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Effects of inorganic alkalis and organic anions in biochars on acidic paddy soil resistance to acidification

  • Soils, Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

The main proposes are to quantify different forms of alkalis in crop straw biochars and examine their contributions to improve the resistance of an acidic paddy soil to acidification.

Materials and methods

Biochars were prepared from the straws of maize and rape at 300 °C, and hydrochloric acid (HCl) was used to remove the inorganic alkalis from the biochars. The contents of functional groups on biochars were qualitatively and quantitatively characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Boehm titration. The contents of total inorganic alkalis, carbonates, other inorganic alkalis, and organic alkalis in the biochars were quantified based on acid–base titration. An acidic paddy soil from Anhui Province incorporated with biochars and HCl-treated biochars was flooded and then dried. The effects of the biochars on pH buffering capacity (pHBC) and pH changes of the paddy soil were examined.

Results and discussion

Some lactones were converted into carboxyl and hydroxyl groups when the biochars were treated by HCl, which caused the increase of carboxyl groups on the biochars. The contents of organic alkalis, carbonates and other inorganic alkalis in rape straw biochar were 129.92, 41.04, and 112.31 cmolc kg−1, which were significantly higher than those in maize straw biochar, and the corresponding contents in the biochar were 35.98, 0, and 56.69 cmolc kg−1. Compared to HCl-treated biochars, the addition of original biochars effectively increased the pHBC and enhanced the resistance of the acidic paddy soil to acidification. Inorganic alkalis and organic anions in the biochars could consume exogenous protons, thereby slowing down soil acidification, and inorganic alkalis made a greater contribution to inhibition of the biochars on soil acidification than organic anions. At the end of wet/dry incubation, the pH of the paddy soil incorporated with original biochars obviously increased, while that with HCl-treated biochars had no obvious change.

Conclusions

Both inorganic alkalis and organic anions in the biochars contributed to the increase in pHBC of the paddy soil. In comparison with the organic anions, inorganic alkalis in biochars played a dominant role in increasing the resistance of the paddy soil to acidification.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers: 41877036 and U19A2046).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 821, Nanjing, China

    Xian He, Hai-long Lu, Cong-min Wu & Ren-kou Xu

  2. College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Xian He & Ren-kou Xu

  3. Co-Innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Biology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Cong-min Wu

Authors
  1. Xian He
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  2. Hai-long Lu
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  3. Cong-min Wu
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Correspondence to Ren-kou Xu.

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He, X., Lu, Hl., Wu, Cm. et al. Effects of inorganic alkalis and organic anions in biochars on acidic paddy soil resistance to acidification. J Soils Sediments 22, 1201–1213 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03152-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03152-9

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