Abstract
Background and aims
Phytotoxicity following addition of hydrothermal-carbonised waste amendments (hydrochar) to soils is primarily attributed to toxic-organic compounds formed in hydrochars during hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC). However, factors influencing toxin formation in hydrochar and subsequent phytotoxicity have not been elucidated. Here, we investigated the effects of hydrochar feedstock and HTC temperature on phytotoxicity.
Methods
Hydrochars from sawdust, rice straw, chicken manure, paunch-hair, pig manure, biosolids and digestate, produced at three HTC temperatures (170, 200 and 260 °C), were assessed for phytotoxicity using plant-bioassays, spectroscopy and wet-chemistry.
Results
Hydrochar had no effect on seed germination, but reduced (30 to 50%) or had no significant effect on wheat growth under limited nutrient supply. Importantly, under luxury-nutrient supply, hydrochars (170 and 200 °C) that reduced growth in limited-nutrient conditions had no significant effect, and only hydrochars produced at 260 °C consistently reduced (20 to 30%) growth. Elemental-analysis and fourier transform infrared spectra indicated an increase in potential toxic functional groups in hydrochars produced at high temperature (260 °C). This suggested that phytotoxicity was due to toxic organic compounds, and occurred at high temperature. Conversely, at low temperature (170 to 200 °C), apparent phytotoxicity in nutrient-limited conditions was not due to hydrochar toxins, but nutrient deficiency exacerbated by hydrochar-induced nutrient immobilisation. Feedstock-type had no significant effect on phytotoxicity.
Conclusion
Findings provide new understanding of hydrochar-induced phytotoxicity. Fundamentally, hydrochars (170 to 200 °C) are potential soil-amendments, but nutrition regimes to offset nutrient-drawdown need consideration. Research to mitigate toxicity in hydrochar-260 °C is warranted.
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The work has been supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils whose activities are funded by the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centre Program. Thanks to Lee Kearney and Craig Hunt for their technical support.
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All authors listed have made a significant contribution to this work, and have approved this article for publication. Henry Luutu: Conceptualisation, methodology, investigation, formal analysis, writing-original draft; Michael T. Rose: Conceptualisation, methodology, formal analysis, writing-review and editing, validation, supervision; Shane McIntosh: Conceptualisation, methodology, investigation, resources, writing-review and editing, supervision; Lukas Van Zwieten: Conceptualisation, methodology, writing-review and editing, validation, supervision; Han H. Weng: Formal analysis, writing-review and editing; Matt Pocock: Methodology, formal analysis; Terry J. Rose: Conceptualisation, methodology, writing-review and editing, validation, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition.
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Luutu, H., Rose, M.T., McIntosh, S. et al. Phytotoxicity induced by soil-applied hydrothermally-carbonised waste amendments: effect of reaction temperature, feedstock and soil nutrition. Plant Soil 493, 647–661 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06265-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06265-3