Impact of biochar amendments on the quality of a typical Midwestern agricultural soil

Abstract

Biochar, a co-product of thermochemical conversion of lignocellulosic materials into advanced biofuels, may be used as a soil amendment to enhance the sustainability of biomass harvesting. We investigated the impact of biochar amendments (0, 5, 10, and 20 g-biochar kg− 1 soil) on the quality of a Clarion soil (Mesic Typic Hapludolls), collected (0-15 cm) in Boone County, Iowa. Repacked soil columns were incubated for 500 days at 25 °C and 80% relative humidity. On week 12, 5 g of dried and ground swine manure was incorporated into the upper 3 cm of soil for half of the columns. Once each week, all columns were leached with 200 mL of 0.001 M CaCl2. Soil bulk density increased with time for all columns and was significantly lower for biochar amended soils relative to the un-amended soils. The biochar amended soils retained more water at gravity drained equilibrium (up to 15%), had greater water retention at − 1 and −5 bars soil water matric potential, (13 and 10% greater, respectively), larger specific surface areas (up to 18%), higher cation exchange capacities (up to 20%), and pH values (up to 1 pH unit) relative to the un-amended controls. No effect of biochar on saturated hydraulic conductivity was detected. The biochar amendments significantly increased total N (up to 7%), organic C (up to 69%), and Mehlich III extractable P, K, Mg and Ca but had no effect on Mehlich III extractable S, Cu, and Zn. The results indicate that biochar amendments have the potential to substantially improve the quality and fertility status of Midwestern agricultural soils. RightsWorks produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. Biochar, a co-product of thermochemical conversion of lignocellulosic materials into advanced biofuels, may be used as a soil amendment to enhance the sustainability of biomass harvesting. We investigated the impact of biochar amendments (0, 5, 10, and 20 g-biochar kg − 1 soil) on the quality of a Clarion soil (Mesic Typic Hapludolls), collected (0-15 cm) in Boone County, Iowa. Repacked soil columns were incubated for 500 days at 25°C and 80% relative humidity. On week 12, 5 g of dried and ground swine manure was incorporated into the upper 3 cm of soil for half of the columns. Once each week, all columns were leached with 200 mL of 0.001 M CaCl 2 . Soil bulk density increased with time for all columns and was significantly lower for biochar amended soils relative to the un-amended soils. The biochar amended soils retained more water at gravity drained equilibrium (up to 15%), had greater water retention at − 1 and −5 bars soil water matric potential, (13 and 10% greater, respectively), larger specific surface areas (up to 18%), higher cation exchange capacities (up to 20%), and pH values (up to 1 pH unit) relative to the un-amended controls. No effect of biochar on saturated hydraulic conductivity was detected. The biochar amendments significantly increased total N (up to 7%), orga...

Soil Health, Crop Productivity, Microbial Transport, and Mine Spoil Response to Biochars

“…Uzoma et al [52] and Ouyang et al [53] reported improvements in K sat after biochar additions to a silt and sandy loam-textured soil, respectively. In contrast, both Laird et al [47] and Major et al [55] reported no significant change in K sat for biochar applied to loam-and clay-textured soils, respectively. On the other hand, Lim et al [56] reported that K sat values declined after additions of 1, 2, and 5 % (w w −1 ) biochar to both a coarse and a fine sand.…”

“…Almost 100 years later, Tryon [45] was the first to demonstrate that soil texture was a critical factor controlling the impact of biochar on hydraulic properties. More recently, considerable attention has been given to using biochar to modify soil water hydraulics including water holding capacity and available water content [46][47][48][49][50], as well as soil hydraulic conductivity [51][52][53][54]. Laird et al [47] reported that the addition of 1 to 2 % hardwood biochar to a Midwestern USA Mollisol increased gravity drained water retention by 15 % relative to the untreated control but did not affect soil moisture content measured at soil water potentials of 33 or 1500 kPa (field capacity and wilting point, respectively) [41].…”

Midwest vision for sustainable fuel production

“…Recycling nutrients harvested with biomass to adjacent crop lands through soil biochar applications [36] may enhance nutrient use efficiency at a landscape scale. Soil biochar applications may further enhance system sustainability by improving soil quality [34], reducing nutrient leaching [35,39], sequestering C [70], and increasing yields especially on marginal and degraded soils [71].…”

Utilization of crops residues as compost and biochar for improving soil physical properties and upland rice productivity

“…Enhancing CEC and fertilizer-use efficiency (Steiner et al, 2008 ;Chan et al, 2007;Chan and Xu, 2009), and plant-available water content (Laird et al, 2010;Cornelissen et al, 2013;Tammeorg et al, 2014;Agegnehu et al, 2015). Increased available P (Nurhidayati and Mariati, 2014), and soil-water retention, as well as increase soil water-holding capacity (Laird et al, 2010;Novak et al, 2012;Yu et al, 2013;Mila et al, 2013). The optimum application rate for biochar depends on the specific soil type and crop management (Hunt et al, 2010).…”