Effects of Straw and Biochar Return in Soil on Soil Aggregate and Carbon Sequestration

Abstract

The aim of this work is to understand the effects of straw and biochar return in soil on the content, distribution, stability, and relative contribution rate of organic carbon for soil aggregates, which could be used to better understanding the stability of the soil carbon pool and the protection mechanisms under straw and biochar return. In this study, a field experiment was conducted to study the effects of straw and biochar return on soil aggregates and carbon sequestration characteristics in a rape-maize rotation planting system. Five treatments, including a control (no organic material added, CK), straw (CS), straw and microorganism (CSD), Biochar (BC), half straw and half biochar (CSBC), were used. The results indicated that ① Straw and biochar could improve the content of soil organic carbon, and the BC and CSBC treatments increased it by 16.88-17.37 g·kg-1, values higher than those with the CS and CSD treatments (13.76-14.68 g·kg-1); ② Compared with the CK treatment, CS and CSD treatments could increase the stability of the aggregates through significantly increasing the content of macro-aggregate by 94.00%-117.78% and significantly increasing the mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean diameter (GMD), and R0.25 of water stable aggregates, but reducing the D value (P<0.05); and ③ With the increase in aggregate particle size, the content of organic carbon in the aggregates decreased first and then increased. The contribution rate of soil organic carbon in silt and clay was the highest (29.61%-42.18%), and the contribution rate of organic carbon in the macro-aggregate was the lowest (9.19%-17.81%). In addition to the CSD treatment, the CS, BC, and CSBC treatments reduced the contribution of larger aggregates (2-0.25 mm) and micro-aggregates (0.25-0.053 mm). In general, the benefit of straw return was better than that of biochar in promoting soil aggregation. However, the application of biochar was better than straw in improving the aggregates organic carbon content. The newly generated carbon from straw degradation was mainly distributed in large aggregates. Straw with microorganisms could promote the combination of carbon by different components in the larger aggregates. The carbon from biochar and straw with biochar treatments were mainly concentrated in micro-aggregates.