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Wheat straw biochar application increases ammonia volatilization from an urban compacted soil giving a short-term reduction in fertilizer nitrogen use efficiency

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The potential for using biochar to reclaim degraded urban land into productive land needs to be verified to address the incipient loss of agricultural land.

Materials and methods

A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of wheat straw biochar (with four application rates including 0, 0.5%, 1%, and 2% w/w biochar to soil) on selected soil properties and crop growth (paddy rice was grown followed by wheat) in a compacted urban homestead soil (Anthrosol). Nitrogen use efficiency and ammonia volatilization were determined using stable isotope methodologies.

Results and discussion

Wheat straw biochar amendments elevated the soil pH, total C, and C/N ratio, and significantly lowered (P < 0.05) the soil bulk density by 12.0–17.7% with doses of 1–2%. Increasing doses of biochar (1–2%) increased ammonia volatilization by 91.4–107.0% during the flooded rice season, which resulted in significantly lower (P < 0.05) rice yield. This was reflected in the reduction of fertilizer 15N use efficiency, which was 32.6–76.0% lower (P < 0.05) than the control. However, the following wheat yield was significantly increased (P < 0.05) by 23.0% with 2% biochar amendment, while there were no differences in ammonia volatilization between biochar amendments and the control.

Conclusions

Application of wheat straw biochar to a reclaimed urban Anthrosol increased seasonal flooded rice ammonia volatilization; however, no effect on ammonia volatilization was detected from the following aerobically grown wheat. The soils had a lower bulk density following biochar amendment and improved pH, which may have resulted in the higher wheat yield.

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Acknowledgments

Authors also gratefully thank Dr. Huihua Min from Advanced Analysis and Testing Center, Nanjing Forestry University, who helped analyzing the properties of the biochar.

Funding

This project was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China (31601832, 21876027, 21577131), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20160931), China, the High-Level Talent Start-Up Research Project of Foshan University (GG07030), China, the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD), China, the Major Science and Technology Project in Zhejiang Province, China (2015C03019), and the Special Funding for the Introduced Innovative R&D Team of Dongguan (2014607101003), China.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Haijun Sun

  2. Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Haijun Sun

  3. Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA

    Hailin Zhang

  4. School of Food Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528000, Guangdong, China

    Hongdong Xiao & Weiming Shi

  5. Ruakura Research Centre, The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Karin Müller

  6. New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, 1243 Bruxner Highway, Wollongbar, NSW, 2477, Australia

    Lukas Van Zwieten

  7. Key Laboratory of Soil Contamination Bioremediation of Zhejiang Province, School of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, China

    Hailong Wang

  8. Biochar Engineering Technology Research Center of Guangdong Province, School of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528000, Guangdong, China

    Hailong Wang

  9. Guangdong Dazhong Agriculture Science Co. Ltd., Dongguan, 523169, Guangdong, China

    Hailong Wang

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  1. Haijun Sun
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  2. Hailin Zhang
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  3. Hongdong Xiao
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  4. Weiming Shi
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Correspondence to Weiming Shi or Hailong Wang.

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Responsible editor: Weixin Ding

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Sun, H., Zhang, H., Xiao, H. et al. Wheat straw biochar application increases ammonia volatilization from an urban compacted soil giving a short-term reduction in fertilizer nitrogen use efficiency. J Soils Sediments 19, 1624–1631 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-018-2169-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-018-2169-y

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