equation model

Wu, Wenao; Han, Jiayuan; Gu, Yining; Li, Tong; Xu, Xiangrui; Jiang, Yuhan; Liu, Yunpeng; Sun, Jianfei; Pan, Genxing; Cheng, Kun

doi:10.1111/gcbb.12933

Cited by 19 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…In the BI method, the IWUE varied from 3.09 to 3.12 kg kg –1 in NB 0 , while the N fertilizer with biochar doses (NB 1 , NB 2 , and NB 3 ) showed higher IWUE, ranging from 3.24 to 3.43 kg kg –1 . These results are consistent with Wu et al. (2022) and Ullah et al.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…In the BI method, the IWUE varied from 3.09 to 3.12 kg kg -1 in NB 0 , while the N fertilizer with biochar doses (NB 1 , NB 2 , and NB 3 ) showed higher IWUE, ranging from 3.24 to 3.43 kg kg -1 . These results are consistent with Wu et al (2022) and Ullah et al (2020) studies; they reported an increased IWUE with the use of biochar and found that biochar maintained soil moisture by decreasing water loss via evapotranspiration, enhanced photosynthetic efficiency, and promoted chlorophyll synthesis and biomass accumulation. Similar to this, under the DI method, the IWUE varied from 5.18 to 5.35 kg kg -1 in NB 0 , while the N fertilizer with biochar doses exhibited higher IWUE, ranging from 5.50 to 5.94 kg kg -1 .…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 92%

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Interactive effects of biochar and chemical fertilizer on water and nitrogen dynamics, soil properties and maize yield under different irrigation methods

Wang,

Leghari,

et al. 2023

Front. Plant Sci.

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Long-term application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer adversely degrades soil and decreases crop yield. Biochar amendment with N fertilizer not only can increase yield but also can improve the soil. A 3-year field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of biochar doses with N fertilizer on maize yield and soil N and water dynamics under border irrigation (BI) and drip irrigation (DI) methods. Treatments were 260 kg N ha−1 without biochar addition and combined with low, medium, and high doses of biochar, namely, 15.5 t ha−1, 30.7 t ha−1, and 45.3 t ha−1 (NB0, NB1, NB2, and NB3), respectively. The biochar doses and irrigation methods significantly (p < 0.05) increased maize growth and yield characteristics, irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), and fertilizer N use efficiency (FNUE) and enhanced the soil properties. In the BI and DI method, the NB1, NB2, and NB3 treatments increased yield by 4.96%–6.10%, 8.36%–9.85%, and 9.65%–11.41%, respectively, compared to NB0. In terms of IWUE and FNUE, the non-biochar treatment had lower IWUE and FNUE compared to biochar combined with N fertilizer treatments under both BI and DI methods. In the BI method, the IWUE in NB2 and NB3 ranged from 3.36 to 3.43 kg kg−1, and in DI, it was maximum, ranging from 5.70 to 5.94 kg kg−1. Similarly, these medium and high doses of biochar increased the FNUE of maize. The FNUEs in NB2 and NB3 under BI ranged from 38.72 to 38.95 kg kg−1 and from 38.89 to 39.58 kg kg−1, while FNUEs of these same treatments under DI ranged from 48.26 to 49.58 kg kg−1 and from 48.92 to 50.28 kg kg−1. The effect of biochar was more obvious in DI as compared to the BI method because soil water content (SWC) and soil N concentrations (SNCs) were higher at rhizosphere soil layers under DI. Biochar improved SWC and SNC at 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm soil layers and decreased below 60-cm soil layers. In contrast, despite biochar-controlled SWC and SNCs, still, values of these parameters were higher in deeper soil layers. In the BI method, the SNCs were higher at 60–80 cm and 80–100 cm compared to the top and middle soil layers. Depth-wise results of SNC demonstrated that the biochar’s ability to store SNC was further enhanced in the DI method. Moreover, biochar increased soil organic matter (OM) and soil aggregate stability and maintained pH. The NB0 treatment increased soil OM by 11.11%–14.60%, NB2 by 14.29%–19.42%, and NB3 by 21.98%–23.78% in both irrigation methods. This increased OM resulted in improved average soil aggregates stability by 2.45%–11.71% and 4.52%–14.66% in the BI and DI method, respectively. The results of our study revealed that combined application of N fertilizer with a medium dose of biochar under the DI method would be the best management practice, which will significantly increase crop yield, improve SWC, enrich SNC and OM, improve soil structure, and maintain pH.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 92%

Interactive effects of biochar and chemical fertilizer on water and nitrogen dynamics, soil properties and maize yield under different irrigation methods

Wang,

Leghari,

et al. 2023

Front. Plant Sci.

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“…By performing the comparative analysis of grain-production water footprint in Northwest China and the national average level, it could be seen that grainirrigation-water productivity in this region was still lower than the national average, that is, its production water footprint was larger than the national average, indicating that it still had great water-saving potential [3]. The goal of reducing the regional grain-cropproduction water footprint could be achieved with the following strategies: (a) We should increase the support for irrigation and water-conservancy infrastructure; vigorously promote agricultural mechanization [41]; and promote water-saving irrigation technology, such as drip irrigation [42][43][44], sprinkler use [45,46], direct root-zone irrigation [47], deficit irrigation [9,13,48], alternate partial root-zone irrigation [13], negative-pressure irrigation [49], the application of crop close planting [50], intercropping [51], film mulching [18,42,50,52] and biochar application [53,54] in the fields, thus improving the utilization efficiency of blue-water and green-water resources from the perspective of crop physiology. New drought-resistant crops could also be cultivated [15,55].…”

Section: Measures To Effectively Reduce the Water Footprint Of Crop P...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the Coupling Characteristics of Water Resources and Food Security: The Case of Northwest China

Liu

Sun

et al. 2022

Agriculture

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Exploring the coupling characteristics of regional water resources and food security helps to promote the sustainable development of grain production and is of great significance for achieving global food security. From the aspects of regional “water supply”, “water use” and “water demand”, the coupling characteristics of water resources and food security were systematically revealed; the new challenges faced by regional food security from the perspective of water resources were clarified; and effective ways to promote the utilization of regional water resources and the sustainable development of grain production were explored. This paper took Northwest China, which is the most arid region, where water-resource utilization and food security are in contradiction, as the research area. The water-resource load index, the water footprint of grain production and the water-consumption footprint were used to quantify the regional water-resource pressure index, as well as the residential grain-consumption types, population urbanization, the industrial-grain-processing industry and their corresponding water-consumption footprints from 2000 to 2020. The coupling characteristics of water resources and food security were systematically revealed. The results showed the following: (1) In 2000–2020, the water-resource load index increased from 4.0 to 10.7, and the load level increased from III to I. At the same time, agricultural water resources were largely allocated elsewhere. (2) During the period, the food rations showed a significant decreasing trend, and the average annual reduction was 3.4% (p < 0.01). The water footprint of animal products increased, particularly for beef and poultry (the average annual growth rates were 9.9% and 6.3%, respectively). In addition, the water footprint of industrial food consumption increased by 297.1%. (3) With the improvement of the urbanization level, the water-consumption footprint increased by 85.9%. It is expected that the water footprint of grain consumption will increase by 39.4% and 52.3% by 2030 and 2040, respectively. Exploring how to take effective measures to reduce the water footprint to meet food-security needs is imperative. This study proposed measures to improve the utilization efficiency of blue and green water and reduce gray water and the grain-consumption water footprint from the aspects of regional planting-structure optimization potential, water-saving irrigation technology, dietary-structure transformation and virtual water trade; these measures could better relieve the water-resource pressure and promote the sustainable development of grain production and water-resource utilization.

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“…The soil amended with biochar has enhanced porosity compared to the unamended soil (Githinji, 2014 ; Agegnehu et al, 2017 ; Esmaeelnejad et al, 2017 ). The pores within biochar particles as well as between biochar and soil particles increase the overall porosity of soil upon application of biochar (Agegnehu et al, 2017 ; Esmaeelnejad et al, 2017 ; Wu et al, 2022 ). Thus, the combined treatment has the potential to synergistically improve the physical structure of saline-alkali soil (sandy soil) in terms of the total soil porosity.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between flue gas desulfurization gypsum and biochar on water infiltration characteristics and physicochemical properties of saline-alkaline soil

Wang,

Lin,

Liu

et al. 2023

Environ Monit Assess

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The application of flue gas desulfurization gypsum (FGDG) improves the soil structure, reduces soil pH, and accelerates soil salt leaching. Biochar amendment to soil can affect the soil infiltration rate, increase soil porosity, decrease soil bulk density, and enhance the water retention capacity. This study investigated the interactive effect of FGDG and biochar on water infiltration characteristics and physicochemical properties as well as determined the optimal amendment rate as a saline-alkaline soil conditioner. Seven experimental schemes were designed, and the newly reclaimed cultivated soil from Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone in Fujian Province, China, was used in an indoor soil column experiment to simulate soil infiltration. Five models were employed to describe the infiltration process. The power function was used to represent the dynamic process of the wetting front. The conclusions of this study are as follows: (1) there was a reduction in the infiltration capacity of saline-alkaline soil (sandy soil) in each treatment, and the application of FGDG alone had the highest inhibition effect compared to the control (CK). The Kostiakov model provides the best fit for the experimental data of soil cumulative infiltration. (2) All treatments increased the total porosity and water content of saline-alkali soil, with the combined application of FGDG and biochar found to be more effective. (3) The application of FGDG alone or in combination with biochar decreased the pH and increased the electrical conductivity of the saline-alkali soil significantly, with the combined application having the most significant effect. In contrast, soil amended with biochar alone had minimal effect on the pH and EC of the soil. (4) The best improvement ratio was achieved with the F1B2 combination (75 g/kg FGDG + 30 g/kg biochar).

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Impact of biochar amendment on soil hydrological properties and crop water use efficiency: A global meta‐analysis and structural equation model

Cited by 19 publications

References 91 publications

Interactive effects of biochar and chemical fertilizer on water and nitrogen dynamics, soil properties and maize yield under different irrigation methods

Interactive effects of biochar and chemical fertilizer on water and nitrogen dynamics, soil properties and maize yield under different irrigation methods

Analysis of the Coupling Characteristics of Water Resources and Food Security: The Case of Northwest China

Interactions between flue gas desulfurization gypsum and biochar on water infiltration characteristics and physicochemical properties of saline-alkaline soil

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