Response to Ammonia Emission Flux to Different pH Conditions under Biochar and Liquid Fertilizer Application

For the ammonia generated in Korea, the contribution rate of livestock manure is high, and a large amount of ammonia (NH3) is emitted into the atmosphere during the soil application process. Volatilization of NH3 is affected by soil characteristics as well as manure characteristics, but the current inventory does not sufficiently reflect this. This study was conducted to confirm the change of the NH3 emitted from liquid fertilizer (LF) due to soil pH and to evaluate the impacts of biochar (BC) on the suppression of NH3 volatilization. Estimating the NH3 emission flux using the chamber for 24 soils after LF treatment, it showed a tendency to increase exponentially as the pH in soil increased from 4 to 7. In addition, the parallel treatment of BC and LF increased the soil pH, thereby increasing the NH3 emission flux. The rise of soil pH due to LF treatment is a temporary phenomenon that appears in the early stage, but since NH3 volatilization is also highest at the beginning of LF application, the effect of soil characteristics on emission factor and its inventory should be considered when calculating the amount of NH3 emissions. Therefore, follow-up studies such as subdividing and enhancing the NH3 emission factor by soil characteristics and developing a reduction coefficient to certify the amount of emission reduction are needed.

Automated summary

This study focused on the impact of soil pH changes on ammonia emissions and the suppression effect of biochar on ammonia volatilization. The results showed an exponential increase in ammonia emissions as soil pH increased, and the combined treatment of biochar and liquid fertilizer also increased ammonia emission flux.