Assessing the potential of biochar aged by humic substances to enhance plant growth and soil biological activity

Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture

Tivadar Baltazar¹  Oldrich Latal¹  Jiri Holatko¹  Antonin Kintl²  Tereza Hammerschmiedt³  Martin Brtnicky⁴  Vaclav Pecina⁵  Maja Radziemska⁶  Martina Kolackova⁷  Dalibor Huska⁷  Zygmunt M. Gusiatin⁸  Niaz Ahmed⁹  Sadiq Muhammad^1,10  Muhammad Nasir^1,10 

[1] Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agrisciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic;Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agrisciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic;Agricultural Research, Ltd, Zahradni 400/1, 664 41, Troubsko, Czech Republic;Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agrisciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic;Department of Geology and Soil Science, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 3, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic;Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agrisciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic;Department of Geology and Soil Science, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 3, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic;Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Environmental Protection, Faculty of Chemistry, Brno University of Technology, Purkynova 118, 612 00, Brno, Czech Republic;Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agrisciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic;Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Environmental Protection, Faculty of Chemistry, Brno University of Technology, Purkynova 118, 612 00, Brno, Czech Republic;Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agrisciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic;Institute of Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776, Warsaw, Poland;Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 613 00, Brno, Czech Republic;Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Słoneczna St. 45G, 10-719, Olsztyn, Poland;Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, 60800, Multan, Punjab, Pakistan;Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, 54000, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan;

关键词: Lactuca sativa;    Enzyme activities;    Plant biomass;    Pot experiment;    Soil organic matter;    Soil amendment;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40538-021-00242-7

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSoil carbon-rich organic amendments (biochar, humic substances) may improve the quality and fertility of arable soil. Their co-application can additively enhance the beneficial effect on soil. Hypothetically, the pre-treatment of biochar, by aging via soaking in a solution of commercially available humic substances, could result in synergism, which may exceed the benefit from simple co-application of both amendments to the soil. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of biochar, humic substances, the combination of both, and the impact of biochar aged by humic substances solution on soil microbial activities and plant growth in a short-term pot experiment with lettuce.ResultsThe aging of biochar decreased the C:N ratio as compared to non-activated biochar. The co-application of biochar and humic substances into the soil resulted in the highest microbial biomass carbon and respiration activity. The majority of enzyme activities (β-glucosidase, arylsulfatase, N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase, phosphatase) were the highest in humic substances-amended soil. The application of humic substances and biochar with humic substances seemed to stimulate microbial growth and activity followed by the competition of microflora for nutrients with plants, whereas the aged biochar behaved differently. The plants treated by aged biochar achieved the highest values of dry aboveground and root biomass of all variants. However, the assumed rapid uptake of nutrients by plants resulted in lower nutrient availability for microflora, and a decline in microbial viability.ConclusionsBased on this study, the positive effect of co-applied humic substances and biochar on soil fertility, quality, and health can be concluded. The usability of biochar aging by humic solution requires further study.Graphic abstract

【 授权许可】

CC BY