Abstract
Background and aims
Erosion of phosphorus (P)-rich soil into waterways is a major contributor to eutrophication. To minimize the build-up of P in agricultural soils, greater knowledge of the bioavailability and fate of P from soil amendments is required.
Methods
We used X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) spectroscopy to resolve the major P species in nine diverse biochars. We then examined the relationship between biochar P extracted using a range of typical soil (water, Bray2 and Colwell) and plant (2% citric acid, and 2% formic acid) assays. We compared these with ryegrass P uptake via bioassay.
Results
Linear combination fitting indicated Al-phosphate (variscite) was the dominant P species in biochars derived from cattle feedlot manure, sugarcane trash and sugarcane bagasse, reflecting the likely Al content of the feedstock. Non-apatite Ca-phosphates (monocalcium phosphate or CaHPO4) were the major P species in poultry litter, green waste, papermill sludge, wheat chaff, sugarcane mill mud and rice husk biochars. Biochar P was poorly water soluble but largely soluble in weak acids (formic and citric acids). Despite this, biochar P extracted by citric and formic acid was a poor predictor of P bioavailability to ryegrass, with the percentage of total P extracted by water or by the Bray2 reagent providing the best prediction of ryegrass P uptake.
Conclusions
The P in biochar was identified by XANES spectroscopy as predominantly Ca and/or Al-P. Water and Bray2 extraction provided the best predictors of plant available P from biochars in a plant bioassay.
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Acknowledgements
X-ray absorption spectroscopy was funded by a beamtime award to LL, TJR and ALR by the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Taiwan (proposal 2013-3-037-1). We thank the beamline scientist, Dr. LY (Peter) Jang, for his assistance with the XANES measurements.
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Rose, T.J., Schefe, C., Weng, Z.(. et al. Phosphorus speciation and bioavailability in diverse biochars. Plant Soil 443, 233–244 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04219-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04219-2