Addition of Biochar to a Sandy Desert Soil: Effect on Crop Growth, Water Retention and Selected Properties
Agricultural and environmental applications of biochar (BC) to soils have received increasing attention as a possible means of improving productivity and sustainability. Most previous studies have focused on tropical soils and more recently temperate soils. However, benefits of BC addition to desert...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-06-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/6/327 |
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| author | Khaled D. Alotaibi Jeff J. Schoenau |
| author_facet | Khaled D. Alotaibi Jeff J. Schoenau |
| author_sort | Khaled D. Alotaibi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Agricultural and environmental applications of biochar (BC) to soils have received increasing attention as a possible means of improving productivity and sustainability. Most previous studies have focused on tropical soils and more recently temperate soils. However, benefits of BC addition to desert soils where many productivity constraints exist, especially water limitations, have not been widely explored. Thus, three experiments were designed using a desert soil from Saudi Arabia to address three objectives: (1) to evaluate the effect of BCs produced from date palm residues added at 8 t ha<sup>−1</sup> on wheat growth, (2) to determine the effect of BC addition and BC aging in soil on water retention, and (3) to reveal the effect of BC on selected soil physical (bulk density, BD; total porosity; TP) and chemical (pH; electrical conductivity, EC; organic matter, OM; cation exchange capacity, CEC) properties. The feedstock (FS) of date palm residues were pyrolyzed at 300, 400, 500, and 600 °C, referred to here as BC300, BC400, BC500, and BC600, respectively. The BC products produced at low temperatures were the most effective in promoting wheat growth when applied with the NPK fertilizer and in enhancing soil water retention, particularly with aging in soil, whereas high -temperature BCs better improved the selected soil physical properties. The low-temperature BCs increased the yield approximately by 19% and improved water retention by 46% when averaged across the incubation period. Higher water retention observed with low-temperature BCs can be related to an increased amount of oxygen-containing functional groups in the low-temperature BCs, rendering BC surfaces less hydrophobic. Only the BC300 treatment showed a consistent positive impact on pH, OM, and CEC. Pyrolysis temperature of date palm residue along with aging are key factors in determining the potential benefit of BC derived from date palm residues added to sandy desert soil. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T18:10:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fda2a0280b2b4c778b92437a8fb73b36 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T18:10:07Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-fda2a0280b2b4c778b92437a8fb73b362022-12-21T23:35:58ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952019-06-019632710.3390/agronomy9060327agronomy9060327Addition of Biochar to a Sandy Desert Soil: Effect on Crop Growth, Water Retention and Selected PropertiesKhaled D. Alotaibi0Jeff J. Schoenau1Department of Soil Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Soil Science, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8, CanadaAgricultural and environmental applications of biochar (BC) to soils have received increasing attention as a possible means of improving productivity and sustainability. Most previous studies have focused on tropical soils and more recently temperate soils. However, benefits of BC addition to desert soils where many productivity constraints exist, especially water limitations, have not been widely explored. Thus, three experiments were designed using a desert soil from Saudi Arabia to address three objectives: (1) to evaluate the effect of BCs produced from date palm residues added at 8 t ha<sup>−1</sup> on wheat growth, (2) to determine the effect of BC addition and BC aging in soil on water retention, and (3) to reveal the effect of BC on selected soil physical (bulk density, BD; total porosity; TP) and chemical (pH; electrical conductivity, EC; organic matter, OM; cation exchange capacity, CEC) properties. The feedstock (FS) of date palm residues were pyrolyzed at 300, 400, 500, and 600 °C, referred to here as BC300, BC400, BC500, and BC600, respectively. The BC products produced at low temperatures were the most effective in promoting wheat growth when applied with the NPK fertilizer and in enhancing soil water retention, particularly with aging in soil, whereas high -temperature BCs better improved the selected soil physical properties. The low-temperature BCs increased the yield approximately by 19% and improved water retention by 46% when averaged across the incubation period. Higher water retention observed with low-temperature BCs can be related to an increased amount of oxygen-containing functional groups in the low-temperature BCs, rendering BC surfaces less hydrophobic. Only the BC300 treatment showed a consistent positive impact on pH, OM, and CEC. Pyrolysis temperature of date palm residue along with aging are key factors in determining the potential benefit of BC derived from date palm residues added to sandy desert soil.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/6/327biochardesert soilcrop growthwater retentionnutrientsoil chemical propertiessoil physical properties |
| spellingShingle | Khaled D. Alotaibi Jeff J. Schoenau Addition of Biochar to a Sandy Desert Soil: Effect on Crop Growth, Water Retention and Selected Properties Agronomy biochar desert soil crop growth water retention nutrient soil chemical properties soil physical properties |
| title | Addition of Biochar to a Sandy Desert Soil: Effect on Crop Growth, Water Retention and Selected Properties |
| title_full | Addition of Biochar to a Sandy Desert Soil: Effect on Crop Growth, Water Retention and Selected Properties |
| title_fullStr | Addition of Biochar to a Sandy Desert Soil: Effect on Crop Growth, Water Retention and Selected Properties |
| title_full_unstemmed | Addition of Biochar to a Sandy Desert Soil: Effect on Crop Growth, Water Retention and Selected Properties |
| title_short | Addition of Biochar to a Sandy Desert Soil: Effect on Crop Growth, Water Retention and Selected Properties |
| title_sort | addition of biochar to a sandy desert soil effect on crop growth water retention and selected properties |
| topic | biochar desert soil crop growth water retention nutrient soil chemical properties soil physical properties |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/6/327 |
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