Biochar amendments combined with organic fertilizer improve maize productivity and mitigate nutrient loss by regulating the C-N-P stoichiometry of soil, microbiome, and enzymes

Bojing Yan; Yuping Zhang; Yizhe Wang; Xiangmin Rong; Jianwei Peng; Jiangchi Fei; Gongwen Luo

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138293

Biochar amendments combined with organic fertilizer improve maize productivity and mitigate nutrient loss by regulating the C-N-P stoichiometry of soil, microbiome, and enzymes

Chemosphere. 2023 May:324:138293. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138293. Epub 2023 Mar 2.

Authors

Bojing Yan¹, Yuping Zhang², Yizhe Wang¹, Xiangmin Rong³, Jianwei Peng³, Jiangchi Fei⁴, Gongwen Luo³

Affiliations

¹ College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Farmland Pollution Control and Agricultural Resources Use, Changsha, 410128, China.
² College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Farmland Pollution Control and Agricultural Resources Use, Changsha, 410128, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, Changsha, 410128, China. Electronic address: zhyp2003@126.com.
³ College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Farmland Pollution Control and Agricultural Resources Use, Changsha, 410128, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, Changsha, 410128, China.
⁴ College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Farmland Pollution Control and Agricultural Resources Use, Changsha, 410128, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, Changsha, 410128, China. Electronic address: jack-fei@hunau.edu.cn.

PMID: 36870619
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138293

Abstract

Coupled amendments of biochar and organic fertilizers may be one of the effective practice to ensure high cropland productivity and resource use efficiency, but there is little field-based evidence for this. Herein, we employed a eight-years (2014-2021) field experiment to explore the effectiveness of biochar and organic fertilizer amendments on crop productivity and nutrient runoff losses, as well as to further explored their relationships with the carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus (C:N:P) stoichiometry of soil, microbiome, and enzymes. Experiment treatments include No fertilizer (CK), chemical-only fertilizer (CF), CF + biochar (CF + B), 20% chemical N was replaced by organic fertilizer (OF), and OF + biochar (OF + B). Compared with the CF, the CF + B, OF, and OF + B treatments increased average yield by 11.5%, 13.2%, and 32%, average N use efficiency by 37.2%, 58.6%, and 81.4%, average P use efficiency by 44.8%, 55.1%, and 118.6%, average plant N uptake by 19.7%, 35.6%, and 44.3%, as well as average plant P uptake by 18.4%, 23.1%, and 44.3%, respectively (p ≤ 0.05). Compared with the CF, the CF + B, OF, and OF + B decreased average average total N losses by 65.2%, 97.4%, and 241.2%, and average total P losses by 52.9%, 77.1%, and 119.7%, respectively (p ≤ 0.05). Organic-amended treatments (CF + B, OF, and OF + B) significantly changed soil total and available C, N, and P content, soil microbial C, N, and P content, as well as the potential activities of soil C-, N-, and P-acquiring enzymes. Plant P uptake and P-acquiring enzyme activity were the main drivers of maize yield, which was influenced by the contents and stoichiometric ratios of soil available C, N, and P. These findings suggest that organic fertilizer applications combined with biochar have the potential to maintain high crop yields while reducing nutrient losses by regulating the stoichiometric balance of soil available C and nutrients.

Keywords: Biochar; Maize productivity; Organic fertilizer; Runoff loss; Stoichiometric balance.

MeSH terms

Charcoal / chemistry
Fertilizers / analysis
Microbiota*
Nitrogen / analysis
Soil* / chemistry
Zea mays

Substances

biochar
Soil
Charcoal
Nitrogen
Fertilizers