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Effects of biochar-based silicate fertilizer on iron reduction by bacteria and root iron plaque formation in subtropical paddy soils

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Biochar and silicate-enriched steel-slag, as agricultural and industrial waste materials, are used to improve soil physicochemical properties and soil fertility; however, there are few studies on the effects of their combined application to paddy fields on the formation of root Fe plaque.

Materials and methods

We tested the effects of four application rates (0, 300, 600 and 900 kg ha−1) of biochar-based silicate fertilizer (BSF) to early and late rice on root Fe plaque formation.

Results and discussion

Application of BSF increased soil total carbon and total nitrogen concentrations in late rice, and total phosphorus concentrations were increased by 47.03% at the jointing stage and 27.73% at the mature growth stage of early rice following application of BSF at 600 kg ha−1. The three application treatments all significantly increased the abundance of soil iron-reducing bacteria (IRB) in late rice, and application of 600 kg of BSF ha−1 increased IRB abundance by 52.16% and 66.59% at the jointing and mature growth stage, respectively. Both IRB abundance and IP concentration were positively correlated with Fe(II) and negatively correlated with Fe(III) in late rice. Soil Fe(II) concentration was positively correlated with water content, whereas Fe(III) concentration was negatively correlated.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated that moderate inputs of BSF (600 kg ha−1) increased soil Fe reduction and subsequently promoted the formation of more soluble Fe(II) and iron plaque formation through soil fluidity and Fe(II) movement to roots. We suggest that the application of BSF to dry–wet rice paddies may contribute to reduction of agricultural pollution, improvement in soil conditions, and production of sustainable healthy food crops.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Xinfu Lan, Youyang Chen, and Xiaoxuan Chen for their assistance with field sampling and laboratory analysis.

Funding

Funding was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42077086; 41901111) and the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (2020J01188; 2021J06019). JP and JS were funded by Spanish Government projects PID2019-110521 GB-I00 and PID2020115770RB-I, Fundación Ramón Areces project ELEMENTAL-CLIMATE, and Catalan government project SGR2017-1005. We extend our appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project (no. RSP-2021/218), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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Author notes

  1. Meifen Lin and Xiaotong Wang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350108, China

    Meifen Lin, Xiaotong Wang, Yi Zheng & Xuping Xu

  2. Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, CSIC, 08913, Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain

    Josep Peñuelas & Jordi Sardans

  3. CREAF, 08913, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain

    Josep Peñuelas & Jordi Sardans

  4. Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

    Abdulwahed Fahad Alrefaei

  5. Key Laboratory of Humid Subtropical Eco-Geographical Process, Ministry of Education, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China

    Qiang Jin, Xuyang Liu & Weiqi Wang

  6. College of Geographical Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China

    Qiang Jin, Xuyang Liu & Weiqi Wang

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  1. Meifen Lin
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Contributions

Conceptualization: ML, WW. Methodology: ML, XW, YZ, XX, QJ, XL, WW. Software: ML, XW, YZ, XX, QJ, XL, WW, JP, JS. Validation: WW, ML, JS. Formal analysis: WW, ML, JS. Investigation: ML, XW, YZ, XX, QJ, XL, WW. Resources: ML, XW, YZ, XX, QJ, XL, WW. Data curation: ML, WW, JS. Writing—original draft: WW, ML, JS. Writing—review and editing: ML, XW, JP, JS, YZ, XX, QJ, XL, WW. Visualization: ML, JS, WW. Supervision: WW, JP, JS. Project administration: WW, JP. Funding acquisition: WW, JP, JS.

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Correspondence to Yi Zheng, Xuping Xu or Weiqi Wang.

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Lin, M., Wang, X., Peñuelas, J. et al. Effects of biochar-based silicate fertilizer on iron reduction by bacteria and root iron plaque formation in subtropical paddy soils. J Soils Sediments 23, 553–567 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03338-1

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