Abstract
Extracellular enzymes catalyze biogeochemical reactions in soil, cycling carbon and nutrients in agricultural systems. Enzymes respond quickly to soil management, including organic amendment inputs, such as biochar, a charcoal-like solid byproduct of bioenergy production. In a previous agricultural field trial, a pine biochar amendment caused an approximately 40% decrease in the enzyme activities of β-glucosidase (BG) and phosphatase (PHOS). The large surface area of the pine biochar has the potential to sorb nutrients and other organic molecules. To test if sorption caused decreased enzyme activity, we used a laboratory assay to quantify the activity of two sorbed enzymes: BG and acid PHOS, involved in the cycling of carbon and phosphorous. The enzymes were incubated with three solid phases: (1) the high surface area pine biochar, (2) the agricultural soil, and (3) a low surface area grass biochar, for an additional comparison. We quantified the sorbed enzymes at pH 6, 7, and 8, using a Bradford protein assay, and measured the immobilized enzyme activities via high-throughput fluorometric analysis. After sorption onto pine biochar, detectable BG and PHOS activity levels dropped by over 95% relative to the soil, supporting direct sorption as one mechanism that reduces enzyme activity in biochar amended soil. This laboratory assay demonstrated that sorption could account for the lack of priming of native soil organic matter and changes in soil phosphorous cycling after pine biochar addition.
Highlights
Agricultural amendment of soils with biochar, the solid co-product of bioenergy production, can have variable impacts on soil productivity and health [1,2,3,4]
The decreased activity of pine biochar-immobilized enzymes explains previous in situ findings of reduced BG and PHOS activities in an amended agricultural soil
This lab experiment found that exposure to high pyrolysis temperature pine biochar reduced the activity of BG and PHOS enzymes by over 95% relative to soil
Summary
Agricultural amendment of soils with biochar, the solid co-product of bioenergy production, can have variable impacts on soil productivity and health [1,2,3,4]. Differences in pyrolysis times and temperatures create a wide variability in biochar surface area and charge, pore size distribution, pH, and chemical composition [3,5,6]. Due to these physiochemical differences, the impact of biochar on soil structure and biogeochemistry varies widely. To assess the effect of biochar on soil function in agriculture, researchers can analyze the activity of microbial extracellular enzymes [7,8,9]. The enzyme conformation, i.e., the specific structure, maintains the active site, shaped precisely to break down a specific substrate. Each enzyme acts most efficiently within a narrow optimal range of pH, temperature, and moisture levels
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