Review
Environmental Sciences
Muqing Qiu, Lijie Liu, Qian Ling, Yawen Cai, Shujun Yu, Shuqin Wang, Dong Fu, Baowei Hu, Xiangke Wang
Summary: Biochar has significant potential as a material for remediating water and soil due to its widespread availability and favorable physio-chemical surface characteristics. Its efficacy in managing contaminants depends on factors such as pyrolysis temperature, feedstock type, and surface properties. Higher temperature biochar is effective for managing organic pollutants, while lower temperature biochar is suitable for removing polar organic and inorganic pollutants. This review also discusses current obstacles and future research directions in using biochar to immobilize contaminants in water and soil.
Review
Soil Science
Songchao Chen, Dominique Arrouays, Vera Leatitia Mulder, Laura Poggio, Budiman Minasny, Pierre Roudier, Zamir Libohova, Philippe Lagacherie, Zhou Shi, Jacqueline Hannam, Jeroen Meersmans, Anne C. Richer-de-Forges, Christian Walter
Summary: Digital soil mapping (DSM) is increasingly used to deliver soil information efficiently. Research shows that while the number of DSM publications continues to grow exponentially, the majority focus on applications rather than methodology, with a particular emphasis on the mandatory soil properties for global soil mapping.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Yin Lu, Yawen Cai, Sai Zhang, Li Zhuang, Baowei Hu, Suhua Wang, Jianrong Chen, Xiangke Wang
Summary: The rapid increase in population has led to rapid development in industry and agriculture, but also the release of large amounts of pollutants into the environment, posing risks to human health and the environment. Biochar and biochar-based composites have gained attention in environmental pollution management due to their excellent performance.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Hardeep Singh, Brian K. Northup, Charles W. Rice, P. V. Vara Prasad
Summary: Biochar application can have positive effects on soil properties and crop productivity. It can increase soil pH, cation exchange capacity, and organic carbon content, while reducing bulk density and increasing porosity. The impact on microbial diversity varies depending on the feedstock and soil texture. However, the increase in crop productivity is only significant in fine and coarse textured soils.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Saravanan Praveen, Josephraj Jegan, Thillainayagam Bhagavathi Pushpa, Ravindiran Gokulan, Laura Bulgariu
Summary: This review summarizes the recent research on the use of biochar as a biosorbent for the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants, focusing on the dye removal field. The characteristics of biochar and the mechanisms of biosorption have been extensively studied, and biosorption models are useful for evaluating the efficiency of biochar as a biosorbent for dye removal techniques.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Mojtaba Zeraatpisheh, Younes Garosi, Hamid Reza Owliaie, Shamsollah Ayoubi, Ruhollah Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi, Thomas Scholten, Ming Xu
Summary: In this study, the performance of predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) in an arid agroecosystem in Iran using different datasets and machine learning algorithms was compared. The results showed that the Cubist model performed the best with the MCC dataset and the combined dataset of MCC and remote sensing time-series (RST), while the RF model showed better results for the RST dataset. Soil properties were found to be the main factors influencing SOC variation in the MCC and combined datasets, while NDVI was the most controlling factor in the RST dataset. The study suggested that time-series vegetation indices may not significantly improve SOC prediction accuracy, but combining MCC and RST datasets could produce SOC spatial maps with lower uncertainty.
Review
Agronomy
Z. Homulle, T. S. George, A. J. Karley
Summary: This review summarizes the current evidence for belowground plant-plant interactions in intercropping, focusing on competition, niche differentiation, and facilitation. The study identifies a range of complementary root traits that can enhance the performance of intercrops compared to monocultures. It highlights the importance of examining belowground interactions and considers spatial and temporal distribution of roots and rhizosphere mechanisms to promote the adoption of intercropping as a sustainable farming practice.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Nitesh Kasera, Praveen Kolar, Steven G. Hall
Summary: This review focuses on the application of nitrogen-doped biochar in wastewater treatment, covering aspects such as preparation techniques, adsorption capacity, and adsorption mechanisms. The influence of environmental parameters on the adsorption process and the reusability of nitrogen-doped biochar are also evaluated. Potential future research trends and suggestions are proposed.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zeyu Wang, Liyong Hu, Min Zhao, Luyao Dai, Dzmitry Hrynsphan, Savitskaya Tatsiana, Jun Chen
Summary: This study successfully developed a bamboo charcoal-modified polyurethane foam that effectively removes organic solvents from oily wastewater. The addition of bamboo charcoal improved the mechanical properties of polyurethane, and the maximum adsorption capacity of the BC/PU foam was 23.6 g g(-1). The adsorption mechanism of organic solvents on BC/PU-5 was mainly attributed to electron donor-acceptor interaction and non-hydrophobic interaction, as supported by density functional theory simulation. Additionally, the adsorption capacity remained stable after multiple recycling cycles. The prepared BC/PU foam composites show great potential as candidates for separating organic solvents in engineering applications.
Article
Soil Science
Rainer Georg Joergensen
Summary: This paper emphasizes the correct assignation of indicator phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA), the specificity and recycling of PLFA in microorganisms, and the complete extraction and detection of PLFA. It suggests using different PLFA indicators for different microbial groups and optimizing soil handling and PLFA analysis methods. The study also points out the importance of regular checks on gas chromatographic separation for reliability and accuracy.
BIOLOGY AND FERTILITY OF SOILS
(2022)
Review
Soil Science
Liuwei Wang, Yong Sik Ok, Daniel C. W. Tsang, Daniel S. Alessi, Jorg Rinklebe, Ondrej Masek, Nanthi S. Bolan, Deyi Hou
Summary: Engineered biochars are widely used in environmental applications, with functions such as improving soil fertility, contaminant immobilization, wastewater treatment, and carbon sequestration. The enhancement of biochar performance through metals, minerals, layered double hydroxides, carbonaceous nanomaterials, and microorganisms is proposed. Future trends include facile synthesis methods, green material modification, new application areas, and the importance of field studies.
SOIL USE AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Dongxue Zhao, Jie Wang, Xueyu Zhao, John Triantafilis
Summary: This study compared the importance of proximally and remotely sensed data for predicting clay at district scale, using different models and averaging techniques. The results showed that gamma-ray data was crucial for topsoil clay prediction, while slope was important for subsoil. Random forest model was found to be the best for predicting topsoil clay, with Granger-Ramanathan averaging recommended as a protocol for district-scale clay prediction.
Article
Agronomy
Mahmoud Sofy, Heba Mohamed, Mona Dawood, Abdelghafar Abu-Elsaoud, Mona Soliman
Summary: Salt stress negatively affects the morphological and physiological parameters of Spinach plants, but the combination of Trichoderma and biochar treatment significantly increases the plants' antioxidant capacity, reduces membrane leakage, and ROS accumulation.
ARCHIVES OF AGRONOMY AND SOIL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Fasih Ullah Haider, Jeffrey A. Coulter, Liqun Cai, Saddam Hussain, Sardar Alam Cheema, Jun Wu, Renzhi Zhang
Summary: This review explores the use of biochar as an effective additive for improving low-fertility soils and promoting plant growth. It discusses the methods and conditions for biochar production, as well as the effects of pyrolysis temperature, feedstock type, and retention time on the properties of biochar. The review also highlights the various ways in which biochar can enhance soil physical and chemical properties, improve plant nutrient uptake and growth, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimize plant diseases, and facilitate the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils. The possible mechanisms for biochar-induced soil and plant improvement are described, and the challenges associated with biochar utilization are discussed.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Renhui Miao, Yinzhan Liu, Liqi Wu, Dong Wang, Yanchun Liu, Yuan Miao, Zhongling Yang, Meixia Guo, Jun Ma
Summary: Grazing exclusion is an important policy in China for recovering degraded grasslands, but its effects on sand dune ecosystems vary by topographic location. Long-term grazing exclusion leads to increased plant density, cover, species richness, soil organic carbon, and total nitrogen across different areas in sand dune systems.
Article
Agronomy
Shehzad Mehmood, Zobia Khatoon, Amna, Iftikhar Ahmad, Muhammad Atif Muneer, Muhammad Aqeel Kamran, Javed Ali, Baber Ali, Hassan Javed Chaudhary, Muhammad Farooq Hussain Munis
Summary: The Bacillus sp. PM31 strain isolated from potato demonstrated plant growth-promoting and antagonistic activities against F. solani, suggesting its potential applications in controlling potato diseases and improving global food security.
ARCHIVES OF AGRONOMY AND SOIL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Anika Lehmann, Eva F. Leifheit, Linshan Feng, Joana Bergmann, Anja Wulf, Matthias C. Rillig
Summary: The study reveals that microplastics in soil can affect the plant-soil system by promoting plant growth and favoring key root symbionts, AM fungi. However, microplastics still have a negative effect on soil aggregates, counteracting the positive influence of plant roots and AM fungi on soil aggregation. Concerns about microplastics interacting with other factors of global change were not observed in relation to drought.
SOIL ECOLOGY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Alicja Kicinska, Radoslaw Pomykala, Miguel Izquierdo-Diaz
Summary: The study demonstrates that soil acidification significantly increases metal mobility, with the order of mobility being Cd > Zn > Pb. It emphasizes the importance of conducting extensive geochemical studies in areas heavily polluted by particularly toxic elements. High pH buffering capacity leads to a lower percentage increase of bioavailable pollutants as acidity increases.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Soil Science
Ajay Singh
Summary: Soil is crucial for feeding the growing global population, and excess salt causing soil salinity poses a significant threat to agricultural production and environmental health. Remote sensing and GIS applications are effective in managing global soil salinity issues by providing indicators, monitoring, and mapping, although challenges such as spatial resolution errors need to be addressed.
SOIL USE AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Ksenia Guseva, Sean Darcy, Eva Simon, Lauren V. Alteio, Alicia Montesinos-Navarro, Christina Kaiser
Summary: This paper evaluates the challenges and potential value of applying network analysis to soil microbial ecology. The authors review common approaches in network construction and demonstrate how different methods can affect the resulting network structure. They also discuss specific questions that can be addressed in soil microbial ecology using network analysis.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
