Journal
JOURNAL OF SOILS AND SEDIMENTS
Volume 14, Issue 3, Pages 471-482Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s11368-013-0803-2
Keywords
Acidic arable soil; Ammonium-based fertilizer; Nitrification; NO3- leaching; Rice straw biochar; Soil pH
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Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [41001147, 41271312]
- Knowledge Innovation Program of the Institute of Soil Science of Chinese Academy of Sciences [Y112000010]
- National Key Technology R&D Program of China [SQ2011BAJY3104, 2013BAD11B00]
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Few studies have examined the effects of biochar on nitrification of ammonium-based fertilizer in acidic arable soils, which contributes to NO3 (-) leaching and soil acidification. We conducted a 42-day aerobic incubation and a 119-day weekly leaching experiment to investigate nitrification, N leaching, and soil acidification in two subtropical soils to which 300 mg N kg(-1) ammonium sulfate or urea and 1 or 5 wt% rice straw biochar were applied. During aerobic incubation, NO3 (-) accumulation was enhanced by applying biochar in increasing amounts from 1 to 5 wt%. As a result, pH decreased in the two soils from the original levels. Under leaching conditions, biochar did not increase NO3 (-), but 5 wt% biochar addition did reduce N leaching compared to that in soils treated with only N. Consistently, lower amounts of added N were recovered from the incubation (KCl-extractable N) and leaching (leaching plus KCl-extractable N) experiments following 5 wt% biochar application compared to soils treated with only N. Incorporating biochar into acidic arable soils accelerates nitrification and thus weakens the liming effects of biochar. The enhanced nitrification does not necessarily increase NO3 (-) leaching. Rather, biochar reduces overall N leaching due to both improved N adsorption and increased unaccounted-for N (immobilization and possible gaseous losses). Further studies are necessary to assess the effects of biochar (when used as an addition to soil) on N.
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