Influence of Poultry Litter Biochar on Some Properties and Carbon Mineralization in Acidic Soil

Abstract

During the last years, biochar (BC) from various organic wastes and its application to soil to improve soil properties have been a very common treatment in agricultural soils. While many studies have been conducted on the effects of biochar on the improvement of alkaline soils, studies on acid soils are limited. An incubation experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of poultry litter biochar (PLBC) on acidic soil properties and C mineralization. Biochar derived from poultry litter (PLBC) through slow pyrolysis was mixed with soil in three different doses (0, 2, and 5%) and subjected to a 120-day incubation period. pH increased from 4.38 to 5.31 at the end of the incubation. Electrical conductivity (EC) values also increased. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reached its maximum on the 30th day of the incubation in control and with PLBC applied to the soil. PLBC increased the organic matter (OM) content of the soil. Values were 3.51%, 4.70%, 6.27% for control, PLBC 2% and 5% treatments, respectively. PLBC does have an increasing negative priming effect on the carbon (C) mineralization of the soil. Particulate organic matter (POM) increased the storage of organic carbon (OC) in the POM fraction for both PLBC applications. It is revealed that PLBC showed soil conditioning effect as well as C storage in the soil. This study was on the short-term incubation under controlled conditions, varying results would be obtained in field conditions.