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Rice husk biochar application to paddy soil and its effects on soil physical properties, plant growth, and methane emission

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the application of rice husk biochar on selected soil physical properties, rice growth, including root extension, and methane (CH4) emissions from paddy field soil. Three replication experiments were conducted using outdoor pot experiments utilizing commercial rice husk biochar mixed with paddy soil at a rate of 0 (control), 2, and 4 % (weight biochar/weight soil) in which the rice was cultivated for 100 days under a continuously flooded condition. The physical properties of soils were analyzed before and after the growing periods. Some parameters of rice growth and CH4 emissions of paddy soils were monitored weekly during the experiment. Root extension was also analyzed after harvesting. The experiments showed that the application of rice husk biochar improved the physical properties of paddy soils. It led to a decrease in bulk density and an increase in saturated hydraulic conductivity, including the total pore volume as well as the available soil water content. The shoot height of rice plants was significantly higher in soil amended with 4 % biochar than that in the control soil. However, other plant growth parameters and root extension were only slightly affected by the application. It was also found that amending soil with biochar led to a reduction of the total CH4 emissions by 45.2 and 54.9 % for an application rate of 2 and 4 %, respectively, compared with the control. Our results showed that the higher the application rate, the stronger the effect of biochar was observed. More research is still necessary for a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms.

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely appreciate Dr. Shigeto Sudo from the National Institute for Agro-environmental Sciences (NIAES), Japan, for providing us a satisfactory gas chromatograph for methane analysis, Prof. Toshihiro Mochizuki from the Department of Bioresource Sciences, Kyushu University, for providing root scanner and WinRHIZO software, Aurelia Karina Hillary for assistance during experiment, Dr. Michael Hall for invaluable support during writing process, and Hitachi Scholarship Foundation (HSF) for the financial support.

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  1. Laboratory of Irrigation and Water Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 2nd Bldg, 3rd Floor, 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8581, Japan

    Endita Prima Ari Pratiwi & Yoshiyuki Shinogi

  2. Departement of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

    Endita Prima Ari Pratiwi

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  1. Endita Prima Ari Pratiwi
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Correspondence to Endita Prima Ari Pratiwi.

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Pratiwi, E.P.A., Shinogi, Y. Rice husk biochar application to paddy soil and its effects on soil physical properties, plant growth, and methane emission. Paddy Water Environ 14, 521–532 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-015-0521-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-015-0521-z

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