Biochar Applied with Inorganic Nitrogen Improves Soil Carbon, Nitrate and Ammonium Content of a Sandy Loam Temperate Soil.

Biochar is suggested to improve soil properties. However, its combination with inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizer in temperate soils is not well understood. This study compared the effect of fertilizer N-biochar-combinations (NBC) and fertilizer-N (FN) on total soil N (TSN), soil organic carbon (SOC), soil nitrate (NO 3 − –N), and ammonium (NH 4 + –N). Soil samples were taken from experiments at Efaw and Lake Carl Blackwell (LCB), Oklahoma, USA with ten treatments consisting of three N rates (50, 100, and 150 kg N ha −1 ) and three biochar rates (5, 10, and 15 t ha −1 ). Results at Efaw showed greater TSN and SOC under NBC compared to FN by 3 and 21%, respectively. No percentage difference was observed for NH 4 + –N while NO 3 − –N was lower by 7%. At LCB, TSN, SOC, NO 3 − –N, and NH 4 + –N were higher under NBC by 5, 18, 24, and 10%, respectively, compared to FN. Whereas application of biochar improved SOC at both sites, NO 3 − –N and NH 4 + –N were only significant at LCB site with a sandy loam soil but not at Efaw with silty clay loam. Therefore, biochar applied in combination with inorganic N can improve N availability with potential to increase crop N uptake on coarse textured soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nitrogen (2504-3129) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)