1. Effects of alkaline biochar on nitrogen transformation with fertilizer in agricultural soil.
- Author
-
Gao, Xiangyu, Yang, Jiaqi, Liu, Wenzong, Li, Xiqi, Zhang, Wenzhe, and Wang, Aijie
- Subjects
- *
NITROGEN fertilizers , *AGRICULTURE , *BIOCHAR , *SOIL amendments , *SOIL depth - Abstract
The loss and negative impacts of nitrogen from fertilized soils remain a global challenge in agricultural field. Ammonium nitrogen (NH 4 +-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO 3 −-N) leaching, together with volatile ammonia loss are the main pathways of nitrogen loss. To improve nitrogen availability, alkaline biochar with improved adsorption capacities is a promising soil amendment. This study was objected to investigate the effects of alkaline biochar (ABC, pH 8.68) on nitrogen mitigation, the effects on nitrogen loss, and the interactions among the mixed soils (biochar, nitrogen fertilizer, and soil) under both pot and field experiments. From pot experiments, ABC addition resulted in the poor reservation of NH 4 +-N which converted to volatile NH 3 under higher alkaline environments, mainly occurring in the first 3 days. But after, NO 3 −-N could be largely retained in surface soil by ABC addition. The reservation of NO 3 −-N by ABC offsets the loss of volatile NH 3 , and ABC ultimately showed positive reservations of nitrogen with fertilization. In the field experiment, the addition of urea inhibitor (UI) addition could inhibit the volatile NH 3 loss caused by ABC mainly in the first week. The long-term operation demonstrated that ABC supported persistent effectiveness in reducing N loss, while UI treatment temporarily delayed the N loss through inhibition of fertilizer hydrolysis. Therefore, the addition of both ABC and UI contributed to reserve soil N in layers (0–50 cm) suitable for crop growth thus improving crops growth. • Alkalinity of soil increased the amount of NH 3 volatilization of fertilization. • The cumulative leaching of NO 3 −-N decreased with alkaline biochar compared to fertilization alone. • N can be greatly reserved in 0–60 cm depth of soil by cooperated 3% of alkaline biochar with urease inhibitor. • Alkaline biochar supported persistent effectiveness on reducing nitrogen losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF