Soil acidification and the liming potential of biochar

Nanthi Bolan; Ajit K Sarmah; Sanandam Bordoloi; Shankar Bolan; Lokesh P Padhye; Lukas Van Zwieten; Prasanthi Sooriyakumar; Basit Ahmed Khan; Mahtab Ahmad; Zakaria M Solaiman; Jörg Rinklebe; Hailong Wang; Bhupinder Pal Singh; Kadambot H M Siddique

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120632

Soil acidification and the liming potential of biochar

Environ Pollut. 2023 Jan 15:317:120632. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120632. Epub 2022 Nov 13.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia. Electronic address: Nanthi.Bolan@uwa.edu.au.
² The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92010, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
³ Prairie Research Institute-Illinois Sustainable Technology Centre, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Illinois, USA.
⁴ UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia.
⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92010, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
⁶ NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wollongbar, Australia.
⁷ Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan.
⁸ University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water- and Waste-Management, Laboratory of Soil- and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285, Wuppertal, Germany; International Research Centre of Nanotechnology for Himalayan Sustainability (IRCNHS), Shoolini University, Solan 173212, Himachal Pradesh, India.
⁹ Biochar Engineering Technology Research Center of Guangdong Province, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, 528000, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Soil Contamination Bioremediation of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 311300, People's Republic of China.
¹⁰ Department of Primary Industries, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Menangle, Australia.
¹¹ The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia.

PMID: 36384210
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120632

Abstract

Soil acidification in managed ecosystems such as agricultural lands principally results from the increased releasing of protons (H⁺) from the transformation reactions of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S) containing compounds. The incorporation of liming materials can neutralize the protons released, hence reducing soil acidity and its adverse impacts to the soil environment, food security, and human health. Biochar derived from organic residues is becoming a source of carbon input to soil and provides multifunctional values. Biochar can be alkaline in nature, with the level of alkalinity dependent upon the feedstock and processing conditions. This review covers the fundamental aspects of soil acidification and of the use of biochar to address constraints related to acidic soil. Biochar is increasingly considered as an effective soil amendment for reducing soil acidity owing to its liming potential, thereby enhancing soil fertility and productivity in acid soils. The ameliorant effect on acid soils is mainly because of the dissolution of carbonates, (hydro)-oxides of the ash fraction of biochar and potential use by microorganisms.

Keywords: Aluminium toxicity; Basic cations; Biochar; Plant nutrients; Potentially toxic elements; Soil acidity.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Acids
Carbon / chemistry
Charcoal / chemistry
Ecosystem*
Humans
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Oxides
Protons
Soil* / chemistry

Substances

biochar
Soil
Protons
Charcoal
Carbon
lime
Oxides
Acids