Wood biochar impacts soil phosphorus dynamics and microbial communities in organically-managed croplands

Publication date: Available online 3 September 2018Source: Soil Biology and BiochemistryAuthor(s): Si Gao, Thomas H. DeLucaAbstractBiochar (a carbon-rich product from pyrolysis of organic materials) addition to agricultural soils has been proposed as a novel technology for enhancing soil C storage and fertility; however, few studies have evaluated the effects of biochar on nutrients from an integrated perspective. Previous studies have demonstrated that biochar has the potential to improve bioavailable phosphorus (P) of sandy soils in organic farming systems; yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that the unique characteristics of wood biochar could induce changes in soil microbial communities, which would subsequently drive biotic controls on soil P availability through microbial solubilization and/or mineralization and that this would be reflected in microbial P gene expression. To test this hypothesis, we determined the abundance and diversity of bacterial and fungal communities as related to microbial communities in sandy soils of organically-managed farmlands amended with locally produced wood biochar. A series of soil biochemical properties and genes encoding synthesis of phosphatase and those encoding the production of small molecular weight organic acids (involved in metal chelation and P solubilization) were directly quantified to help understand soil P mobilization following biochar addition. Three months after the application of wo...
Source: Soil Biology and Biochemistry - Category: Biology Source Type: research