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Contrasting effects of wheat straw and its biochar on greenhouse gas emissions and enzyme activities in a Chernozemic soil

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Abstract

Biochar produced from plant biomass through pyrolysis has been shown to be much more resistant to biodegradation in the soil as compared with the raw biomass, such as cereal straw that is routinely shredded and discharged on to farm fields in large amounts. Biochar application to soil has also been reported to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, although the mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, the emissions of three main GHGs (CO2, CH4, and N2O) and enzyme activities (urease, β-glycosidase, and dehydrogenase) were measured during a 100-day laboratory incubation of a Chernozemic soil amended with either straw or its biochar at rates of 0.67 and 1.68 % (based on the amount of C added) for the low and high rates, respectively. The biochar application dramatically reduced N2O emissions, but CO2 or CH4 emissions were not different, as compared with the un-amended soil. At the same C equivalent application rate, CO2 and N2O emission rates were greater while CH4 emission rates were lower in straw than in biochar application treatments. The activities of both the dehydrogenase and β-glycosidase significantly declined while that of urease significantly increased with the biochar as compared with the straw treatment. We conclude that pyrolysis of cereal straw prior to land application would significantly reduce CO2 and N2O emissions, in association with changed enzyme activities, while increasing the soil C pool through the addition of stable C in the form of biochar.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Donna Friesen and Pak Chow (Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta) for providing excellent technical support with the laboratory work. Our thanks are also due to Tim Anderson, Jin Tak, and Rob Hughes (Alberta Innovates—Technology Futures) for providing and testing of soil and biochar used in this experiment. We would also like to thank Sawyer Desaulniers, Beibei Zhang, Lin Yang, Zheng Shi, and Jenna Zee for their help during the experiment. We thank the China Scholarship Council, Alberta Innovates—Technology Futures, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for their financial support.

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  1. Sunguo Wang

    Present address: Woodsun Panel Board Co., Ltd., Hejiao Industry Zone, Nanzhuang Town, Chancheng District, FoShan, Guangdong, 528061, China

  2. Andrei Startsev

    Present address: The Carbon Basis Company Ltd., Advanced Technology Centre #127 9650, 20th Avenue, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6N 1G1

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center of Dryland Farming in Arid and Semiarid Areas, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China

    Fengping Wu & Zhikuan Jia

  2. Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 442 Earth Sciences Building, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2E3

    Fengping Wu & Scott X. Chang

  3. Alberta Innovates—Technology Futures, Vegreville, AB, Canada, T9C 1T4

    Sunguo Wang & Andrei Startsev

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Correspondence to Scott X. Chang.

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Wu, F., Jia, Z., Wang, S. et al. Contrasting effects of wheat straw and its biochar on greenhouse gas emissions and enzyme activities in a Chernozemic soil. Biol Fertil Soils 49, 555–565 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-012-0745-7

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