Growth of Norway spruce seedlings after transplanting into silty soil amended with biochar: a bioassay in a growth chamber

J. Heiskanen, P. Tammeorg and R.K. Dumroese
Additional contact information
J. Heiskanen: Finnish Forest Research Institute, Suonenjoki unit, Suonenjoki, Finland
P. Tammeorg: Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
R.K. Dumroese: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Moscow, Idaho, USA

Journal of Forest Science, 2013, vol. 59, issue 3, 125-129

Abstract: Biochar (BC), the carbon-rich by-product resulting from pyrolysis of biomass, is used for bioenergy and increasingly as a soil additive for carbon sequestration and soil improvement. However, information about the effects of BC on forest productivity and reforestation success, especially on boreal and temperate forest soils, is scant. We examined the effects of two BC types (Canadian and Finnish) added in proportions up to 60 vol.% into a common alluvial silty soil on the growth of transplanted Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) seedlings in a growth chamber. We found no marked differences in seedling growth among the binary growing media mixes used. Seedling growth attributes (seedling height, terminal shoot growth, root volume) differed consistently only between the BC types in the highest proportion used. The terminal shoot growth differed overall among the two BC types. These results suggest that BC may be applied into mineral soils without detrimental chemical effects on tree plantation success. Our results provide foundation for further field research on the longer-term impacts of adding BCs to boreal forest soils.

Keywords: carbon sequestration; forest soils; soil additives; outplanting success; pyrolysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/44/2012-JFS.html (text/html)
http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/44/2012-JFS.pdf (application/pdf)
free of charge

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:59:y:2013:i:3:id:44-2012-jfs

DOI: 10.17221/44/2012-JFS

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Forest Science is currently edited by Mgr. Ilona Procházková

More articles in Journal of Forest Science from Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Ivo Andrle ().