Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-fmk2r Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-07T04:29:53.375Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

14 - Biochar Applications to Agricultural Soils in Temperate Climates – More Than Carbon Sequestration?

from Part IV - Biochar Application as a Soil Amendment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2016

Viktor J. Bruckman
Affiliation:
Austrian Academy of Sciences
Esin Apaydın Varol
Affiliation:
Anadolu University, Turkey
Bașak B. Uzun
Affiliation:
Anadolu University, Turkey
Jay Liu
Affiliation:
Pukyong National University, South Korea
Get access

Summary

Abstract

Biochar as a boon for soil fertility in the tropics still has to show that it is able to provide the same benefits to soils in temperate regions. Here an Austrian study with the objective to analyze the extent of benefits that biochar application offers to agricultural soils in Europe beyond its role as a carbon sequestration strategy is presented. Based on hypothesis testing, several potential benefits of biochar were examined in a series of lab analyses, greenhouse and field experiments. Three hypotheses could be confirmed: biochar can protect groundwater by reducing the nitrate migration in seepage water; biochar can mitigate atmospheric greenhouse gas accumulation by reducing soil N2O emissions; and biochar can improve soil physical properties by increasing water storage capacity. One hypothesis was only partly confirmed: biochar supports the thriving of soil microorganisms only in specific soil and climate settings. Two hypotheses were refuted: biochar does not generally provide nutrients to plants except when produced from specific feedstocks or by combining it with mineral or organic fertilizers; the cost-effectiveness of biochar application is not given under current production costs if the existing benefits of biochar are not transferable to financial value.

Type
Chapter
Information
Biochar
A Regional Supply Chain Approach in View of Climate Change Mitigation
, pp. 291 - 314
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alho, C. F. B. V., Cardoso, A. D., Alves, B. J. R. and Novotny, E. H. (2012). Biochar and soil nitrous oxide emissions. Pesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira, 47, pp. 722725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ameloot, N., Neve, S., Jegajeevagan, K., Yildiz, G., Buchan, D., Funkuin, Y. N., Prins, W., Bouckaert, L. and Sleutel, S. (2013). Short-term CO2 and N2O emissions and microbial properties of biochar amended sandy loam soils. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 57, pp. 401410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anders, E., Watzinger, A., Rempt, F., Kitzler, B., Wimmer, B., Zehetner, F., Stahr, K., Zechmeister-Boltenstern, S. and Soja, G. (2013). Biochar affects the structure rather than the total biomass of microbial communities in temperate soils. Agricultural and Food Science, 22, pp. 404423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Angst, T. E., Patterson, C. J., Reay, D. S., Anderson, P., Peshkur, T. A. and Sohi, S. P. (2013). Biochar diminishes nitrous oxide and nitrate leaching from diverse nutrient sources. Journal of Environmental Quality, 42, pp. 672682.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bolan, N., Adriano, D. and Curtin, D. (2003). Soil acidification and liming interactions with nutrient and heavy metal transformation and bioavailability, Advances in Agronomy, 78, pp. 216272.Google Scholar
Brunauer, S., Emmett, P. H. and Teller, E. (1938). Adsorption of gases in multimolecular layers. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 60, pp. 309331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruun, E. W., Ambus, P., Egsgaard, H. and Hauggaard-Nielsen, H. (2012). Effects of slow and fast pyrolysis biochar on soil C and N turnover dynamics. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 46, pp. 7379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bücker, J. (2012). Effects of biochar on leachate characteristics and crop production of mustard (Sinapis alba) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) in a micro-lysimeter experiment on three agricultural soils in Austria. Diploma thesis, BTU Cottbus/Germany.Google Scholar
Burt, R. (2004). Soil Survey Laboratory Methods Manual. Soil survey investigations report, 42. Washington, DC: USDA-NRCS.Google Scholar
Calvelo Pereira, R., Muetzel, S., Camps Arbestain, M., Bishop, P. Hina, K. and Hedley, M. (2014). Assessment of the influence of biochar on rumen and silage fermentation: a laboratory-scale experiment. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 196, pp. 2231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cascarosa, E., Boldrin, A. and Astrup, T. (2013). Pyrolysis and gasification of meat-and-bone-meal: energy balance and GHG accounting. Waste Management, 33, pp. 25012508.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chan, K. Y., Van Zwieten, L., Meszaros, I., Downie, A. and Joseph, S. (2008). Using poultry litter biochars as soil amendments. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 46, pp. 437444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chu, G. M., Jung, C. K., Kim, H. Y., Ha, J. H., Kim, J. H., Jung, M. S., Lee, S. J., Song, Y., Ibrahim, R. I. H., Cho, J. H., Lee, S. S. and Song, Y. M. (2013). Effects of bamboo charcoal and bamboo vinegar as antibiotic alternatives on growth performance, immune responses and fecal microflora population in fattening pigs. Animal Science Journal, 84, pp. 113120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clough, T. J., Bertram, J. E., Ray, J. L., Condron, L. M., O’Callaghan, M., Sherlock, R. R. and Wells, N. S. (2010). Unweathered wood biochar impact on nitrous oxide emissions from a bovine-urine-amended pasture soil. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 74, pp. 852860.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornelissen, G., Martinsen, V., Shitumbanuma, V., Alling, V., Breedveld, G. D., Rutherford, D. W., Sparrevik, M., Hale, S. E., Obia, A. and Mulder, J. (2013). Biochar effect on maize yield and soil characteristics in five conservation farming sites in Zambia. Agronomy, 3, pp. 256274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crane-Droesch, A., Abiven, S., Jeffery, S. and Torn, M. S. (2013). Heterogeneous global crop yield response to biochar: a meta-regression analysis. Environmental Research Letters, 8, open access nr. 044049 (8 pp.).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dai, Z. M., Meng, J., Muhammad, N., Liu, X. M., Wang, H. Z., He, Y., Brookes, P. C. and Xu, J. M. (2013). The potential feasibility for soil improvement, based on the properties of biochars pyrolyzed from different feedstocks. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 13, pp. 9891000.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dempster, D. N., Gleeson, D. B., Solaiman, Z. M., Jones, D. L. and Murphy, D. V. (2012). Decreased soil microbial biomass and nitrogen mineralization with Eucalyptus biochar addition to a coarse textured soil. Plant and Soil, 354, pp. 311324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
European Commission (2000). Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy.Google Scholar
Fang, Y., Singh, B. and Singh, B. P. (2015). Effect of temperature on biochar priming effects and its stability in soils. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 80, pp. 136145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frostegård, Å., Tunlid, A. and Bååth, E. (1991). Microbial biomass measured as total lipid phosphate in soils of different organic content. Journal of Microbiological Methods, 14, pp. 151163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fujita, H., Honda, K., Iwakiri, R., Guruge, K. S., Yamanaka, N. and Tanimura, N. (2012). Suppressive effect of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls transfer from feed to eggs of laying hens by activated carbon as feed additive. Chemosphere, 88, pp. 820827.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Galinato, S. P., Yoder, J. K. and Granatstein, D. (2011). The economic value of biochar in crop production and carbon sequestration, Energy Policy, 39, pp. 63446350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glaser, B., Lehmann, J. and Zech, W. (2002). Ameliorating physical and chemical properties of highly weathered soils in the tropics with charcoal – a review. Biology Fertility Soils, 35, pp. 219230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glaser, B. and Birk, J. J. (2012). State of the scientific knowledge on properties and genesis of anthropogenic dark earths in Central Amazonia (terra preta de Indio). Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 82, pp. 3951.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamer, U., Marschner, B., Brodowski, S. and Amelung, W. (2004). Interactive priming of black carbon and glucose mineralization. Organic Geochemistry, 35, pp. 823830.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hammes, K., Torn, M. S., Lapenas, A. G. and Schmidt, M. W. I. (2008). Centennial black carbon turnover observed in a Russian steppe soil. Biogeosciences, 5, pp. 13391350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, H. H., Storm, I. M. L. D. and Sell, A. M. (2012). Effect of biochar on in vitro rumen methane production. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A – Animal Science, 62, pp. 305309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harsono, S. S., Grundman, P., Lau, L. H., Hansen, A., Salleh, M. A. M., Meyer-Aurich, A., Idris, A. and Ghazi, T. I. M. (2013). Energy balances, greenhouse gas emissions and economics of biochar production from palm oil empty fruit bunches. Resources Conservation and Recycling, 77, pp. 108115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hass, A., Gonzalez, J. M., Lima, I. M., Godwin, H. W., Halvorson, J. J. and Boyer, D. G. (2012). Chicken manure biochar as liming and nutrient source for acid Appalachian soil. Journal of Environmental Quality, 41, pp. 10961106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huwig, A., Freimund, S., Kappeli, O. and Dutler, H. (2001). Mycotoxin detoxication of animal feed by different adsorbents. Toxicology Letters, 122, pp. 179188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jeffery, S., Verheijen, F., van der Velde, M. and Bastos, A. (2011). A quantitative review of the effects of biochar application to soils on crop productivity using meta-analysis. Agriculture Ecosystems Environment, 144, pp. 175187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jouany, J. P. (2007). Methods for preventing, decontaminating and minimizing the toxicity of mycotoxins in feeds. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 137, pp. 342362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kammann, C. I., Linsel, S., Goessling, J. W. and Koyro, H. W. (2011). Influence of biochar on drought tolerance of Chenopodium quinoa Willd and on soil-plant relations. Plant and Soil, 345, pp. 195210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kammann, C., Ratering, S., Eckhard, C. and Muller, C. (2012). Biochar and hydrochar effects on greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane) fluxes from soils. Journal of Environmental Quality, 41, pp. 10521066.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karer, J., Wimmer, B., Zehetner, F., Kloss, S. and Soja, G. (2013). Biochar application to temperate soils: effects on nutrient uptake and crop yield under field conditions. Agricultural and Food Science, 22, pp. 390403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klinglmüller, M. (2013). Effects of biochar on greenhouse gas fluxes from agricultural soils and resulting greenhouse gas abatement costs – an Austrian case study. Masters thesis, University for Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.Google Scholar
Kloss, S., Zehetner, F., Dellantonio, A., Hamid, R., Ottner, F., Liedtke, V., Schwanninger, M., Gerzabek, M. H. and Soja, G. (2012). Characterization of slow pyrolysis biochars: effects of feedstocks and pyrolysis temperature on biochar properties. Journal of Environmental Quality, 41, pp. 9901000.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kloss, S., Zehetner, F., Wimmer, B., Buecker, J., Rempt, F. and Soja, G. (2014a). Biochar application to temperate soils: effects on soil fertility and crop growth under greenhouse conditions. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 177, pp. 315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kloss, S., Zehetner, F., Oburger, E., Buecker, J., Kitzler, B., Wenzel, W. W., Wimmer, B. and Soja, G. (2014b). Trace element concentrations in leachates and mustard plant tissue (Sinapis alba L.) after biochar application to temperate soils. Science of the Total Environment, 481, pp. 498508.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kloss, S., Zehetner, F., Buecker, J., Oburger, E., Wenzel, W. W., Enders, A., Lehmann, J. and Soja, G. (2015). Trace element biogeochemistry in the soil-water-plant system of a temperate agricultural soil amended with different biochars. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22, pp. 45134526.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klute, A. (1986). Water retention: laboratory methods. In: Klute, A. (ed.) Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1, Physical and Mineralogical Methods. Agronomy Monograph 9, 2nd Edition. Madison, WI: American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science of America, pp. 635662.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lehmann, J., Czimczik, C., Laird, D. and Sohi, S. (2009). Stability of biochar in the soil. In: Lehmann, J. and Joseph, S. (eds.) Biochar for Environmental Management. London: Earthscan, pp. 183205.Google Scholar
Lehmann, J., Kern, D. C., German, L. A., McCann, J., Martins, G. C. and Moreira, A. (2003). Soil fertility and production potential. In: Lehmann, J., Kern, D. C., Glaser, B. and Woods, W. (eds.) Amazonian Dark Earths: Origin, Properties, Management. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 105124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, J., Schulz, H., Brandl, S., Miehtke, H., Huwe, B. and Glaser, B. (2012). Short-term effect of biochar and compost on soil fertility and water status of a Dystric Cambisol in NE Germany under field conditions. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 175, pp. 698707.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Major, J., Lehmann, J., Rondon, M. and Goodale, C. (2010). Fate of soil-applied black carbon: downward migration, leaching and soil respiration. Global Change Biology, 16, pp. 13661379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marris, E. (2006). Black is the new green, Nature, 442, pp. 624626.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marschner, P. and Rengel, Z. (2012). Nutrient availability in soils. In: Marschner, P. (ed.) Marschner’s Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants. 3rd Edition. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 315330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matovic, D. (2011). Biochar as a viable carbon sequestration option: global and Canadian perspective. Energy, 36, pp. 20112016.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McHenry, M. P. (2010). Carbon-based stock feed additives: a research methodology that explores ecologically delivered C biosequestration, alongside live weights, feed use efficiency, soil nutrient retention, and perennial fodder plantations. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 90, pp. 183187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mendez, A., Terradillos, M. and Gasco, G. (2013). Physicochemical and agronomic properties of biochar from sewage sludge pyrolysed at different temperatures. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 102, pp. 124130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nguyen, B. T., Lehmann, J., Kinyangi, J., Smernik, R., Riha, S. J. and Engelhard, M. H. (2008). Long-term black carbon dynamics in cultivated soil. Biogeochemistry, 89, pp. 295308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Novak, J. M., Busscher, W. J., Watts, D. W., Laird, D. A., Ahmedna, M. A. and Niandou, M. A. S. (2010). Short-term CO(2) mineralization after additions of biochar and switchgrass to a Typic Kandiudult. Geoderma, 154, pp. 281288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petter, F. A., Madari, B. E., da Silva, M. A. S., Carneiro, M. A. C., Carvalho, M. T. de M., MarimonJr., B. H. and Pacheco, L. P. (2012). Soil fertility and upland rice yield after biochar application in the Cerrado. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, 47, pp. 699706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purakayastha, T. J., Kumari, S. and Pathak, H. (2015). Characterisation, stability, and microbial effects of four biochars produced from crop residues. Geoderma, 239240, pp. 293303.Google Scholar
Rolston, D. E. (1986). Gas flux. In: Klute, A. (ed.) Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 1. Madison, WI: Soil Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy, pp. 11031119.Google Scholar
Saarnio, S., Heimonen, K. and Kettunen, R. (2013). Biochar addition indirectly affects N2O emissions via soil moisture and plant N uptake. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 58, pp. 99106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schulz, H., Dunst, G. and Glaser, B. (2013). Positive effects of composted biochar on plant growth and soil fertility. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 33, pp. 817827.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shabangu, S., Woolf, D., Fisher, E. M., Angenent, L. T. and Lehmann, J. (2014). Techno-economic assessment of biomass slow pyrolysis into different biochar and methanol concepts. Fuel, 117, pp. 742748.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slavich, P. G., Sinclair, K., Morris, S. G., Kimber, S. W. L., Downie, A. and Van Zwieten, L. (2013). Contrasting effects of manure and green waste biochars on the properties of an acidic ferralsol and productivity of a subtropical pasture. Plant and Soil, 366, pp. 213227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spokas, K. A., Novak, J. M., Stewart, C. E., Cantrell, K. B., Uchimiya, M., DuSaire, M. G. and Ro, K. S. (2011). Qualitative analysis of volatile organic compounds on biochar. Chemosphere, 85, pp. 869882.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spokas, K. A., Cantrell, K. B., Novak, J. M., Archer, D. W., Ippolito, J. A., Collins, H. P., Boateng, A. A., Lima, I. M., Lamb, M. C., McAloon, A. J., Lentz, R. D. and Nichols, K. A. (2012). Biochar: a synthesis of its agronomic impact beyond carbon sequestration. Journal of Environmental Quality, 41, pp. 973989.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stewart, C. E., Zheng, J. Y., Botte, J. and Cotrufo, M. F. (2013). Co-generated fast pyrolysis biochar mitigates green-house gas emissions and increases carbon sequestration in temperate soils. Global Change Biology Bioenergy, 5, pp. 153164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tabatabai, M. A. and Bremner, J. M. (1991). Automated instruments for determination of total carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur in soils by combustion techniques. In: Smith, K. A. (ed.). Soil Analysis. New York: Marcel Dekker, pp. 261286.Google Scholar
Taghizadeh-Toosi, A., Clough, T. J., Condron, L. M., Sherlock, R. R., Anderson, C. R. and Craigie, R. A. (2011). Biochar incorporation into pasture soil suppresses in situ nitrous oxide emissions from ruminant urine patches. Journal of Environmental Quality, 40, pp. 468476.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tammeorg, P., Simojoki, A., Mäkelä, P., Stoddard, F. L., Alakukku, L. and Helenius, J. (2014). Biochar application to a fertile sandy clay loam in boreal conditions: effects on soil properties and yield formation of wheat, turnip rape and faba bean. Plant and Soil, 374, pp. 89107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thayn, J. B., Price, K. P. and Woods, W. I. (2011). Locating Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE) using vegetation vigour as a surrogate for soil type. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 32, pp. 67136729.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UNEP, United Nations Environment Programme (2013). Black soil, black gold. TUNZA, 9, pp. 1415.Google Scholar
Vassilev, N., Martos, E., Mendes, G., Martos, V. and Vassileva, M. (2013). Biochar of animal origin: a sustainable solution to the global problem of high-grade rock phosphate scarcity? Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 93, pp. 17991804.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ventura, M., Sorrenti, G., Panzacchi, P., George, E. and Tonon, G. (2013). Biochar reduces short-term nitrate leaching from a horizon in an apple orchard. Journal of Environmental Quality, 42, pp. 7682.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, L., Butterly, C. R., Wang, Y., Herath, H. M. S. K., Xi, Y. G. and Xiao, X. J. (2014). Effect of crop residue biochar on soil acidity amelioration in strongly acidic tea garden soils. Soil Use and Management, 30, pp. 119128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watzinger, A., Feichtmair, S., Kitzler, B., Zehetner, F., Kloss, S., Wimmer, B., Zechmeister-Boltenstern, S. and Soja, G. (2014). Soil microbial communities responded to biochar application in temperate soils and slowly metabolized 13C labelled biochar as revealed by 13C PLFA analyses – results from a short term incubation and pot experiment. European Journal of Soil Science, 65, pp. 4051.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xiang, S.-R., Doyle, A., Holden, P. A. and Schimel, J. P. (2008). Drying and rewetting effects on C and N mineralization and microbial activity in surface and subsurface California grassland soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 40, pp. 22812289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yao, Y., Gao, B., Zhang, M., Inyang, M. and Zimmerman, A. R. (2012). Effect of biochar amendment on sorption and leaching of nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate in a sandy soil. Chemosphere, 89, pp. 14671471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zheng, H., Wang, Z. Y., Deng, X., Herbert, S. and Xing, B. S. (2013). Impacts of adding biochar on nitrogen retention and bioavailability in agricultural soil. Geoderma, 206, pp. 3239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×