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An effective biochar-based slow-release fertilizer for reducing nitrogen loss in paddy fields

Journal of Soils and Sediments volume 20, pages 3027–3040 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

As a carbon sequestration material, biochar has attracted much attention due to its potential to enhance rice productivity and nitrogen retention in paddy fields. However, little information is available about the impacts of rice straw-derived biochar on coating materials of slow-release fertilizers especially with bentonite, starch, and humic acid.

Materials and methods

In this study, a biochar-based slow-release fertilizer was developed and evaluated at field scale. An orthogonal experimental design was applied to investigate the blending ratios of biochar, humic acid, and bentonite with three adhesives, and how these influenced N release.

Results and discussion

The optimum coating combination was 25% biochar, 4% bentonite, and 10% humic acid with modified cornstarch as the adhesive (herein referred to as CF10). The product not only decreased N leaching and runoff losses at the seeding and tillering stages but also supplied more nutrients to the rice at the heading and maturing stages. The SEM and FT-IR observations revealed that an effective dense layer was formed that slowed N release from the granule.

Conclusions

Laboratory- and field-scale studies showed that biochar has played a crucial role in developing a slow-release coating for the compound fertilizer based on its structural properties, porosity, and chemical interaction with other coating ingredients. We conclude that biochar-based slow-release fertilizer is a promising alternative N fertilizer for rice production.

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Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41601234, 21577131, 21876027); the Zhejiang Province Public Welfare Technology Application Research Project (2017C33111); and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (2017A030311019).

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Author notes

  1. Da Dong and Cheng Wang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Soil Contamination Bioremediation of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang A & F University, Lin’an, 311300, China

    Da Dong & Peikun Jiang

  2. South China Sea Institution, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, Guangdong, China

    Cheng Wang

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

    Lukas Van Zwieten

  4. School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528000, Guangdong, China

    Hailong Wang

  5. Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Minmin Zhou & Weixiang Wu

Authors
  1. Da Dong
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  2. Cheng Wang
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  3. Lukas Van Zwieten
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  4. Hailong Wang
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  5. Peikun Jiang
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  6. Minmin Zhou
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  7. Weixiang Wu
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Correspondence to Weixiang Wu.

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Dong, D., Wang, C., Van Zwieten, L. et al. An effective biochar-based slow-release fertilizer for reducing nitrogen loss in paddy fields. J Soils Sediments 20, 3027–3040 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02401-8

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