Determining the Stability of Sugarcane Filtercake Biochar in Soils with Contrasting Levels of Organic Matter

Alicia B. Speratti, Joan Romanyà, Jordi Garcia-Pausas and Mark S. Johnson
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Alicia B. Speratti: Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Joan Romanyà: Departament de Biologia, Sanitat i Medi Ambient, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l’Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Jordi Garcia-Pausas: Centre de Ciència i Tecnologia Forestal de Catalunya, Ctra. de Sant Llorenç de Morunys, km 2, 25280 Solsona, Spain
Mark S. Johnson: Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

Agriculture, 2018, vol. 8, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: Sugarcane filtercake is a nutrient-rich residue produced prior to sugarcane distillation and is commonly disposed of by applying directly to agricultural fields, often causing high decomposition and leaching rates. Transforming this material into biochar could improve its stability in the soil. In this 92-day incubation study, filtercake biochar produced at 400 °C (BC400) and 600 °C (BC600) was used to trace biochar stability when mixed with two soils with different organic matter levels: an agricultural field (1.2% carbon (C)) and a forest (2.8% C) soil. Based on δ 13 C isotope analysis, biochar decreases in the field soil mostly occurred in the coarse silt fraction. In contrast, biochar decreases in forest soil appeared to be more equally distributed in all particle size fractions. A negative priming effect in biochar-amended soils was noticeable, mainly in the forest soil. Cumulative CO 2 emissions were greater in soils with BC400 than in those with BC600 for both field and forest soils, while adding biochar increased CO 2 emissions only in field soils. This increase did not appear to affect native soil organic matter pools. High-temperature filtercake biochar could thus be a more stable alternative to the current practice of raw filtercake applications.

Keywords: SOM; carbon dioxide emissions; δ 13 C isotope analysis; biochar; sugarcane filtercake; soil fractions (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: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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