Impact of six lignocellulosic biochars on C and N dynamics of two contrasting soils

Abstract

AbstractBoth soil and biochar properties are known to influence greenhouse gas emissions from biochar‐amended soils, but poor understanding of underlying mechanisms challenges prediction and modeling. Here, we examine the effect of six lignocellulosic biochars produced from the pyrolysis of corn stover and wood feedstocks on CO2 and N2O emissions from soils collected from two bioenergy cropping systems. Effects of biochar on total accumulated CO2‐C emissions were minimal (<0.45 mg C g−1 soil; <10% of biochar C), consistent with mineralization and hydrolysis of small labile organic and inorganic C fractions in the studied biochars. Comparisons of soil CO2 emissions with emissions from microbially inoculated quartz–biochar mixtures (‘quartz controls’) provide evidence of soil and biochar‐specific negative priming. Five of six biochar amendments suppressed N2O emissions from at least one soil, and the magnitude of N2O emissions suppression varied with respect to both biochar and soil types. Biochar amendments consistently decreased final soil NO3− concentrations, while contrasting effects on pH, NH4+, and DOC highlighted the potential for formation of anaerobic microsites in biochar‐amended soils and consequential shifts in the soil redox environment. Thus, results implicated both reduced substrate availability and redox shifts as potential factors contributing to N2O emission suppression. More research is needed to confirm these mechanisms, but overall our results suggest that soil biochar amendments commonly reduce N2O emissions and have little effect on CO2 emissions beyond the mineralization and/or hydrolysis of labile biochar C fractions. Considering the large C credit for the biochar C, we conclude that biochar amendments can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the climate change mitigation potential of bioenergy cropping systems.