Biochar Aged for Five Years Altered Carbon Fractions and Enzyme Activities of Sandy Soil

Yuxin Zhang, Wenqi Ma, Xia Sun, Jingbailun Jiang, Dianpeng Li, Guangmu Tang, Wanli Xu () and Hongtao Jia ()
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Yuxin Zhang: College of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
Wenqi Ma: College of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
Xia Sun: College of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
Jingbailun Jiang: College of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
Dianpeng Li: College of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
Guangmu Tang: Institute of Soil and Fertilizer, Agricultural Water Saving, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830092, China
Wanli Xu: Institute of Soil and Fertilizer, Agricultural Water Saving, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830092, China
Hongtao Jia: College of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-11

Abstract: Biochar applied to soil has been considered as an effective tool for mitigation of atmospheric carbon dioxide emission and enhancement of carbon storage in soil, which may also enhance soil quality. However, the effect of biochar aged for 5 years on the different carbon fractions and enzyme activities as well as its changes, is not well understood in the cropland sandy soil of northern China. Therefore, a field trial was carried out in 2014 with biochar applied once at 0, 5.25, 10.50, 21.00 and 42.00 g·kg −1 (BC0, BC1, BC2, BC3, and BC4, respectively). We evaluated the influence of biochar addition to the changes in soil organic carbon (SOC), labile carbon pools (readily oxidized carbon, dissolved organic carbon, and microbial biomass carbon) and enzyme activities (invertase, urease, and catalase). Biochar significantly increased SOC (122.00%) and altered the content of labile carbon (increased ROC, DOC and MBC by 71.29%, 10.35%, and 900.00%, respectively). Soil urease and invertase activities increased by 55.81% and 46.76%, respectively, with an increase in biochar application rate, but catalase activity significantly decreased by 31.79%. The values of the geometric means of labile carbon (0.88) and enzyme activities (2.39) for the BC3 treatment were higher than others, which indicated that the biochar application rate of 21.00 g·kg −1 is suggested for the sandy soil. Our results suggest that the application of biochar in sandy soil for five years increased soil carbon sequestration, changed enzyme activities and ameliorated soil quality.

Keywords: aged biochar; carbon fractions; soil labile C; enzyme activity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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