Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Effects of steel slag and biochar amendments on CO2, CH4, and N2O flux, and rice productivity in a subtropical Chinese paddy field

Environmental Geochemistry and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Steel slag, a by-product of the steel industry, contains high amounts of active iron oxide and silica which can act as an oxidizing agent in agricultural soils. Biochar is a rich source of carbon, and the combined application of biochar and steel slag is assumed to have positive impacts on soil properties as well as plant growth, which are yet to be validated scientifically. We conducted a field experiment for two rice paddies (early and late paddy) to determine the individual and combined effects of steel slag and biochar amendments on CO2, CH4, and N2O emission, and rice productivity in a subtropical paddy field of China. The amendments did not significantly affect rice yield. It was observed that CO2 was the main greenhouse gas emitted from all treatments of both paddies. Steel slag decreased the cumulative CO2 flux in the late paddy. Biochar as well as steel slag + biochar treatment decreased the cumulative CO2 flux in the late paddy and for the complete year (early and late paddy), while steel slag + biochar treatment also decreased the cumulative CH4 flux in the early paddy. The biochar, and steel slag + biochar amendments decreased the global warming potential (GWP). Interestingly, the cumulative annual GWP was lower for the biochar (55,422 kg CO2-eq ha−1), and steel slag + biochar (53,965 kg CO2-eq ha−1) treatments than the control (68,962 kg CO2-eq ha−1). Total GWP per unit yield was lower for the combined application of steel slag + biochar (8951 kg CO2-eq Mg−1 yield) compared to the control (12,805 kg CO2-eq Mg−1 yield). This study suggested that the combined application of steel slag and biochar could be an effective long-term strategy to reduce greenhouse gases emission from paddies without any detrimental effect on the yield.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ali, M. A., Oh, J. H., & Kim, P. J. (2008). Evaluation of silicate iron slag amendment on reducing methane emission from flood water rice farming. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 128, 21–26.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Antil, R. S., Janssen, B. H., & Lantinga, E. A. (2009). Laboratory and greenhouse assessment of plant availability of organic N in animal manure. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 85, 95–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, V. L., Fansler, S. J., Smith, J. L., & Bolton, H., Jr. (2010). Reconciling apparent variability in effects of biochar amendment on soil enzyme activities by assay optimization. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 43, 296–301.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barton, K., (2012). MuM. In: Multi-model inference. R package version 1.7.2. http://cran.r-project.org/package=MuMIn.

  • Bruun, E. W., Ambus, P., Egsgaard, H., & Hauggaard-Nielsen, H. (2012). Effects of slow and fast pyrolysis biochar on soil C and N turnover dynamics. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 46, 73–79.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cayuela, M. L., Oenema, O., Kuikman, P. J., Bakker, P. R., & Van Groenigen, J. W. (2010). Bioenergy by-products as soil amendments? Implications for carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions. GCB Bioenergy, 2, 201–213.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cui, Y. F., Meng, J., Wang, Q. X., Zhang, W. M., Cheng, X. Y., & Chen, W. F. (2017). Effects of straw and biochar addition on soil nitrogen, carbon, and super rice yield in cold waterlogged paddy soils of North China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 16, 1064–1074.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • FAO. [Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations]. (2009). OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2011–2030.

  • Furukawa, Y., & Inubushi, K. (2002). Feasible suppression technique of methane emission from paddy soil by iron amendment. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 64, 193–201.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Haque, M. M., Kim, S. Y., Ali, M. A., & Kim, P. J. (2015). Contribution of greenhouse gas emissions during cropping and fallow seasons on total global warming potential in mono-rice paddy soils. Plant and Soil, 387, 251–264.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hothorn, T., Bretz, F., Wesrfall, P., (2013). Package “mulcomp” (WWW document). U.R.L. http://cran.stat.sfu.ca/web/packages/mulcomp/mulcomp.pdf. (Accessed March 16, 2017).

  • Huang, B., Yu, K., & Gambrell, R. P. (2009). Effects of ferric iron reduction and regeneration on nitrous oxide and methane emissions in a rice soil. Chemosphere, 74, 481–486.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, Y., Chen, Z., & Liu, W. (2012). Influence of iron plaque and cultivars on antimony uptake by and translocation in rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings exposed to Sb (III) or Sb (V). Plant and Soil, 352, 41–49.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang, G., Sharma, K. R., & Yuan, Z. (2013). Effects of nitrate dosing on methanogenic activity in a sulfide-producing sewer biofilm reactor. Water Research, 47, 1783–1792.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kammann, C., Ratering, S., Eckhard, C., & Müller, C. (2012). Biochar and hydrochar effects on greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane) fluxes from soils. Journal of Environmental Quality, 41, 1052–1066.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kolb, S. E., Fermanich, K. J., & Dornbush, M. E. (2009). Effect of charcoal quantity on microbial biomass and activity in temperate soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 73, 1173–1181.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lehmann, J. (2007). Bio-energy in the black. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 5, 381–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Q., Liu, B., Ambus, P., Zhang, Y., Hansen, V., Lin, Z., et al. (2016). Carbon footprint of rice production under biochar amendment: A case study in a Chinese rice cropping system. Global Change Biology Bioenergy, 8, 148–159.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Y., Yang, M., Wu, Y., Wang, H., Chen, Y., & Wu, W. (2011). Reducing CH4 and CO2 emissions from waterlogged paddy soil with biochar. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 11, 930–939.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luo, Y., Durenkamp, M., Nobili, M. D., Lin, Q., & Brookes, P. C. (2011). Short term soil priming effects and the mineralisation of biochar following its incorporation to soils of different pH. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 43(11), 2304–2314.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, J., Wang, Z. Y., Stevenson, B. A., Zheng, X. J., & Li, Y. (2013). An inorganic CO2 diffusion and dissolution process explains negative CO2 fluxes in saline/alkaline soils. Scientific Reports, 3, 400.

    Google Scholar 

  • Minamikawa, K., Fumoto, T., Itoh, M., Hayano, M., Sudo, S., & Yagi, K. (2014). Potential of prolonged midseason drainage for reducing methane emission from rice paddies in Japan: a long-term simulation using the DNDC-Rice model. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 50, 879–889.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Myhre, G., Shindell, D., Bréon, F. M., Collins, W., Fuglestvedt, J., Huang, J., et al. (2013). Anthropogenic and Natural Radiative Forcing. In T. F. Stocker, D. Qin, G. K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S. K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex, & P. M. Midgley (Eds.), Climate change 2013: The physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change (p. 714). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, T. T. N., Xu, C. Y., Tahmasbian, I., Che, R., Xu, Z., Zhou, X., et al. (2017). Effects of biochar on soil available inorganic nitrogen: A review and meta-analysis. Geoderma, 288, 79–96.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Noubactep, C. (2011). On the mechanism of microbe inactivation by metallic iron. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 198, 383–386.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, A. J., Lauchnor, E., Eldring, J., Esposito, R., Mitchell, A. C., Gerlach, R., et al. (2013). Potential CO2 leakage reduction through biofilm-induced calcium carbonate precipitation. Environmental Science and Technology, 47, 142–149.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pinheiro, J., Bates, D., DebRoy, S., Sarkar, D., Core, T. R., (2016). nlme: Linear and nonlinear mixed effects models. R package version 3.1-126, https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/nlme/nlme.pdf.

  • Revell, K. T., Maguire, R. O., & Agblevor, F. A. (2012). Influence of poultry litter biochar on soil properties and plant growth. Soil Science, 177, 402–408.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saarnio, S., Heimonen, K., & Kettunen, R. (2013). Biochar addition indirectly affects N2O emissions via soil moisture and plant N uptake. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 58, 99–106.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singla, A., Dubey, S. K., Ali, M. A., & Inubushi, K. (2015). Methane flux from paddy vegetated soil: A comparison between biogas digested liquid and chemical fertilizer. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 23, 139–148.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singla, A., Dubey, S. K., Singh, A., & Inubushi, K. (2014a). Effect of biogas digested slurry-based biochar on methane flux and methanogenic archaeal diversity in paddy soil. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 197, 278–287.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singla, A., & Inubushi, K. (2014). Effect of biochar on CH4 and N2O emission from soils vegetated with paddy. Paddy and Water Environment, 12, 239–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singla, A., & Inubushi, K. (2015). Effect of slag-type fertilizers on N2O flux from komatsuna vegetated soil and CH4 flux from paddy vegetated soil. Paddy and Water Environment, 13, 43–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singla, A., Iwasa, H., & Inubushi, K. (2014b). Effect of biogas digested slurry based-biochar and digested liquid on N2O, CO2 flux and crop yield for three continuous cropping cycles of komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis). Biology and Fertility of Soils, 50, 1201–1209.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tavares, R. L. M., Farhate, C. V. V., de Souza, Z. M., Junior, N. L. S., Torres, J. L. R., & Campos, M. C. C. (2015). Emission of CO2 and soil microbial activity in sugarcane management systems. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 10, 975–982.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W., Lai, D. Y. F., Abid, A. A., Neogi, S., Xu, X., & Wang, C. (2018a). Effects of steel slag and biochar incorporation on active soil organic carbon pools in a subtropical paddy field. Agronomy, 8(8), 135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W., Lai, D. Y. F., Li, S., Kim, P. J., Zeng, C., Li, P., et al. (2014a). Steel slag amendment reduces methane emission and increases rice productivity in subtropical paddy fields in China. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 22, 683–691.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W., Lai, D. Y. F., Wang, C., Pan, T., & Zeng, C. (2015). Effects of rice straw incorporation on active soil organic carbon pools in a subtropical paddy field. Soil & Tillage Research, 152, 8–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W., Li, P., Zeng, C., & Tong, C. (2012a). Evaluation of silicate iron slag as a potential methane mitigating method. Advanced Materials Research, 468, 1626–1630.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J., Pan, X., Liu, Y., Zhang, X., & Xiong, Z. (2012b). Effects of biochar amendment in two soils on greenhouse gas emissions and crop production. Plant and Soil, 360, 287–298.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W., Sardans, J., Zeng, C., Zhong, C., Li, Y., & Peñuelas, J. (2014b). Response of soil nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry to increased human disturbance in a subtropical tidal wetland. Geoderma, 232, 459–470.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W., Zeng, C., Sardans, J., Zeng, D., Wang, C., Bartrons, M., et al. (2018b). Industrial and agricultural wastes decreased greenhouse-gas emissions and increased rice grain yield in a subtropical paddy field. Experimental Agriculture, 54(4), 623–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wassmann, R., & Aulakh, M. S. (2000). The role of rice plants in regulating mechanisms of methane emissions. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 31, 20–29.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, W., & Xie, X. (2003). Cleansing production technology of iron and steel industry in China. Energ. Metal. Ind., 22, 49–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xie, Z., Xu, Y., Liu, G., Liu, Q., Zhu, J., Tu, C., et al. (2013). Impact of biochar application on nitrogen nutrition of rice, greenhouse-gas emissions and soil organic carbon dynamics in two paddy soils of China. Plant and Soil, 370, 527–540.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yanai, Y., Toyota, K., & Okazaki, M. (2007). Effects of charcoal addition on N2O emissions from soil resulting from rewetting air-dried soil in short-term laboratory experiments. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 53, 181–188.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, A., Bian, R., Pan, G., Cui, L., Hussain, Q., Li, L., et al. (2012). Effects of biochar amendment on soil quality, crop yield and greenhouse gas emission in a Chinese rice paddy: A field study of 2 consecutive rice growing cycles. Field Crops Research, 127, 153–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, A., Cui, L., Pan, G., Li, L., Hussain, Q., Zhang, X., et al. (2010). Effect of biochar amendment on yield and methane and nitrous oxide emissions from a rice paddy from Tai Lake plain, China. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 139, 469–475.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, X., Silva, L. C. R., Doane, T. A., & Horwath, W. R. (2013). Iron: The forgotten driver of nitrous oxide production in agricultural soil. PLoS ONE, 8, e60146.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dengzhou Gao, Miaoying Wang, and Qiuli Zhu for their assistance during field sampling. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation of China (41571287, 31000209), Natural Science Foundation Key Programs of Fujian Province (2018R1034-1), Outstanding Young Research Talents in Higher Education of Fujian Province (2017), the European Research Council Synergy grant ERC-SyG-2013-610028 IMBALANCE-P, the Spanish Government grant CGL2013-48074-P, and the Catalan Government grant SGR 2014-274.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Weiqi Wang or Ankit Singla.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 1010 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, C., Wang, W., Sardans, J. et al. Effects of steel slag and biochar amendments on CO2, CH4, and N2O flux, and rice productivity in a subtropical Chinese paddy field. Environ Geochem Health 41, 1419–1431 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-018-0224-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-018-0224-7

Keywords

Navigation