Impacts of woodchip biochar additions on greenhouse gas production and sorption/degradation of two herbicides in a Minnesota soil.

A potential abatement to increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) in the atmosphere is the use of pyrolysis to convert vegetative biomass into a more stable form of carbon (biochar) that could then be applied to the soil. However, the impacts of pyrolysis biochar on the soil system need to be assessed before initiating large scale biochar applications to agricultural fields. We compared CO(2) respiration, nitrous oxide (N(2)O) production, methane (CH(4)) oxidation and herbicide retention and transformation through laboratory incubations at field capacity in a Minnesota soil (Waukegan silt loam) with and without added biochar. CO(2) originating from the biochar needs to be subtracted from the soil-biochar combination in order to elucidate the impact of biochar on soil respiration. After this correction, biochar amendments reduced CO(2) production for all amendment levels tested (2, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60% w/w; corresponding to 24-720 tha(-1) field application rates). In addition, biochar additions suppressed N(2)O production at all levels. However, these reductions were only significant at biochar amendment levels >20% w/w. Biochar additions also significantly suppressed ambient CH(4) oxidation at all levels compared to unamended soil. The addition of biochar (5% w/w) to soil increased the sorption of atrazine and acetochlor compared to non-amended soils, resulting in decreased dissipation rates of these herbicides. The recalcitrance of the biochar suggests that it could be a viable carbon sequestration strategy, and might provide substantial net greenhouse gas benefits if the reductions in N(2)O production are lasting.

Regression models for calculating gas fluxes measured with a closed chamber.

Portable closed chambers provide a valuable tool for measuring crop photosynthesis and evapotranspiration. Typically, the rates of change of CO2 and water vapor concentration are assumed to be constant in the short time required to make the closed-chamber measurement, and a linear regression model is used to estimate the CO2 and H2O fluxes. However, due to the physical and physiological effects the measurement system has on the measured process, assuming a constant rate and using a linear model may underestimate the flux. Our objective was to provide a model that estimates the CO2 and H20 exchange rates at the time of chamber closure. We compared the linear regression model with a quadratic regression model using field measurements from two studies. Generally, 60 to 100% of all chamber measurement data sets were significantly nonlinear, causing the quadratic model to yield fluxes 10 to 40% greater than those calculated with the linear regression model. The frequency and degree of nonlinearity were related to the measured rate and chamber volume. Closed-chamber data should be tested for nonlinearity and an appropriate model used to calculate flux. The quadratic model provides users of well-mixed closed chambers an alternative to a simple linear model for data sets with significant nonlinearity.

Effect of Water Deficits on Seed Development in Soybean : II. Conservation of Seed Growth Rate.

Water deficits during seed filling decrease seed size in soybean (Glycine max L.). This may result from a reduction in the supply of assimilates from the maternal plant and/or an inhibition of seed metabolism. To determine whether maternal or zygotic factors limited seed growth, we examined the effects of a plant water deficit on the supply of sucrose to and its utilization by developing embryos. Plants were grown in the greenhouse, and water deficits were imposed by withholding water for a period of 6 days during linear seed fill. When water was withheld, leaf water potential decreased rapidly, inhibiting canopy photosynthesis completely within 3 days. However, seed dry weight (nodes 7-11) continued to increase at or near the control rate. The level of total extractable carbohydrates in leaf, stem, and pericarp tissue decreased by 70, 50, and 45%, respectively, indicating that reserves were mobilized to support seed growth. Cotyledon sucrose content decreased from about 60 milligrams per gram dry weight to 30 milligrams per gram dry weight. Similarly, the concentration of sucrose in the interfacial apoplast of the cotyledons decreased from approximately 100 millimolar to 50 millimolar. However, the rate of sucrose accumulation by excised embryos, measured in a short-term in vitro assay, increased in response to the water deficit. These results indicate that both source and sink activity in soybean are altered by water deficits to maintain the flux of assimilates to the developing embryos. This may explain why seed growth is maintained, albeit for a shorter duration, when soybean is exposed to water deficits during the seed filling period.