Effect of biochar in soil on microbial diversity: a meta-analysis

Abstract

The diversity, structure, and behavior of soil microbes communities, which are crucial to the breakdown of organic matter, cycling of nutrients, and general health of the soil, can be impacted by biochar. This study uses a meta-analysis approach to examine how biochar affects soil microbial diversity, and it anticipates that the results will take the form of a summary of the information that has already been published in journals. This study presents a meta-analysis of 24 articles published between 2018 and 2023 that reported biochar’s effect on soil microbial diversity and richness. Alpha diversity indexes such as Shannon, Simpson (Diversity index), Chao1, and ACE (Richness Index) were measured as parameters, as well as the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) count. The levels of biochar dosage varied from 0 to 50% w/w. Simpson (0.546), the OTUs (0.473), Chao1 (0.227), Shannon (0.125), and ACE (0.056) had the most significant effect sizes for the biochar (Hedges’d), with the majority of the values impact sizes being on the right. According to aggregate-driven tree analysis, the type of biochar, application rate, use of the soil, and length of the experiment all play a significant role in how biochar affects soil microbial diversity. In conclusion, adding biochar requires considering biochar application rates and type to improve microbes’ diversity.