Biochar increased water holding capacity but accelerated organic carbon leaching from a sloping farmland soil in China

Liu, Chen, Wang, Honglan, Tang, Xiangyu, Guan, Zhuo, Reid, Brian J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9613-979X, Upamali Rajapaksha, Anushka, Sik Ok, Yong and Sun, Hui (2016) Biochar increased water holding capacity but accelerated organic carbon leaching from a sloping farmland soil in China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23 (2). pp. 995-1006. ISSN 0944-1344

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Abstract

A hydrologically contained field study, to assess biochar (produced from mixed crop straws) influence upon soil hydraulic properties and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leaching, was conducted on a loamy soil (entisol). he soil, noted for its low plant-available water and low soil organic matter, is the most important arable soil type in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River catchment, China. Pore size distribution characterization (by N2 adsorption, mercury intrusion, and water retention) showed that the biochar had a tri-modal pore size distribution. This included pores with diameters in the range of 0.1–10 μm that can retain plant available water. Comparison of soil water retention curves between the control (0) and the biochar plots (16 t ha−1 on dry weight basis) demonstrated biochar amendment to increase soil water holding capacity. However, significant increases in DOC concentration of soil pore water in both the plough layer and the undisturbed subsoil layer were observed in the biochar-amended plots. An increased loss of DOC relative to the control was observed upon rainfall events. Measurements of excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence indicated the DOC increment originated primarily from the organic carbon pool in the soil that became more soluble following biochar incorporation.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: biochar,soil,pore size distribution,water holding capacity,doc,eem fluorescence
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Biology
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Resources, Sustainability and Governance (former - to 2018)
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Geosciences
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Geosciences and Natural Hazards (former - to 2017)
Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 21 Jan 2016 10:00
Last Modified: 21 Oct 2022 01:04
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/56714
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-4885-9

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