Impacts of Biochar Application on Inorganic Phosphorus Fractions in Agricultural Soils

Liwen Lin, Yutao Peng, Lin Zhou, Baige Zhang, Qing Chen and Hao Chen ()
Additional contact information
Liwen Lin: School of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China
Yutao Peng: School of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China
Lin Zhou: Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmyard Soil Pollution Prevention-Control and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Baige Zhang: Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Qing Chen: Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmyard Soil Pollution Prevention-Control and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Hao Chen: School of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Inorganic phosphorus (P) is a key component of soil P pools, influencing their availability and mobility. Although studies on biochar’s effect on inorganic P fractions in various soils are growing, a critical review of these findings is lacking. Herein, we conducted a quantitative meta-analysis of 74 peer-reviewed datasets, drawing general conclusions and confirming the absence of publication bias through funnel plot statistics. The results showed that biochars can influence soil inorganic P fractions, with their effects depending on biochar (i.e., feedstock, pyrolysis temperature and time, C:N ratio, pH, ash and P content) and soil-related properties (i.e., pH, texture, P content). Specifically, the addition of biochar significantly enhanced the diverse soil inorganic P fractions and P availability (as indicated by Olsen-P). Only biochars produced from wood residues and having high C/N ratios (>200) did not significantly increase the labile P fractions (water extracted soil phosphorus (H 2 O-P), Olsen-P, and soil calcium compounds bound phosphorus (Ca 2 -P)). The application of biochars derived from crop residues significantly increased the soil P associated with iron and aluminum oxides, while there was no significant effect on manure- and wood residue-derived biochars. In addition, applications of low temperature biochars and manure residue-derived biochars could increase the proportions of soil highly stable P. We identified knowledge gaps in biochar production and its potential for soil phosphorus regulation. Due to the complex processes by which biochar affects soils, more systematic evaluations and predictive methods (e.g., modeling, machine learning) are needed to support sustainable agriculture and environmental practices.

Keywords: soil phosphorus form; biochar properties; quantative analysis; soil texture; phosphorus availability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/1/103/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/1/103/ (text/html)

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:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:1:p:103-:d:1560474

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().