Interactions between Biochar and Compost Treatment and Mycorrhizal Fungi to Improve the Qualitative Properties of a Calcareous Soil under Rhizobox Conditions

Abstract

Most calcareous soils have relatively low levels of organic matter. To evaluate the effect of pruning waste biochar (PWB) and pruning waste compost (PWC) combined with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the biological indices, a rhizobox study on wheat using a completely randomized design was conducted under greenhouse conditions. The studied factors included the source of organic material (PWB, PWC, and control), the microbial inoculation (+AMF or −AMF), and the zone (rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil). At the end of the plant growth period, organic carbon (OC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass phosphorous (MBP), microbial respiration (BR), substrate-induced respiration (SIR), and alkaline (ALP) and acid (ACP) phosphatase enzyme activities in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils were determined. Simultaneous application of a source of organic matter and AMF inoculation significantly increased the OC and biological indices of soil relative to those observed when applying organic matter without AMF inoculation. Additionally, MBC, MBP, ACP, and ALP enzymes activities in the rhizosphere zone were significantly higher than in the non-rhizosphere. AMF increased BR and SIR levels in the rhizosphere by 13.06% and 7.95% compared to those in the non-rhizosphere, respectively. It can be concluded that PWC and PWB can improve soil biological properties by increasing microbial activity.

Effect of Biochar and Microbial Inoculation on P, Fe, and Zn Bioavailability in a Calcareous Soil

“…Thereafter, they were oven-dried at 65 °C for 48 h to determine the shoot dry weight (SDW). Following this step, the Lab-built rhizoboxes with dimensions of 20 × 15 × 20 cm (length× width× height) were used [39]. The internal volume of the boxes was partitioned into two zones with 325-mesh nylon reticulated plates: (i) A rhizosphere zone with a thickness of 2 cm, and (ii) a non-rhizosphere zone with a thickness of 5.8 cm.…”

Current Techniques to Study Beneficial Plant-Microbe Interactions

“…The use of rhizoboxes is quite common and several experiments have been conducted with this tool to characterize root growth dynamics, especially in plants exposed to abiotic stresses [ 161 , 162 ], in plants interacting with various microorganisms [ 163 , 164 ], or in plants subjected to different nutritional conditions [ 165 , 166 ].…”

“…The use of a rhizobox may be considered as an experimental setup whose complexity is intermediate between root phenotyping on artificial media such as filter paper and root imaging in open field conditions performed with minirhizotrons [160]. The use of rhizoboxes is quite common and several experiments have been conducted with this tool to characterize root growth dynamics, especially in plants exposed to abiotic stresses [161,162], in plants interacting with various microorganisms [163,164], or in plants subjected to different nutritional conditions [165,166].…”

Rhizophagus irregularis and biochar can synergistically improve the physiological characteristics of saline‐alkali resistance of switchgrass

“…Biochar may provide a suitable environment for the growth and reproduction of AMF, improve the signalling mechanism between plants and AMF, and increase the mycorrhizal infection rate of plants (Gujre et al, 2021; Hammer et al, 2014). However, some studies have reported that biochar can also reduce AMF root colonisation and have no significant effect on plant growth (Vahedi et al, 2021).…”