Abstract
Biochar holds promise as a soil amendment with potential to sequester carbon, improve soil fertility, adsorb organic pollutants, stimulate soil microbial activities, and improve crop yield. We used a hardwood biochar to assess its impact on corn (Zea mays) grain, biomass yields and greenhouse gas emission in central Kentucky, USA. Six treatments included as follows: control (C) with no amendment applied; poultry litter (PL); biochar (B); biochar + poultry litter (B + PL); fertilizers N-P-K (F); and biochar + fertilizers (B + F). Biochar was applied only once to plots in 2010 followed by rototilling all plots. Only PL and fertilizer were applied annually. When applied alone, biochar did not significantly increase dry matter, grain yield, and N-P-K uptake. There was also no significant difference between the combined treatments when compared with PL or F applications alone. We observed a slight increasing trend in corn grain yield in the following 2 years compared to the first year from biochar treatment. Poultry litter treatment produced significantly greater N2O and CO2 emissions, but emissions were lower from the B+PL treatment. We conclude that this biochar did not improve corn productivity in the short term but has potential to increase yield in the long term and may have some benefit when combined with PL or F in reducing N2O and CO2 emissions.
Highlights
One strategy that has been advocated for mitigating and reducing global CO2 concentration is based on the pyrolysis of biomass—a process that produces a byproduct known as biochar
In 2012, the experiment was completely lost due to severe drought during the critical growing season months of June, July, and August; we continued the study for 1 more year in 2013
Biochar treatment did not increase corn grain yield in the three growing seasons compared to other treatments; the results indicate that over time, biochar positively impacted grain yield (Table 2), with a significant increase each consecutive
Summary
One strategy that has been advocated for mitigating and reducing global CO2 concentration is based on the pyrolysis of biomass—a process that produces a byproduct known as biochar. When biochar is produced from biomass, it represents a net withdrawal of CO2 from the atmosphere [1]. The C in biochar is highly resistant to microbial degradation for many years [3]. It has been emphasized that biochar holds great promise as a soil amendment to sequester carbon, improve soil fertility, adsorb organic pollutants, and stimulate soil microbial activities. There are other benefits of incorporating biochar into a soil such as increases in cation exchange capacity (CEC) [4], increases in nutrient retention and availability for plant uptake in highly weathered soils (Ultisols), and increases in fertilizer
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