Rice Husk and Its Biochar Have Contrasting Effects on Water-Soluble Organic Matter and the Microbial Community in a Bamboo Forest Soil

Ali El-Naggar, Rong Zhou, Ronggui Tang, Jin Hur, Yanjiang Cai and Scott X. Chang ()
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Ali El-Naggar: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Rong Zhou: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Ronggui Tang: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Jin Hur: Department of Environment, Energy, and Geoinformatics, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea
Yanjiang Cai: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Scott X. Chang: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Converting rice husk to biochar is one of the solutions to manage crop residues by transforming waste into a value-added material that has broad benefits to the environment when biochar is applied to the soil. This study investigated the impact of the application of rice husk and its biochar at different doses (i.e., 0, 10, and 30 t ha −1 ) on soil carbon stability, the property of water-soluble soil organic matter, and the abundance and diversity of microbial communities in a Lei bamboo ( Phyllostachys praecox ) forest soil 262 days after their application. The application of rice husk, especially at 30 t ha −1 , increased dissolved organic carbon due to the high labile carbon (C) (e.g., cellulose, hemicellulose, polysaccharides) content in the rice husk. The biochar treatments stimulated the release of humic-like substances (e.g., (poly) phenols) into the soil solution, increased the aromatic C content by 412–557%, and increased the relative abundance of Chloroflexi , Planctomycetota , and Proteobacteria compared to the control. This study shows that biochar application, particularly at 30 t ha −1 , enhanced the C stability by turning organic C into recalcitrant forms in the soil, demonstrating the merit of converting rice husk into biochar before its application to the soil.

Keywords: carbon sequestration; 13 C CPMAS NMR; charcoal; environment restoration; forest soil; pyrolysis; rice hull; 16S rRNA; waste management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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