Effect of acid-modified biochar coupled with alternate wetting and drying on P leaching, soil P retention and plant P uptake in paddy fields

Stanslaus Terengia Materu; Taotao Chen; Chang Liu; Daocai Chi; Meng Jun

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119603

Effect of acid-modified biochar coupled with alternate wetting and drying on P leaching, soil P retention and plant P uptake in paddy fields

J Environ Manage. 2024 Jan 15:350:119603. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119603. Epub 2023 Nov 23.

Authors

Stanslaus Terengia Materu¹, Taotao Chen², Chang Liu³, Daocai Chi⁴, Meng Jun⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Water Conservancy, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, China; Department of Civil and Water Resources Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P. O. Box 3003, Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania.
² College of Water Conservancy, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, China; National Biochar Institute, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, China; Key Laboratory of Biochar and Soil Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shenyang, 110866, China. Electronic address: taotao-chen@syau.edu.cn.
³ College of Water Conservancy, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, China.
⁴ College of Water Conservancy, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, China. Electronic address: chidaocai@syau.edu.cn.
⁵ National Biochar Institute, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, China; Key Laboratory of Biochar and Soil Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shenyang, 110866, China.

PMID: 38000278
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119603

Abstract

H₂SO₄-modified biochar has been recognized as a means to achieve the advantages of carbon sequestration, and nitrogen loss reduction. However, little information is available on its effect on phosphorus (P) uptake, soil available P, and P leaching under alternate wetting and drying irrigation (I_AWD). A split-plot experimental layout was carried out with two irrigation regimes (conventional continuous flooding, I_CF, and alternate wetting and drying, I_AWD) as main plots and three biochar additions (biochar-free control, B₀, non-acidified biochar, B₂₀, and acid-modified biochar, B_20A) as subplots. Results indicated that I_AWD decreased water percolation by 9.26%-14.74% and P leaching by 50.14%-106.64% and increased surface soil available P by 10.88-29.08%, resulting in 14.21-35.03% apparent phosphorus balance (APB) over the three years as compared with I_CF. B₂₀ produced a 6.23% lower grain yield in the 1st year and 5.06% and 11.02% higher yields in the 2nd and 3rd years, while B_20A increased or tended to increase it throughout the three years. Both B₂₀ and B_20A significantly decreased total water percolation (9.68-28.37%), P leaching (18.26-152.00%), and increased soil available P (9.90-46.24%), dissolved P in surface soil (10.00-62.50%), and P uptake (4.31-49.71%), and thereafter enhanced apparent phosphorus balance (11.06-40.78%). Compared with B₂₀, B_20A achieved a better APB due to a 113% lower P leaching and 52.9% lower dissolved P at 60 cm soil profiles. I_AWDB_20A-M produced the highest APB, surface soil available and dissolved P, and the lowest P leaching, which increased grain yield, APB, surface soil available P, and dissolved P by 9.54%, 129.61%, and 53.19%, and decreased P leaching by 257% over I_CFB₀, respectively. Therefore, the use of H₂SO₄-modified biochar could produce higher grain yield with lower P leaching and higher APB for I_AWD paddy systems, which is beneficial to enhancing plant P uptake, mitigating P leaching, and ensuring sustainable agricultural production.

Keywords: Acid-modified biochar; Alternate wet and dry irrigation; Paddy field; Phosphorus leaching; Phosphorus retention; Phosphorus uptake.

MeSH terms

Charcoal
Edible Grain
Oryza*
Phosphorus
Soil*
Water

Substances

Soil
biochar
Charcoal
Water
Phosphorus