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Contribution of Biochar in Improving Soil Health
Abstract
Soils are the premise for agriculture and the medium in which almost all food-generating plants grow and as such should be kept healthy. Healthy soils produce healthy crops that in turn nourish humans and animals. Good management practices are very essential in order to maintain soil health, and one of these practices is application of biochar. Biochar provides a unique opportunity to improve soil fertility and nutrient-use efficiency using locally available and renewable materials in a sustainable way. Application of biochar to the soil leads to several interactions mainly with the soil physical, chemical and biological properties to produce a healthy soil. Due to the unique properties of biochar, which include high concentrations of organic carbon, high porosity, large surface area and presence of micropores, improvement in soil physical and hydraulic properties including soil structure, aggregation, bulk density and water holding capacity would be expected following incorporation into soils. Biochar also improves chemical soil properties by increasing soil pH, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, exchangeable bases, and organic carbon content as well as decreases Al saturation in acid soils and reduces nitrogen leaching, thereby reducing fertilizer and lime requirements and maintaining a healthy soil. Changes to both soil physical and chemical properties as a result of biochar ultimately affect the biological properties of the soil by providing microbes with a more favourable habitat. Also, because of its sustainability and affordability, biochar can be used in soil remediation.
... Moreover, the decomposition and accumulation of SOC are indeed primarily driven by biological processes involving plant inputs and microbial activity (Cotrufo et al., 2015;Liang et al., 2017). Therefore, we used SOC as a biotic factor in our analyses to investigate the relative importance of biotic factors in explaining the global distribution of SIC in topsoil, as many other previous studies have done (Adekiya et al., 2020;Deng et al., 2016). We also conducted a Spearman correlation analysis to evaluate the relationships between space, climate, biotic and abiotic factors and SIC and SIC/SOC using the "corrplot" R package. ...
Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) plays a crucial role in regulating global carbon (C) cycling by linking the long‐term geological and short‐term biological C cycles. Soil inorganic carbon stocks are thought to be mainly driven by abiotic factors. However, despite the well‐known influence of vegetation and soil microbes on terrestrial C pools, the relative contribution of biotic and abiotic factors in explaining the global distribution of SIC remains virtually unknown. Here, we conducted a global field survey including information on SIC of 398 composite topsoil samples from 134 locations to investigate the contribution of biotic drivers in explaining the global distribution of SIC in surface soils compared with climate and abiotic factors. Overall, SIC content peaked in arid and temperate ecosystems with warmer and drier conditions, particularly shrublands. We further revealed that although soil properties (e.g., Ca and C/N ratio) explained the highest variance in SIC globally, biotic factors, associated with vegetation and soil microbes, explained a considerable proportion of the global variation in SIC. In particular, plant richness, plant cover, and fungal biomass were significantly and positively associated with SIC, suggesting that biotic control could play an important role in explaining the global distribution of topsoil SIC. We propose that changes in the biotic factors, such as alterations in vegetation and soil microbes resulting from global changes, may have important direct and indirect consequences for global SIC dynamics and terrestrial C‐climate feedback.
... Physical and hydrological qualities are expected to be improved by high carbon content, porosity, surface area, and biochar microparticles [51]. Improved soil characteristics include structure, agglomeration, bulk density, and water-holding capacity [52]. By raising soil pH, CEC, base saturation, base exchange, and carbon content as well as lowering Al saturation in acidic soils and minimizing nitrogen leaching, biochar also enhances soil chemistry. ...
Abundant animal manure in livestock areas has the potential to be used as organic fertilizer which can restore soil fertility by turning it into compost and biochar. The goal of this study was to as-sess how well soil fertility and red chili yield might be increased by using biochar and poschar made from various animal wastes. In this investigation, a factorial pattern and randomized block design were used. The first factor was the biochar treatment type, which included no biochar, biochar made from cow manure, biochar made from goat manure, and biochar made from chicken manure. The second factor was the type of poschar, which included no poschar, poschar made from cow manure, poschar made from goat manure, and poschar made from chicken manure. The findings of this study suggest that using biochar in conjunction with poschar can significantly improve soil parameters such as soil water content, pH, EC, humic acid, fulvic acid, C, N, P, K, and CEC. Red chilies grow and yield more per hectare when different types of biochar and poschar are used. The use of biochar from cow manure together with poschar from chicken manure shows the best agronomic effectiveness.
... Moreover, the addition of biochar improved nutrient and water retention and increased root growth substantially compared to degraded soils with poor physical properties [5]. Biochar amendment improved soil hydraulic conductivity by decreasing soil bulk density and increasing soil porosity [6]. ...
Biochar has been proven to influence soil hydro-physical properties, as well as the abundance and diversity of microbial communities. However, the relationship between the hydro-physical properties of soils and the diversity of microbial communities is not well studied in the context of biochar application. The soil analyzed in this study was collected from an ongoing field experiment (2019–2024) with six treatments and three replications each of biochar (B1 = 25 t·ha−1 and B0 = no biochar) and nitrogen fertilizer (N1 = 160, N2 = 120 kg·ha−1, and N0 = no fertilizer). The results show that biochar treatments (B1N0, B1N1, and B1N2) significantly improved the soil bulk density and total soil porosity at different depths. The B1N1 treatment substantially enhanced the volumetric water content (VMC) by 5–7% at −4 to −100 hPa suction at 5–10 cm depth. All three biochar treatments strengthened macropores by 33%, 37%, and 41%, respectively, at 5–10 cm depth and by 40%, 45%, and 54%, respectively, at 15–20 cm depth. However, biochar application significantly lowered hydraulic conductivity (HC) and enhanced carbon source utilization and soil indices at different hours. Additionally, a positive correlation was recorded among carbon sources, indices, and soil hydro-physical properties under biochar applications. We can summarize that biochar has the potential to improve soil hydro-physical properties and soil carbon source utilization; these changes tend to elevate fertility and the sustainability of Cambisol.
Crop residue burning is a major environmental concern all over the world. Agricultural leftovers can be pyrolyzed to biochar and used in the soil as a sustainable means of carbon sequestration. In this study, pyrolysis-assisted biochar was produced from the petiole of Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera, L,) under experimental conditions. The coconut petiole was pyrolyzed at an optimum temperature of 350℃ for 90 min (as per standardization studies) and the physicochemical properties of the resultant biochar were assessed. In addition to this, elemental analysis, specific surface area assessment, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies were also performed. The study also attempted to analyze the short-term effect of biochar on the physicochemical properties of soil from three agroecosystems of Kerala, representing highland, midland, and lowland. Coconut petiole biochar (CPB) application significantly enhanced soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic matter (SOM), water holding capacity (WHC), and Total heterotrophic bacteria (THB), but significantly reduced the resistivity and Total heterotrophic fungi (THF). Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the first component (PC1) explains 93.01%, 72.71%, and 92.42% of the total variability in the data corresponding to lowland, midland, and highland regions, respectively. Superior increments in the soil properties were observed while increasing the biochar concentration from 0.5 to 1.5%. The biochar characterization by SEM, FTIR, and XRD studies confirm the quality of coconut petiole biochar, viz., surface area, pore volume and size, oxygenated groups, amorphous nature, and carbon content, which have a substantial impact on its ability to adsorb water and thereby retain bacterial load in the soil.
In this book, we have a publication: T.A. Nasibova, E.A. Garaev, G.R. Zeynalova, D.S. Gafarova, S.A. Pashayeva, N.S. Huseynova. Evaluation of heavy metals in Peganum harmala seeds.
The aim of this research was to compare the chemical composition and other characteristics of two liquid organic fertilisers - biogas digestate and pig slurry.
Variations in chemical composition of tested fertilisers might have been caused by the use of animal feeding stuffs in pig farms and their quality. Nitrogen is one of the main factors shaping both soil fertility and crop productivity. Ntot and N-NH4 concentrations were lower in anaerobic digestate rather than in pig slurry. Therefore, the use of digestate fertilisers may require more labour force and higher
energy costs as a result of a higher fertilisation rate. The forms of digestate Corg had shown a high level of humification, which may have a positive impact on soil.
Keywords: liquid anaerobic digestate, pig slurry, nutrients.
The Pacific Northwest outbreak of cryptococcosis, caused by a near-clonal lineage of the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus gattii, represents the most significant cluster of life-threatening fungal infections in otherwise healthy human hosts currently known. The outbreak lineage has a remarkable ability to grow rapidly within human white blood cells, using a unique ‘division of labour’ mechanism within the pathogen population, where some cells adopt a dormant behaviour to support the growth of neighbouring cells. Here we demonstrate that pathogenic ‘division of labour’ can be triggered over large cellular distances and is mediated through the release of extracellular vesicles by the fungus. Isolated vesicles released by virulent strains are taken up by infected host macrophages and trafficked to the phagosome, where they trigger the rapid intracellular growth of non-outbreak fungal cells that would otherwise be eliminated by the host. Thus, long distance pathogen-to-pathogen communication via extracellular vesicles represents a novel mechanism to control complex virulence phenotypes in Cryptococcus gattii and, potentially, other infectious species.
Studies on the effect of biochar and poultry manure on soil properties and radish productivity is rare, hence, field experiments were conducted over two years, 2015 and 2016, to evaluate the effects of biochar (B) and poultry manure (PM) on soil properties, leaf nutrient concentrations and root yield of radish (Raphanus sativus L.). Each year, the experiment consisted of 3 × 3 factorial combinations of biochar (0, 25 and 50 t ha⁻¹) and poultry manure (0, 2.5 and 5.0 t ha⁻¹). Application of B and PM alone, and in combination, improved soil physical and chemical properties, leaf nutrient concentrations and yield components of radish. In 2016, the application of B alone increased the soil pH and concentrations of organic matter, N, P, K, Ca and Mg, as well as leaf nutrient concentrations and yield of radish, but in 2015 it only increased soil pH and organic matter and not leaf nutrient concentrations and yield. In both years, the application of B significantly influenced the root length of the radish. In both years, there was a significant interaction effect of biochar and poultry manure (B × PM) and this was attributed to the ability of the B to increase the efficiency of the utilization of the nutrients in the PM. The combination of 50 t ha⁻¹ B and 5 t ha⁻¹ PM (B50 + PM5) resulted in the highest radish yield. Averaged over the two years, (B50 + PM5) increased the root weight of radish by 192, 250 and 257% compared with biochar alone at 50 t ha⁻¹, biochar alone at 25 t ha⁻¹ and no application of B or PM (control). Therefore, for a short season crop like radish the expected benefit of the biochar alone without the addition of poultry manure may not be achieved within the first year.
Biochar, a solid product produced from biomass pyrolysis under low oxygen conditions, has gained wide acknowledgment in its usage as a means for carbon sequestration as well as improving the soil chemical and physical properties of the soil. Although the effects of biochar application on chemical characteristics and fertility of soils have been intensively investigated, there is little information on its role in improving soil physical characteristics. Therefore, this review aimed to (i) summarize the impact of biochar application on soil physical properties, (ii) discuss the factors and mechanisms influencing biochar performance on soil physical properties, and (iii) identify future research priorities. This review concluded that the improved impact of biochar application on soil physical characteristics is dependent upon feedstock and pyrolyetic conditions of biochars, application rate of biochar, biochar particle size, and soil type and texture. Pyrolysis temperature is the main factor controlling biochar properties such as porosity and surface area, which reflect their effects on soil physical characteristics. For the same feedstock, the temperature will control the properties of resulting biochars. But, the biochar properties greatly depend on the properties of feedstock. For example, manure-derived biochars contain a large amount of ash, but biochars from cellulose-lignin biomass mainly consist of the carbon fraction. Despite the profound effect of biochar in improving the physical properties of soil, the economic impact of its implementation in large-scale farming has not been established. Therefore, there is need for its economic evaluation.
Organic fertilizer produced by composting 62% town wastes, 21% sewage sludge and 17% sawdust by volume, was applied at the rates of 0 (control), 75, 150 and 300 m3 ha−1 to loamy and clay soils, in order to investigate its potential for soil improvement. The experiments were conducted in areas characterised by a semi-arid climate. The chemical properties of the soils were affected directly by the amendment compost. The physical properties of the amended soils were improved in all cases as far as the saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, water retention capacity, bulk density, total porosity, pore size distribution, soil resistance to penetration, aggregation and aggregate stability, were concerned. In most of the cases the improvements were proportional to the application rates of the compost and they were greater in the loamy soil than in the clay soil.
A growing body of research into the effects of biochar on soil physical characteristics suggests that it is most effective in coarse-textured soils. In this study, we set out to test this theory by comparing the effects of a woodchip biochar on a Chernozem, Cambisol and a coarse-textured Planosol in a pot experiment. We also compared the effect of different biochars on the Planosol, including woodchip biochar, straw biochar, and two vineyard-pruning biochars produced at different pyrolysis temperatures. Three characteristics were measured as indicators of good soil structure: bulk density, soil aggregate stability and plant available water.
The woodchip biochar induced greater decreases in bulk density in the coarse textured Planosol than in the other soils. It also had a greater effect on soil aggregate stability in the Planosol than in the Cambisol, but had no effect on the Chernozem. Woodchip biochar had no effect on plant available water in any of the three soils. Straw biochar was the most effective at improving soil aggregate stability in the coarse-textured Planosol, with a 98% increase. Straw biochar also improved plant available water in the Planosol by 38% relative to the control, compared with 24% and 21% increases in the vineyard-pruning biochars, produced at 525 °C and 400 °C, respectively.
Our study supports the theory that coarse-textured soils have the most to gain structurally from biochar amendments. We also show that straw biochar was the most effective at improving soil aggregate stability and plant available water in a coarse-textured Planosol.
"Principles of Soil Management and Conservation" comprehensively reviews the state-of-knowledge on soil erosion and management. It discusses in detail soil conservation topics in relation to soil productivity, environment quality, and agronomic production. It addresses the implications of soil erosion with emphasis on global hotspots and synthesizes available from developed and developing countries. It also critically reviews information on no-till management, organic farming, crop residue management for industrial uses, conservation buffers (e.g., grass buffers, agroforestry systems), and the problem of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and in other regions. This book uniquely addresses the global issues including carbon sequestration, net emissions of CO2, and erosion as a sink or source of C under different scenarios of soil management. It also deliberates the implications of the projected global warming on soil erosion and vice versa. The concern about global food security in relation to soil erosion and strategies for confronting the remaining problems in soil management and conservation are specifically addressed. This volume is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate students interested in understanding the principles of soil conservation and management. The book is also useful for practitioners, extension agents, soil conservationists, and policymakers as an important reference material.