Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL BIOLOGY
Volume 60, Issue -, Pages 9-15Publisher
ELSEVIER FRANCE-EDITIONS SCIENTIFIQUES MEDICALES ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2013.10.007
Keywords
Wood-derived biochar; Wheat crop; Soil microbial activity; Soil microbial functional diversity; Soil bacterial diversity; Soil management
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Biochar is known to enhance soil fertility and C sequestration, but relatively little information is currently available about its effect on soil microbial community, a component of terrestrial ecosystems that plays a key role in nutrient cycling. This study tested the effects of soil amendment with two loads of wood-derived biochar (30 and 60 t ha(-1)) in a wheat crop in Tuscany (Italy). Soil samples were collected 3 and 14 months after treatments over two successive growing seasons, and analysed for pH, total organic C (C-org), extractable C (C-ext), microbial biomass-C (C-mic), 25 specific microbial activities, mean substrate-induced respiration (mSIR) for 25 substrates, functional microbial diversity and bacterial genetic diversity. No significant effect of biochar treatment was observed on C-org, C-ext, C-mic, microbial quotient (C-mic % C-org) or genetic diversity. An increase in mSIR, some specific microbial activities and soil pH, and a significant change in functional diversity were observed 3 months after treatment. In contrast, no effect of biochar was detected 14 months after treatment for the parameters considered, except for a small but significant increase in pH. Our data suggest that biochar addition stimulated soil microbial activity without causing any apparent disturbance, but this positive effect was very short-lived. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.
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