Abstract
BackgroundApplication of biochar has been suggested as a carbon (C) management strategy to sequester C and enhance soil quality. An incubation study was carried out to investigate the interactive effect of biochar and cattle manure application on mineralization of carbon (C) in a tropical coastal savanna sandy soil.MethodsThe soils were amended with three sole levels of cattle manure (0, 13 and 26 tons ha−1) or biochar (0, 20 and 40 tons ha−1) and four combined manure–biochar levels (20 or 40 tons ha−1 biochar plus 13 or 26 tons ha−1 manure) and CO2 evolution was measured over 56 days incubation period. The soils were analyzed for mineral N (NH4+-N and NO3−-N) and water extractable organic C, and net N mineralization, and priming effect (PE) values calculated.ResultsThe cumulative C mineralized increased in the sole manure and biochar amended soils, resulting in 45–125% positive PE. However, co-application of biochar and manure decelerated decomposition of C, probably through adsorption of labile C and net N immobilization, subsequently leading up to negative 35% PE.ConclusionsThe results suggest that co-application of biochar and cattle manure can potentially stabilize C in manure amended sandy soils, albeit with a temporary mineral N limitation to plants.
Highlights
Application of biochar has been suggested as a carbon (C) management strategy to sequester C and enhance soil quality
The higher net CO2-C evolved from the biochar amended compared to unamended control soils agrees with Sigua et al (2014) who reported higher net C O2-C evolution in soils amended with manure and lignocellulosic-based biochar compared to the unamended soils, with C mineralization rates decreasing with increasing particle sizes of the biochars used
The results are in consonance with those of other workers who reported higher net CO2-C efflux in soils amended with crop residues, including corncob and legume, compared to biochar amended soils (Watanabe and Sato 2015; Riaz et al 2017), but disagree with those of Novak et al (2010) showing that switchgrass added to soils was not mineralized readily
Summary
Application of biochar has been suggested as a carbon (C) management strategy to sequester C and enhance soil quality. The short-term increase or decrease in mineralization of native SOC following addition of a fresh organic substrate is referred to as positive or negative priming effect, respectively (Kuzyakov et al 2000). Application of biochar, a solid material rich in C that is produced from pyrolysis of organic materials under limited oxygen condition, has been suggested as an alternative carbon (C) management strategy to promote C sequestration (Sohi et al 2010). Working with some Brazilian soils, Liang et al (2010) reported that sugarcane residues were incorporated into soil aggregates more rapidly in biochar-rich compared to biochar-poor soils, resulting in a net decrease in C mineralization. The observed negative priming of SOC have been attributed to the divergence of microorganisms or their enzymes from biochar to other more oxidizable organic
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