Effect of dolomite and biochar addition on N2O and CO2 emissions from acidic tea field soil

PLoS One. 2018 Feb 2;13(2):e0192235. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192235. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

A laboratory study was conducted to study the effects of liming and different biochar amendments on N2O and CO2 emissions from acidic tea field soil. The first experiment was done with three different rates of N treatment; N 300 (300 kg N ha-1), N 600 (600 kg N ha-1) and N 900 (900 kg N ha-1) and four different rates of bamboo biochar amendment; 0%, 0.5%, 1% and 2% biochar. The second experiment was done with three different biochars at a rate of 2% (rice husk, sawdust, and bamboo) and a control and lime treatment (dolomite) and control at two moisture levels (50% and 90% water filled pore space (WFPS)). The results showed that dolomite and biochar amendment significantly increased soil pH. However, only biochar amendment showed a significant increase in total carbon (C), C/N (the ratio of total carbon and total nitrogen), and C/IN ratio (the ratio of total carbon and inorganic nitrogen) at the end of incubation. Reduction in soil NO3--N concentration was observed under different biochar amendments. Bamboo biochar with the rates of 0.5, 1 and 2% reduced cumulative N2O emission by 38%, 48% and 61%, respectively, compare to the control soil in experiment 1. Dolomite and biochar, either alone or combined significantly reduced cumulative N2O emission by 4.6% to 32.7% in experiment 2. Reduction in N2O production under biochar amendment was due to increases in soil pH and decreases in the magnitude of mineral-N in soil. Although, both dolomite and biochar increased cumulative CO2 emission, only biochar amendment had a significant effect. The present study suggests that application of dolomite and biochar to acidic tea field soil can mitigate N2O emissions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acids / chemistry
  • Calcium Carbonate / chemistry*
  • Charcoal / chemistry*
  • Magnesium / chemistry*
  • Nitrous Oxide / chemistry*
  • Soil / chemistry*

Substances

  • Acids
  • Soil
  • biochar
  • Charcoal
  • Calcium Carbonate
  • Magnesium
  • Nitrous Oxide
  • calcium magnesium carbonate

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN), Kyoto, Japan, under the project "Life Worlds of Sustainable food Consumption and Production: Agri-food Systems in Transition (FEAST Project)."