Use of rice straw nano-biochar to slow down water infiltration and reduce nitrogen leaching in a clayey soil

Abstract

Biochar exhibits numerous advantages in enhancing the soil environment despite a few limitations due to its lower surface energy. Nanomodified biochar combines the advantages of biochar and nanoscale materials. However, its effects on water infiltration and N leaching in a clayey soil remain unclear. Therefore, this study prepared rice straw nano-biochar by a ball milling method, and investigated its physicochemical properties and effects of bulk biochar and nano-biochar at various addition rates (0 %, 0.5 %, 1 %, 2 %, 3 %, and 5 %) on wetting peak migration, cumulative infiltration, water absorption and retention, and N leaching. The results showed that, compared with bulk biochar, nano-biochar presented a more abundant pore structure with an increase in specific surface area of approximately 1.5 times, accompanied by a 20 % increase in acid functional groups. Compared with those for clayey soil without biochar addition, the wetting front migration time was increased by 10.2 %–123.9 % and 17.0 %–257.9 %, and the cumulative infiltration volume at 60 min was decreased by 26.0 %–48.4 % and 14.1 %–62.4 % for bulk biochar and nano-biochar, respectively. The parameter S of Philip model and the parameter a of Kostiakov model for nano-biochar were lower than those for bulk biochar, whereas the parameter b of Kostiakov model was greater, indicating that nano-biochar decreased initial soil infiltration rate and increased attenuation degree of the infiltration rate. Nano-biochar increased water absorption by 8.03 % and subsequently enhanced water retention capacity relative to bulk biochar. In addition, bulk biochar and nano-biochar reduced NH4+-N leaching by 3.0 %–13.1 % and 5.7 %–39.2 %, respectively, and NO3−-N leaching by 2.7 %–3.6 % and 9.0 %–43.3 %, respectively, by decreasing N concentration and leachate volume relative to those with no biochar addition. This study provides new knowledge for nano-biochar application in a clayey soil.