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Soil fungi play a vital role in soil nutrient dynamics, but knowledge of their diversity and community composition in response to biochar addition into red soil is either limited or inconsistent. Therefore, we determined the impact of bamboo biochar (BB) with increasing concentrations (0, 5, 20, and 80 g kg−1 of soil, referred to as B0, BB5, BB20, and BB80, respectively) on soil physicochemical properties and fungal communities (Illumina high-throughput sequencing) in red soil under Fokenia hodginsii (Fujian cypress). We found that increasing BB levels effectively raised the soil pH and soil nutrients, particularly under BB80. BB addition significantly increased the relative abundance of important genera, i.e., Basidiomycota, Mucoromycota, and Chytridiomycota that could play a key role in ecological functioning, e.g., wood degradation and litter decomposition, improvement in plant nutrients uptake, and resistance to several abiotic stress factors. Soil amended with BB exhibited a substantial ability to increase the fungal richness and diversity; BB80 > BB20 > BB5 > B0. Basidiomycota, Mucoromycota, Glomeromycota, Rozellomycota, Aphelidiomycota, Kickxellomycota, and Planctomycetes were positively associated with soil pH, total nitrogen, phosphorous, and carbon, and available potassium and phosphorous. Besides, the correlation analysis between the soil fungal communities and soil properties also showed that soil pH was the most influential factor in shaping the soil fungal communities in the red soil. These findings have significant implications for a comprehensive understanding of how to ameliorate acidic soils with BB addition, as well as for future research on sustainable forest management, which might increase soil fungi richness, diversity, and functionality in acidic soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is one of the global environmental matters of the 21st century. Biochar (BC) amendments have been proposed as a potential solution for improving soil quality and to mitigate GHGs emissions. Therefore, we evaluated the influence of different BCs on soil CO 2 and N 2 O emissions in an outdoor pot experiment. The soil was mixed with three different types of BCs; bamboo, hardwood, and rice straw BCs as BB, BH, and BR, respectively, and control as B0 with four levels (0, 5, 20, and 80 g kg−1 of soil). Gas samples were collected on a bi-monthly basis for six months. A polyvinyl chloride (PVC) static chamber was placed on each replicate to collect the gas samples at 15, 30, 45, and 60 min, respectively. Compared to B0, the lowest cumulative N 2 O emissions were observed in BH80 (11%) followed by BH20, BH5, and BR80. However, for cumulative CO 2 emissions, B0 and BC treatments showed no significant differences except for BB80 (>11%) and BB5 (<2%). BC type and level both had a significant (P < 0.001) impact on the cumulative N 2 O emissions with a significant interaction (P < 0.001). However, cumulative CO 2 emissions were unaffected by BC type but BC level showed a significant influence on cumulative CO 2 emissions (P < 0.05) and there was a significant (P < 0.001) interaction between the BC type and level on cumulative CO 2 emissions. Overall, higher doses of BR and BB showed a pronounced effect on soil pH over BH. The soil pH and moisture showed a negative correlation with N 2 O emissions whereas soil temperature showed a positive correlation with the cumulative fluxes of N 2 O. Our results demonstrate that BC incorporation to soil may help to mitigate GHGs emissions but its influence may vary with BC type and level under different conditions and soil type. Unlabelled Image • Biochar (BC) addition helps to mitigate GHGs emission reliant on soil and BC type. • Gas samples were analyzed using the gas chromatography system. • BC type and level showed a significant (P < 0.001) influence on the N 2 O emissions. • Various levels of BC influenced CO 2 emissions. • Hardwood BC addition of 80 g kg−1 soil reduced 11% N 2 O emission over control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]