Carbon mineralization and nutrient availability in calcareous sandy soils amended with woody waste biochar

Ahmed H. El-Naggar, Adel R.A. Usman, Abdulrasoul Al-Omran, Yong Sik Ok, Mahtab Ahmad, Mohammad I. Al-Wabel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

104 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Many studies have reported the positive effect of biochar on soil carbon sequestration and soil fertility improvement in acidic soils. However, biochar may have different impacts on calcareous sandy soils. A 90-day incubation experiment was conducted to quantify the effects of woody waste biochar (10gkg-1) on CO2-C emissions, K2SO4-extractable C and macro-(N, P and K) and micro-(Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) nutrient availability in the presence or absence of poultry manure (5gkg-1 soil). The following six treatments were applied: (1) conocarpus (Conocarpus erectus L.) waste (CW), (2) conocarpus biochar (BC), (3) poultry manure (PM), (4) PM+CW, (5) PM+BC and (6) untreated soil (CK). Poultry manure increased CO2-C emissions and K2SO4-extractable C, and the highest increases in CO2-C emission rate and cumulative CO2-C and K2SO4-extractable C were observed for the PM+CW treatment. On the contrary, treatments with BC halted the CO2-C emission rate, indicating that the contribution of BC to CO2-C emissions is negligible compared with the soils amended with CW and PM. Furthermore, the combined addition of PM+BC increased available N, P and K compared with the PM or BC treatments. Overall, the incorporation of biochar into calcareous soils might have benefits in carbon sequestration and soil fertility improvement.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)67-73
Number of pages7
JournalChemosphere
Volume138
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015 Nov 1
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Biochar
  • CO-C emission rate
  • Conocarpus waste
  • Labile carbon
  • Nutrient availability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Chemistry(all)
  • Pollution
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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