Emission reduction of 1,3-dichloropropene by soil amendment with biochar.

Abstract

Soil fumigation is an important treatment in the production chain of fruit and vegetable crops, but fumigant emissions contribute to air pollution. Biochar as a soil amendment has shown the potential to reduce organic pollutants, including pesticides, in soils through adsorption and other physicochemical reactions. A laboratory column study was performed to determine the effects of soil applications of biochar for reducing emissions of the fumigant 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D). The experimental treatments comprised of unamended and amended with biochar at doses of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5% (w/w) in the top 5 cm soil layer. The unamended treatment resulted in the highest emission peak flux at 48 to 66 μg m s. Among the biochar amendment treatments, the highest peak flux (0.83 μg m s) was found in the biochar 0.5% treatment. The total emission loss was 35.7 to 40.2% of applied for the unamended treatment and <0.1 to 2.9% for the biochar-amendment treatments. A germination bioassay with cucumber seeds showed that ≥7 d of aeration would be needed to avoid phytotoxicity before replanting in biochar-containing fumigated soil. The results indicate that treatments with 0.5% or more biochar amendment reduced emission peak flux by >99.8% and showed total 1,3-D emission loss by >92% compared with that without biochar. The amendment of surface soil with biochar shows a great potential for reducing fumigant emissions.