The effect of different biochars on the concentration of organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and enzyme activity of a sandy loam soil

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Malayer University, Malayer. Iran

2 Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Malayer University, Malayer. Iran:

Abstract

To investigate the effect of biochars on the concentration of organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and enzyme activity, an experiment was conducted. Biochars were used at 10%. The experimental treatments CS, PMB, GSB and NSB. The samples were incubated for two months and sampling was done on days of 5, 10, 30 and 60. The results showed that the application of PMB and GSB caused a significant increase in organic carbon, available phosphorus and ammonium in the soil compared to CS. The highest nitrate was observed in GSB. The concentration of available phosphorus and nitrate increased with increasing incubation time, and organic carbon and ammonium decreased with increasing incubation time. The results showed that the use of PMB and GSB caused a significant increase in organic carbon, available phosphorus and ammonium in the biochar-amended soils. The highest nitrate concentration was observed in GSB. Available phosphorus and nitrate increased with increasing incubation time, and organic carbon and ammonium decreased with increasing incubation time. The concentration of invertase in PMB and GSB was significantly different from CS. The peak of invertase activity was observed in PMB at 5 days of incubation. Adding GSB to the soil increased the activity of urease by 1.7 times compared to CS. GMEa and TEI were higher in GSB compared to other treatments. Rch was as follows: GSB > PMB > NSB. In cluster analysis, GSB and PMB were placed in one cluster. The results showed that GSB and PMB had the greatest effect on the measured factors.

Keywords

Main Subjects

The effect of different biochars on the concentration of organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and enzyme activity of a sandy loam soil

EXTEDED ABSTRACT

 

Background and purpose:

Today, various modifiers are used to improve the physical and chemical properties of soil and increase its nutrients. Common amendments used in agriculture include fertilizers, animal waste, plant residues, gypsum, sulfur and biochar. In recent years, the use of biochars as a soil conditioner for agricultural lands has been suggested. The benefits of biochars include increasing crop yield, preserving nutrients, soil water holding capacity and carbon sequestration, minimizing nutrient runoff, reducing leaching losses, and improving the structure of the microbial community. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of different biochars on the concentration of organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus and enzyme activity of a sandy loam soil.

Materials and methods:

In order to investigate the effect of different biochars on the concentration of organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and enzyme activity of a sandy loam soil, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design in three replications. Biochars were used at 10% (          w/w). The experimental treatments included control soil (CS), soil + poultry manure biochar (PMB), soil + grape waste biochar (GSB) and soil + brown walnut shell biochar (NSB). The samples were incubated at 25 ± 3 °C for about two months. During the incubation period, soil moisture contents in treatments were kept constant (70% FC) by adding distilled water to the samples. Sampling was done on days 5, 10, 30 and 60 and the concentration of organic carbon, available phosphorus, ammonium and Nitrate and activity of invertase, acid and alkaline phosphatase and urease were measured. The percentage of enzyme changes (Rch) and the total enzyme activity index (TEI) were calculated and in order to create a data set from these parameters, the factor analysis method and the principal component analysis method were used.

Findings:

The results showed that the use of PMB and GSB treatment caused a significant increase in the concentration of organic carbon, available phosphorus and ammonium in the soil compared to the CS treatment. The highest nitrate concentration was observed in GSB treatment. The concentration of available phosphorus and nitrate increased with increasing incubation time, and the concentration of organic carbon and ammonium decreased with increasing incubation time. The concentration of invertase enzyme in PMB and GSB treatment was significantly different from the control. The peak of invertase activity was observed in PMB treatment at 5 days of incubation (76.8 μg. GE. g-1. 24h-1). Adding GSB treatment to the soil increased the activity of urease enzyme by 1.7 times compared to the control treatment. Average enzyme activity (GMEa) and total enzyme activity index (TEI) were higher in GSB treatment compared to other treatments. Considering the effect of biochar, the percentage of enzyme changes (Rch) was as follows: GSB > PMB > NSB. Using principal component analysis (PCA) in this study showed that two factors accounted for more than 80% of the variance in organic carbon values, ammonium, alkaline phosphatase, invertase and urease and explained more than 70% of the variance in phosphate and nitrate values. These parameters show the highest estimate of commonality and acid phosphatase showed the least relative importance among the estimation of commonality values. In cluster analysis, GSB and PMB treatment were placed in one cluster.

Conclusion:

The results showed that GSB and PMB treatment had the greatest effect on the measured factors.

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Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research
Volume 55, Issue 3
June 2024
Pages 345-360

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