Effects of wood ash and N fertilization on soil chemical properties and growth of Zelkova serrata across soil types

AbstractWood ash generated as a by-product of biomass combustion can be a sustainable and reasonable approach to counteract acidification and correct nutrient deficiency in forest soils. We investigated the influence of wood ash (WA) and combined WA + N (nitrogen) on soil chemical properties, growth and foliar nutrients of Zelkova serrata and their potential as a soil amender across different soil types. We applied four levels of WA (0, 5, 10, and 20 Mg ha−1) and two levels of N fertilizer (0 and 150 kg ha−1) across three different soil types: landfill saline (LS) soil, forest infertile (FI) soil, and forest acidic (FA) soil. The WA generally improved soil pH, organic matter, available P, exchangeable cations (K+, Na+, Ca2+, and Mg2+), and EC of the three soils, but its ameliorating and neutralizing effects were predominant in FA soil. N fertilizer was more effective in improving plant growth, especially for biomass production in LS and FI soils. WA application significantly increased biomass production when it was applied over 5 Mg ha−1 in FA soil, but higher dose rate of WA (i.e. 20 Mg ha−1) seems to pose negative effects. Foliar P, K, and Ca concentrations also tended to increase with the increasing amount of WA. Therefore, lower dosage of WA without N can be applied as a soil amender to counteract forest soil acidity and improve plant growth and foliar nutrient concentration, whereas N fertilizer without WA can be added to correct nutrient soil deficiencies in landfill and infertile soils. This study should enhance our understanding of WA as a sustainable and reasonable approach to counteract acidification and correct nutrient deficiency in forest soils.

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Compost Effects on Soil Chemical Properties and Field Nursery Production

Journal of Environmental Horticulture ◽

10.24266/0738-2898-21.1.38 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 38-44

Author(s):

Ronald F. Gonzalez ◽

Leslie R. Cooperband

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Biomass Production ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Soil Surface ◽

Nutrient Content ◽

Dairy Manure ◽

Soil Chemical Properties ◽

Soil C ◽

Total Soil ◽

Shrub Biomass

Abstract Field production of ornamental shrubs results in significant topsoil removal and degradation of soil chemical properties. We amended field soils with compost to evaluate effects on soil chemical properties and shrub biomass production. We applied either duck manure-sawdust (DM), potato cull-sawdust-dairy manure (PC) or paper mill sludge-bark (PMB) composts to a silt loam soil as a) incorporated 2.5 cm (1 in) of compost tilled into the top 15 cm (6 in) of soil or b) incorporated + mulched 2.5 cm (1 in) tilled into soil + 2.5 cm (1 in) applied over the soil surface. We grew Spirea japonicum ‘Gumball’, Juniper chinensis ‘Pfitzeriana’ and Berberis thunbergia ‘Atropurpurea’ seedlings and measured total and plant available nutrients and shrub biomass production and nutrient contents over two growing seasons. Total soil C was 15–21% higher in all mulched treatments compared to incorporated-only and no-amendment control treatments. Total soil N, P and Cu, available P, S, Ca, Mg, K, pH and EC increased with increasing TC. Mulched DM compost produced significantly higher DTPA-extractable Zn relative to other treatments. In the second growing season, mulched DM compost produced 39–42% greater total barberry biomass than all other treatments. Among all shrub species, the best soil chemical predictors of plant growth were TC, TS, soluble P, exchangeable Ca and K and DTPA-Zn. The best tissue nutrient-content predictors of plant growth were total shoot N, P and Zn and root Zn. The unique growth response of barberry to mulched DM compost suggests that all shrubs may not respond to compost amendments, particularly over the short term.

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Transcriptional activities of methanogens and methanotrophs vary with methane emission flux in rice soils under chronic nutrient constraints of phosphorus and potassium

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-13-6507-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (23) ◽

pp. 6507-6518 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Rong Sheng ◽

Anlei Chen ◽

Miaomiao Zhang ◽

Andrew S. Whiteley ◽

Deepak Kumaresan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Nutrient Deficiency ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Experimental System ◽

Nutrient Status ◽

Transcript Abundance ◽

Available Phosphorus ◽

Community Structures ◽

Rice Soils ◽

P Deficiency

Abstract. Nutrient status in soil is crucial for the growth and development of plants which indirectly or directly affect the ecophysiological functions of resident soil microorganisms. Soil methanogens and methanotrophs can be affected by soil nutrient availabilities and plant growth, which in turn modulate methane (CH4) emissions. Here, we assessed whether deficits in soil-available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) modulated the activities of methanogens and methanotrophs in a long-term (20 year) experimental system involving limitation in either one or both nutrients. Results showed that a large amount of CH4 was emitted from paddy soil at rice tillering stage (flooding) while CH4 flux was minimum at ripening stage (drying). Compared to soils amended with NPK fertiliser treatment, the soils without P input significantly reduced methane flux rates, whereas those without K input did not. Under P limitation, methanotroph transcript copy number significantly increased in tandem with a decrease in methanogen transcript abundance, suggesting that P-deficiency-induced changes in soil physio-chemical properties, in tandem with rice plant growth, might constrain the activity of methanogens, whereas the methanotrophs might be adaptive to this soil environment. In contrast, lower transcript abundance of both methanogen and methanotrophs were observed in K-deficient soils. Assessments of community structures based upon transcripts indicated that soils deficient in P induced greater shifts in the active methanotrophic community than K-deficient soils, while similar community structures of active methanogens were observed in both treatments. These results suggested that the population dynamics of methanogens and methanotrophs could vary along with the changes in plant growth states and soil properties induced by nutrient deficiency.

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Insights on Molecular Characteristics of Hydrochars by 13C-NMR and Off-Line TMAH-GC/MS and Assessment of Their Potential Use as Plant Growth Promoters

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26041026 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 1026 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Laís G. Fregolente ◽

João Vitor dos Santos ◽

Giovanni Vinci ◽

Alessandro Piccolo ◽

Altair B. Moreira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Phosphoric Acid ◽

13C Nmr ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Molecular Characteristics ◽

Initial Growth ◽

Growth Promoters ◽

Molecular Features ◽

Potential Use

Hydrochar is a carbon-based material that can be used as soil amendment. Since the physical-chemical properties of hydrochar are mainly assigned to process parameters, we aimed at evaluating the organic fraction of different hydrochars through 13C-NMR and off-line TMAH-GC/MS. Four hydrochars produced with sugarcane bagasse, vinasse and sulfuric or phosphoric acids were analyzed to elucidate the main molecular features. Germination and initial growth of maize seedlings were assessed using hydrochar water-soluble fraction to evaluate their potential use as growth promoters. The hydrochars prepared with phosphoric acid showed larger amounts of bioavailable lignin-derived structures. Although no differences were shown about the percentage of maize seeds germination, the hydrochar produced with phosphoric acid promoted a better seedling growth. For this sample, the greatest relative percentage of benzene derivatives and phenolic compounds were associated to hormone-like effects, responsible for stimulating shoot and root elongation. The reactions parameters proved to be determinant for the organic composition of hydrochar, exerting a strict influence on molecular features and plant growth response.

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The complexity of wood ash fertilization disentangled: Effects on soil pH, nutrient status, plant growth and cadmium accumulation

Environmental and Experimental Botany ◽

10.1016/j.envexpbot.2021.104424 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 185 ◽

pp. 104424

Author(s):

Jesper Liengaard Johansen ◽

Maiken Lundstad Nielsen ◽

Mette Vestergård ◽

Louise Hindborg Mortensen ◽

Carla Cruz-Paredes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Soil Ph ◽

Nutrient Status ◽

Cadmium Accumulation ◽

Wood Ash

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Can repeated soil amendment with biogas digestates increase soil suppressiveness toward non-specific soil-borne pathogens in agricultural lands?

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170520000393 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

L. M. Manici ◽

F. Caputo ◽

G. A. Cappelli ◽

E. Ceotto

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Biomass Production ◽

Soil Amendment ◽

Plant Biomass ◽

Amended Soils ◽

Soil Suppressiveness ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Soil Borne Pathogens ◽

The Impact ◽

Plant Biomass Production

Abstract Soil suppressiveness which is the natural ability of soil to support optimal plant growth and health is the resultant of multiple soil microbial components; which implies many difficulties when estimating this soil condition. Microbial benefits for plant health from repeated digestate applications were assessed in three experimental sites surrounding anaerobic biogas plants in an intensively cultivated area of northern Italy. A 2-yr trial was performed in 2017 and 2018 by performing an in-pot plant growth assay, using soil samples taken from two fields for each experimental site, of which one had been repeatedly amended with anaerobic biogas digestate and the other had not. These fields were similar in management and crop sequences (maize was the recurrent crop) for the last 10 yr. Plant growth response in the bioassay was expressed as plant biomass production, root colonization frequency by soil-borne fungi were estimated to evaluate the impact of soil-borne pathogens on plant growth, abundance of Pseudomonas and actinomycetes populations in rhizosphere were estimated as beneficial soil microbial indicators. Repeated soil amendment with digestate increased significantly soil capacity to support plant biomass production as compared to unamended control in both the years. Findings supported evidence that this increase was principally attributable to a higher natural ability of digestate-amended soils to reduce root infection by saprophytic soil-borne pathogens whose inoculum was increased by the recurrent maize cultivation. Pseudomonas and actinomycetes were always more abundant in digestate-amended soils suggesting that both these large bacterial groups were involved in the increase of their natural capacity to control soil-borne pathogens (soil suppressiveness).

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Evaluation of Humic Fertilizers Applied at Full and Reduced Nitrogen Rates on Kentucky Bluegrass Quality and Soil Health

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11020395 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 395

Author(s):

Alex J. Lindsey ◽

Adam W. Thoms ◽

Marshall D. McDaniel ◽

Nick E. Christians

Keyword(s):

Microbial Biomass ◽

Humic Substances ◽

Management Practices ◽

Soil Health ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Kentucky Bluegrass ◽

N Fertilizer ◽

Turfgrass Quality ◽

N Rates ◽

Fertilizer Rates

Soil health and sustainable management practices have garnered much interest within the turfgrass industry. Among the many practices that enhance soil health and sustainability are applying soil additives to enhance soil biological activity and reducing nitrogen (N) inputs—complimentary practices. A two-year study was conducted to investigate if reduced N fertilizer rates applied with humic substances could provide comparable turfgrass quality as full N rates, and whether humic fertilizers would increase biological aspects of soil health (i.e., microbial biomass and activity). Treatments included synthetic fertilizer with black gypsum (SFBG), poly-coated humic-coated urea (PCHCU; two rates), urea + humic dispersing granules (HDG; two rates), urea, stabilized nitrogen, HDG, and a nontreated control. Reduced rates of N with humic substances maintained turfgrass quality and cover, and reduced clipping biomass compared to full N rates. There were no differences in soil physical and chemical properties besides soil sulfur (S) concentration. SFBG resulted in the highest soil S concentration. Fertilizer treatments had minimal effect on microbial biomass and other plant-available nutrients. However, PCHCU (full rate) increased potentially mineralizable carbon (PMC) and N (PMN) by 68% and 59%, respectively, compared to the nontreated control. Meanwhile SFBG and stabilized nitrogen also increased PMC and PMN by 77% and 50%, and 65% and 59%, respectively. Overall, applications of reduced N fertilizer rates with the addition of humic substances could be incorporated into a more sustainable and environmentally friendly turfgrass fertilizer program.

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