scholarly journals An Investigation Into the Short-Term Effects of Biochar on Nitrate Leaching From Artificial Columns of Sand

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Daniel Sombo

Leaching of NO3 has been shown to be a major problem in coarse-textured sandy soils. It has been suggested that biochar application to sandy soils could reduce leaching of NO3. However, how biochar could be used to provide short-term NO3 leaching reduction in sandy soils has received little research attention. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if and how biochar could be used to reduce NO3 leaching from artificial columns of sand (sandy soil). To achieve this, a simple assay was developed in a controlled temperature room to assess the short-term impacts of biochar on NO3 leaching from a column containing sand. The capacity to pick-up variations in NO3 leaching pattern from the sand columns based on the concentrations of the NO3 solutions used to perfuse the sand columns, as well as, the rate at which these solutions were perfused through the sand columns using this approach was initially established. A pulse chase experiment showed that the NO3 was very mobile, and once the supply was removed, the column of sand rapidly lost the NO3. The exception appears to the inclusion of biochar where this process is slowed down, but eventually the sand column lost all the NO3. When oak biochar produced through high temperature pyrolysis (500-600 oC) by a commercial producer (Humko, d.o.o., Bled Sheenjek, Slovenija) was applied to the sand columns at a rate of 10% (w/w), the pattern of NO3 leaching was modified. Biochar appeared to delay NO3 leaching from the sand. The extent of this delay, and how it may influence NO3 availability in the soil for plant uptake requires further research.

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 407
Author(s):  
Ling Li ◽  
Yong-Jiang Zhang ◽  
Abigayl Novak ◽  
Yingchao Yang ◽  
Jinwu Wang

In recent years, plants in sandy soils have been impacted by increased climate variability due to weak water holding and temperature buffering capacities of the parent material. The projected impact spreads all over the world, including New England, USA. Many regions of the world may experience an increase in frequency and severity of drought, which can be attributed to an increased variability in precipitation and enhanced water loss due to warming. The overall benefits of biochar in environmental management have been extensively investigated. This review aims to discuss the water holding capacity of biochar from the points of view of fluid mechanics and propose several prioritized future research topics. To understand the impacts of biochar on sandy soils in-depth, sandy soil properties (surface area, pore size, water properties, and characteristics) and how biochar could improve the soil quality as well as plant growth, development, and yield are reviewed. Incorporating biochar into sandy soils could result in a net increase in the surface area, a stronger hydrophobicity at a lower temperature, and an increase in the micropores to maximize gap spaces. The capability of biochar in reducing fertilizer drainage through increasing water retention can improve crop productivity and reduce the nutrient leaching rate in agricultural practices. To advance research in biochar products and address the impacts of increasing climate variability, future research may focus on the role of biochar in enhancing soil water retention, plant water use efficiency, crop resistance to drought, and crop productivity.


2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (11) ◽  
pp. 3834-3847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Urschel ◽  
Michael D. Kubo ◽  
Tori M. Hoehler ◽  
John W. Peters ◽  
Eric S. Boyd

ABSTRACTRates of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), formate, and acetate mineralization and/or assimilation were determined in 13 high-temperature (>73°C) hot springs in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Wyoming, in order to evaluate the relative importance of these substrates in supporting microbial metabolism. While 9 of the hot spring communities exhibited rates of DIC assimilation that were greater than those of formate and acetate assimilation, 2 exhibited rates of formate and/or acetate assimilation that exceeded those of DIC assimilation. Overall rates of DIC, formate, and acetate mineralization and assimilation were positively correlated with spring pH but showed little correlation with temperature. Communities sampled from hot springs with similar geochemistries generally exhibited similar rates of substrate transformation, as well as similar community compositions, as revealed by 16S rRNA gene-tagged sequencing. Amendment of microcosms with small (micromolar) amounts of formate suppressed DIC assimilation in short-term (<45-min) incubations, despite the presence of native DIC concentrations that exceeded those of added formate by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude. The concentration of added formate required to suppress DIC assimilation was similar to the affinity constant (Km) for formate transformation, as determined by community kinetic assays. These results suggest that dominant chemoautotrophs in high-temperature communities are facultatively autotrophic or mixotrophic, are adapted to fluctuating nutrient availabilities, and are capable of taking advantage of energy-rich organic substrates when they become available.


2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-209
Author(s):  
Yaping Gao ◽  
Zengjie Jiang ◽  
Meirong Du ◽  
Jinghui Fang ◽  
Weiwei Jiang ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-27
Author(s):  
A. V Zakharov ◽  
S. E Makhover

Today the issue of energy saving is acute. The main sources of energy are radiant energy of the Sun, wind energy, energy of moving water. Therefore, the issue of solving alternative energy sources is relevant. The article aims to solve the problem by using low-potential heat of the soil mass by means of energy-efficient building constructions - foundations. It is necessary to know the thermal characteristics of soils for this. At the moment, methods for determining the thermophysical properties of inert materials with subsequent practical application in the field of construction have been widely studied, but no one of these methods takes into account the grain-size composition. Thus, the study of the connection between the thermal conductivity and the grain-size composition of the soil is important. The aim of the work is to Estimation of thermal conductivity of sandy soils based on grain-size composition. This article presents an analysis of the dependence of the thermal conductivity of the sandy soil of its grain-size composition. The matrix of experiment planning is made; the methodology and technological sequence of the experiment were tested. Statistical processing of the obtained experimental data was carried out. Based on a series of test experiments, it was concluded that there are two factors competing in its thermal conductivity: an increase in λ due to an increase in the degree of pore filling and a decrease in total heat conductivity due to a decrease in the degree of pore filling. These results suggest that grain-size composition has an impact on the thermal conductivity of the sandy soil. During the experiment, the dependence of the thermal conductivity of sandy soils on their grain-size composition was experimentally established.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahid Hussain ◽  
Cheng Tang ◽  
Muhammad Irshad ◽  
Riaz A. Khattak ◽  
Chen Yao ◽  
...  

Abstract Nitrate (NO3) leaching from soils results in lower soil fertility, reduced crop productivity and groundwater pollution. The present study determined NO3 leaching from bentonite [0, 2 and 4% (m/m)] treated sandy soil, under three N sources (calcium nitrate [Ca(NO3)2], ammonium chloride [NH4Cl], urea [CO(NH2)2] @ 300 kg N ha-1) with a leaching fraction of 0.3-0.4. Bentonite markedly reduced NO3 release in leachate, while 4% bentonite retained higher NO3 in soil. The NO3 leaching varied with N sources as Ca(NO3)2>NH4Cl>(CO(NH2)2. This study indicated that soil amendment with bentonite could efficiently mitigate NO3 leaching from soil and hence prevent N fertilizer losses and groundwater pollution.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolett Uzinger ◽  
Tünde Takács ◽  
Tibor Szili-Kovács ◽  
László Radimszky ◽  
Anna Füzy ◽  
...  

The short-term effects of processed waste materials: sewage sludge compost (up to 0.5%), biochar made of paper sludge and grain husk (BC) (up to 2%) combined with plant growth-promoting rhizobacterial (PGPR) inoculum, on the fertility of acidic sandy soil at 65% of field capacity were tested in a pot experiment in separate and combined treatments. The soil pH, organic matter content, total and plant-available nutrients, substrate-induced respiration, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) root colonisation parameters and maize (Zea mays L.) biomass were investigated in experiments lasting two months. The positive priming (21% organic matter loss) induced by BC alone was not observed after combined application. The combination of compost and PGPR with 1.5% BC resulted in 35% higher P and K availability due to greater microbial activity compared to BC alone. Only compost applied alone at 0.5% gave a 2.7 times increase in maize biomass. The highest microbial activity and lowest AMF colonisation were found in combined treatments. In the short term the combined application of BC, compost and PGPR did not result in higher fertility on the investigated soil. Further research is needed with a wider range of combined treatments on acidic sandy soil for better understanding of the process.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 1415-1432
Author(s):  
Morteza Khojastehpour ◽  
Md Abu Saleh

Purpose Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has received considerable research attention globally over the past decade. Although a growing number of prior studies have investigated the various dimensions of CSR in general terms, few studies have investigated the critical role that CSR can play in the internationalization process of firms. Design/methodology/approach Using S&P 500 companies during 2004-2014, the authors found that the level of CSR commitment raises the level of reliability of firm and allows further international penetration. Moreover, better regulatory quality of host country is at actual support of internationalization only when considering the short term. Findings Better regulatory quality of host country is at actual support of internationalization only when considering the short term. Originality/value The authors build on internationalization theory and CSR and examine the relationship between firms’ level of internationalization and CSR commitment.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document