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Biochar application increases maize yield under film mulching due to higher soil organic content and soil aggregate stability in a semi-arid area

Journal of Soils and Sediments volume 23, pages 1718–1732 (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

It is very important to build up soil fertility to maintain the sustainability of crop production in film mulched fields in northwest China. However, the effects of different biochar application rates on the soil organic carbon (SOC) contents and crop yields in film-mulched farmland remain unclear. The results obtained in this study can guide the selection of appropriate biochar application rates for film-mulched farmland management in semiarid areas.

Methods

A field experiment was conducted with four different biochar application rates (no biochar = 0 t ha–1, low = 3 t ha–1, medium = 6 t ha–1, and high = 9 t ha–1) to farmland under continuous film mulching and no-mulching in a semiarid area. The SOC contents, soil aggregate fractions, and maize yields were measured, and the soil aggregate stability was calculated.

Results

Mulching significantly increased the soil macro-aggregate content (15.9–83.6%) and maize yield (35.0–41.8%). Under mulching, biochar application significantly increased the mean weight diameter (MWD) and geometric mean diameter (GMD) by 10.2% and 4.5%, respectively, and the effects increased as the biochar application rate increased. In addition, applying biochar increased the SOC and aggregate organic carbon (AOC) contents, where the effects were greater under the high biochar amount than the other treatments. Biochar application also increased the contribution of SOC in macro-aggregates (> 0.25 mm) to the total SOC, thereby promoting carbon sequestration in soils. Furthermore, the yield was correlated with the biochar addition rate, and the highest yield of 12.8 t ha–1 was obtained under the highest biochar application rate.

Conclusions

In conclusion, biochar application significantly improved the soil aggregate characteristics and organic carbon contents of farmland under film mulching. Biochar application also helped to increase the maize yield and promote the sequestration of soil carbon.

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Data availability

Data will be made available on request.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Junfeng Nie, Hui Li, Baoping Yang, and Ruixia Ding for help with the experiments. We also would like to thank every reviewer.

Funding

This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFE0101302, 2021YFD1901102), the Project Supported by Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province of China (2023-JC-YB-185), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31801314, 31901475), and the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2019 T120951).

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Author notes

  1. Jinwen Pang and Bingfan Wang these two authors contributed equally to this publication.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Jinwen Pang, Yuhao Wang, Bingfan Wang, Jiayi Wang, Xiaolong Ren, Zhikuan Jia, Ting Wei & Peng Zhang

  2. Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Tillage Science in Northwestern Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Jinwen Pang, Yuhao Wang, Bingfan Wang, Jiayi Wang, Xiaolong Ren, Zhikuan Jia, Ting Wei & Peng Zhang

  3. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Enke Liu

  4. Gansu Province Cultivated Land Quality Construction and Protection Station, Lanzhou, 730020, Gansu, China

    Fei Gao

  5. College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Shikun Sun

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  1. Jinwen Pang
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Correspondence to Peng Zhang.

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Pang, J., Wang, Y., Wang, B. et al. Biochar application increases maize yield under film mulching due to higher soil organic content and soil aggregate stability in a semi-arid area. J Soils Sediments 23, 1718–1732 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03444-8

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Keywords

  • Biochar application
  • Film mulching
  • Maize yield
  • Soil aggregate
  • Soil organic carbon