Relating physical and chemical properties of four different biochars and their application rate to biomass production of Lolium perenne on a Calcic Cambisol during a pot experiment of 79 days.

Three pyrolysis biochars (B1: wood, B2: paper-sludge, B3: sewage-sludge) and one kiln-biochar (B4: grapevine wood) were characterized by determining different chemical and physical properties which were related to the germination rates and to the plant biomass production during a pot experiment of 79 days in which a Calcic Cambisol from SW Spain was amended with 10, 20 and 40 t ha(-1) of the four biochars. Biochar 1, B2 and B4 revealed comparable elemental composition, pH, water holding capacity and ash content. The H/C and O/C atomic ratios suggested high aromaticity of all biochars, which was confirmed by (13)C solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The FT-IR spectra confirmed the aromaticity of all the biochars as well as several specific differences in their composition. The FESEM-EDS distinguished compositional and structural differences of the studied biochars such as macropores on the surface of B1, collapsed structures in B2, high amount of mineral deposits (rich in Al, Si, Ca and Fe) and organic phases in B3 and vessel structures for B4. Biochar amendment improved germination rates and soil fertility (excepting for B4), and had no negative pH impact on the already alkaline soil. Application of B3, the richest in minerals and nitrogen, resulted in the highest soil fertility. In this case, increase of the dose went along with an enhancement of plant production. Considering costs due to production and transport of biochar, for all used chars with the exception of B3, the application of 10 t ha(-1) turned out as the most efficient for the crop and soil used in the present incubation experiment.

[1]  José Luís,et al.  Reconocimiento de los suelos de la comarca de El Aljarafe (Sevilla) , 1988 .

[2]  Teodoro Luque Martínez,et al.  Análisis de la varianza , 2000 .

[3]  L. Zwieten,et al.  Agronomic values of greenwaste biochar as a soil amendment , 2007 .

[4]  Van Krevelen,et al.  Graphical-statistical method for the study of structure and reaction processes of coal , 1950 .

[5]  A. Crosky,et al.  Physical Properties of Biochar , 2012 .

[6]  Ying-xu Chen,et al.  Chemical characterization of rice straw-derived biochar for soil amendment , 2012 .

[7]  R. Lal,et al.  Effects of biochar and other amendments on the physical properties and greenhouse gas emissions of an artificially degraded soil. , 2014, The Science of the total environment.

[8]  S. Sohi.  BIOCHAR, CLIMATE CHANGE AND SOIL: A REVIEW TO GUIDE FUTURE RESEARCH , 2009 .

[9]  E. Teller,et al.  ADSORPTION OF GASES IN MULTIMOLECULAR LAYERS , 1938 .

[10]  S. C. Pillai,et al.  Phosphorus in Sewage, Polluted Waters, Sludges, and Effluents , 1966, The Quarterly Review of Biology.

[11]  Yasuyuki Okimori,et al.  Pioneering works in biochar research, Japan , 2010 .

[12]  C. Kammann,et al.  Biochar, hydrochar and uncarbonized feedstock application to permanent grassland—Effects on greenhouse gas emissions and plant growth , 2014 .

[13]  Ling Zhao,et al.  Heterogeneity of biochar properties as a function of feedstock sources and production temperatures. , 2013, Journal of hazardous materials.

[14]  H. Knicker,et al.  Bioavailability of N released from N-rich pyrogenic organic matter: An incubation study , 2011 .

[15]  F. Macías,et al.  Soil carbon sequestration in a changing global environment , 2010 .

[16]  M. Schnitzer.  Chapter 1 Humic Substances: Chemistry and Reactions , 1978 .

[17]  Evan Diamadopoulos,et al.  Biochar production by sewage sludge pyrolysis , 2013 .

[18]  K. Totsche,et al.  Condensation degree of burnt peat and plant residues and the reliability of solid-state VACP MAS 13C NMR spectra obtained from pyrogenic humic material , 2005 .

[19]  F. J. Veihmeyer,et al.  METHODS OF MEASURING FIELD CAPACITY AND PERMANENT WILTING PERCENTAGE OF SOILS , 1949 .

[20]  Vladimir Strezov,et al.  Influence of pyrolysis temperature on production and nutrient properties of wastewater sludge biochar. , 2011, Journal of environmental management.

[21]  Yuji Hasemi,et al.  Predicting the pyrolysis of wood considering char oxidation under different ambient oxygen concentrations , 2006 .

[22]  H. Knicker,et al.  Partitioning of N in growing plants, microbial biomass and soil organic matter after amendment of N-ammonoxidized lignins , 2013 .

[23]  Stephen Joseph,et al.  Characterization of biochars to evaluate recalcitrance and agronomic performance. , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[24]  S. Sánchez‐Cortés,et al.  Structural characterization of charcoal size-fractions from a burnt Pinus pinea forest by FT-IR, Raman and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopies , 2011 .

[25]  J. Skjemstad,et al.  Synthesis and characterisation of laboratory-charred grass straw (Oryza sativa) and chestnut wood (Castanea sativa) as reference materials for black carbon quantification , 2006 .

[26]  J. Lehmann,et al.  Biochar for Environmental Management: Science and Technology , 2009 .

[27]  H. Knicker.  Pyrogenic organic matter in soil: Its origin and occurrence, its chemistry and survival in soil environments , 2011 .

[28]  R. K. Dixon,et al.  Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change , 1998 .

[29]  Amazonian Dark Earths: Origin, Properties, Management. Johannes Lehmann , Dirse C. Kern , Bruno Glaser , William I. Woods , 2005 .

[30]  Jae-Young Kim,et al.  Influence of pyrolysis temperature on physicochemical properties of biochar obtained from the fast pyrolysis of pitch pine (Pinus rigida). , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[31]  M. Hajaligol,et al.  Characterization of chars from pyrolysis of lignin , 2004 .

[32]  P. Blackwell,et al.  Biochar Application to Soil , 2012 .

[33]  H. Knicker.  ''Black nitrogen" - an important fraction in determining the recalcitrance of charcoal , 2010 .

[34]  Didem Özçimen,et al.  Characterization of biochar and bio-oil samples obtained from carbonization of various biomass materials , 2010 .

[35]  Sunghwan Kim,et al.  Graphical method for analysis of ultrahigh-resolution broadband mass spectra of natural organic matter, the van Krevelen diagram. , 2003, Analytical chemistry.

[36]  Bruno Glaser,et al.  One step forward toward characterization: some important material properties to distinguish biochars. , 2012, Journal of environmental quality.

[37]  J. Lehmann,et al.  Ameliorating physical and chemical properties of highly weathered soils in the tropics with charcoal – a review , 2002, Biology and Fertility of Soils.

[38]  A. Cowie,et al.  Effects of biochar from slow pyrolysis of papermill waste on agronomic performance and soil fertility , 2010, Plant and Soil.

[39]  J. Murillo,et al.  Agricultural use of three (sugar-beet) vinasse composts: effect on crops and chemical properties of a Cambisol soil in the Guadalquivir river valley (SW Spain) , 2001 .