Acid Soils Nitrogen Leaching and Buffering Capacity Mitigation Using Charcoal and Sago Bark Ash

Nur Hidayah Hamidi, Osumanu Haruna Ahmed, Latifah Omar, Huck Ywih Ch’ng, Prisca Divra Johan, Puvan Paramisparam and Mohamadu Boyie Jalloh
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Nur Hidayah Hamidi: Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Forestry, Bintulu Campus, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Bintulu 97008, Malaysia
Osumanu Haruna Ahmed: Department of Forestry Science, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Forestry, Bintulu Campus, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Bintulu 97008, Malaysia
Latifah Omar: Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Forestry, Bintulu Campus, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Bintulu 97008, Malaysia
Huck Ywih Ch’ng: Faculty of Agro-Based Industry, Jeli Campus, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kelantan 17600, Malaysia
Prisca Divra Johan: Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Forestry, Bintulu Campus, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Bintulu 97008, Malaysia
Puvan Paramisparam: Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Forestry, Bintulu Campus, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Bintulu 97008, Malaysia
Mohamadu Boyie Jalloh: Crop Production Programme, Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sandakan Branch, Locked Bag No.3, Sandakan 90509, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: Soil acidity compromises agricultural output in tropical acid soils. Highly weathered tropical acidic soils are characterized by low pH, organic matter, nutrient availability, but high aluminium and iron concentration. Hence, N availability becomes a limiting factor in such soils. To this end, these leaching and pH buffering capacity studies were conducted to determine the effects of co-application of charcoal and sago bark ash on the N leaching or retention and pH buffering capacity of acid soils. The soil leaching experiment was conducted for 30 days by spraying distilled water to each container with soil such that the leachates were collected for analysis. The rate of urea used was fixed at 100% of the recommended rate. The rates of charcoal and sago bark ash were varied by 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, respectively, of the recommended rates. The pH buffering capacity was calculated as the negative reciprocal of the slope of the linear regression. The leaching study revealed that the combined use of charcoal, sago bark ash, and urea does not only reduce leaching of NH 4 + and NO 3 − but the approach also improves soil pH, total C, and soil exchangeable NH 4 + . This effect is related to the fact that the sago bark ash deprotonates the functional groups of charcoal because of its neutralizing components such as Ca, Mg, Na, and K ions. As a result, the combined use of charcoal and sago bark ash was able to retain NH 4 + in the soil. The carbonates in the sago bark ash and functional groups of charcoal improve pH buffering capacity. Thus, the combined use of charcoal and sago bark ash improved soil exchangeable NH 4 + , soil pH, and soil total C, but reduced exchangeable acidity and amount of NH 4 + leached out from soil. This study will be further evaluated in a pot trial to confirm the results of the present findings.

Keywords: chelation; deprotonation; liming effect; functional groups; porosity; decarboxylation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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