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Unweathered Wood Biochar Impact on Nitrous Oxide Emissions from a Bovine‐Urine‐Amended Pasture Soil
Author(s) -
Clough T.J.,
Bertram J.E.,
Ray J.L.,
Condron L.M.,
O'Callaghan M.,
Sherlock R.R.,
Wells N.S.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj2009.0185
Subject(s) - biochar , pasture , urine , nitrification , chemistry , soil water , agronomy , zoology , environmental chemistry , pyrolysis , nitrogen , environmental science , soil science , biology , organic chemistry , biochemistry
Low‐temperature pyrolysis of biomass produces a product known as biochar The incorporation of this material into the soil has been advocated as a C sequestration method. Biochar also has the potential to influence the soil N cycle by altering nitrification rates and by adsorbingNH 4 +or NH 3 Biochar can be incorporated into the soil during renovation of intensively managed pasture soils. These managed pastures are a significant source of N 2 O, a greenhouse gas, produced in ruminant urine patches. We hypothesized that biochar effects on the N cycle could reduce the soil inorganic‐N pool available for N 2 O‐producing mechanisms. A laboratory study was performed to examine the effect of biochar incorporation into soil (20 Mg ha −1 ) on N 2 O‐N and NH 3 –N fluxes, and inorganic‐N transformations, following the application of bovine urine (760 kg N ha −1 ). Treatments included controls (soil only and soil plus biochar), and two urine treatments (soil plus urine and soil plus biochar plus urine). Fluxes of N 2 O from the biochar plus urine treatment were generally higher than from urine alone during the first 30 d, but after 50 d there was no significant difference ( P = 0.11) in terms of cumulative N 2 O‐N emitted as a percentage of the urine N applied during the 53‐d period; however, NH 3 –N fluxes were enhanced by approximately 3% of the N applied in the biochar plus urine treatment compared with the urine‐only treatment after 17 d. Soil inorganic‐N pools differed between treatments, with higherNH 4 +concentrations in the presence of biochar, indicative of lower rates of nitrification. The inorganic‐N pool available for N 2 O‐producing mechanisms was not reduced, however, by adding biochar.