Soil quality assessment based on soil organic matter pools under long‐term tillage systems and following tillage conversion in a semi‐humid region

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of long-term application of exogenous organic matter on soil organic matter and water storage. Addition of organic matter is of importance in sandy soils that are in general poor in organic matter, acidic, conducive to drought and used in agricultural production throughout the world. In this study the sandy podzol (63-74% sand) was amended with chicken manure or waste spent mushroom substrate through more than 20 years. Soil organic matter content, water retention curves, acidity and structural stability were determined at three depths in the top 60 cm in organic amended and control plots. Enrichment of the soil with chicken manure and spent mushroom substrate caused increase in soil organic matter content in the top 0-20 cm from 1.34 to 3.50% and from 0.86 to 4.71%, respectively. Corresponding increases in field water capacity were from 13.6 to 31.8 m3 m&#8722;3 and from 17.7 to 27.2 m3 m&#8722;3. Both amendments improved soil structure, reaction and nutrient status. In general, these positive effects were greater in chicken manure than spent mushroom substrate amended soil and less pronounced at depths 20-40 cm and 40-60 cm compared to upper soil. Increase in the field water capacity and water storage capacity made the soils amended with&#160; organic matter more drought resistant. Our findings provide valuable insights the spent mushroom substrate left after growing the mushrooms and chicken manure are environmentally friendly and economical viable soil management practices to increase soil quality and crop productivity.&#160;&#160;AcknowledgementsThe work was partially funded by the HORIZON 2020, European Commission, Programme: H2020-SFS-4-2014: Soil quality and function, project No. 635750, Interactive Soil Quality Assessment in Europe and China for Agricultural Productivity and Environmental Resilience (iSQAPER, 2015&#8211;2020).

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Role of Nutrient-Enriched Biochar as a Soil Amendment during Maize Growth: Exploring Practical Alternatives to Recycle Agricultural Residuals and to Reduce Chemical Fertilizer Demand

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11113211 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 3211 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Simon Kizito ◽

Hongzhen Luo ◽

Jiaxin Lu ◽

Hamidou Bah ◽

Renjie Dong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Biomass Yield ◽

Value Added ◽

Chemical Fertilizer ◽

Positive Effects ◽

And Control ◽

Fertilizer Demand

Recycling and value-added utilization of agricultural residues through combining technologies such as anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis could double the recoverable energy, close the nutrient recycle loop, and ensure cleaner agricultural production. This study assessed the beneficial application of biochar to soil to recycle digestate nutrients, improve soil quality, and reduce conventional chemical fertilizer. The addition of digestate-enriched biochar improved soil quality as it provided higher soil organic matter (232%–514%) and macronutrients (110%–230%) as opposed to the unenriched biochar and control treatments. Maize grown in soil amended with digestate-enriched biochar showed a significantly higher biomass yield compared to the control and non-enriched biochar treatments but was slightly lower than yields from chemical fertilizer treatments. The slightly lower yield (20%–25%) achieved from digestate-enriched biochar was attributed to slower mineralization and release of the adsorbed nutrients in the short term. However, digestate-enriched biochar could in the long term become more beneficial in sustaining soil fertility through maintaining high soil organic matter and the gradual release of micronutrients compared to conventional chemical fertilizer. Positive effects on soil micronutrients, macronutrients, organic matter, and biomass yield indicates that enriched biochar could partly replace chemical fertilizers and promote organic farming in a circular economy concept.

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