RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Food safety has become a major issue, with serious environmental pollution resulting from losses of nitrogen (N) fertilizers. N is a key element for plant growth and is often one of the most important yield-limiting nutrients in paddy soil. Urea-N immobilization is an important process for restoring the levels of soil nutrient depleted by rice production and sustaining productivity. The benefits of biochar application include improved soil fertility, altered N dynamics, and reduced nutrient leaching. However, due to high variability in the quality of biochar, the responses of N loss and rice productivity to biochar amendments, especially those prepared at different pyrolysis temperatures, are still unclear. The main objectives of the present study were to examine the effects of biochar prepared at different pyrolysis temperatures on fertilizer N immobilization in paddy soil and explore the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Two biochar samples were prepared by pyrolysis of maize straw at 400 °C (B400) and 700 °C (B700), respectively. The biochar was applied to paddy soil at three rates (0, 0.7, and 2.1%, w/w), with or without N fertilization (0, 168, and 210 kg N ha-1). Pot experiments were performed to determine nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and 15N recovery from paddy soil using a 15N tracer across the rice growing season. RESULTS: Compared with the non-biochar control, biochar significantly decreased soil bulk density while increasing soil porosity, irrespective of pyrolysis temperature and N fertilizer level. Under B400 and B700, a high biochar rate decreased N loss rate to 66.42 and 68.90%, whereas a high N level increased it to 77.21 and 76.99%, respectively. Biochar also markedly decreased N2O emissions to 1.06 (B400) and 0.75 kg ha-1 (B700); low-N treatment caused a decrease in N2O emissions under B400, but this decrease was not observed under B700. An application rate of biochar of 2.1% plus 210 kg ha-1 N fertilizer substantially decreased the N fertilizer-induced N2O emission factor under B400, whereas under B700 no significant difference was observed. Biochar combined with N fertilizer treatment decreased rice biomass and grain yield by an average of 51.55 and 23.90 g pot-1, respectively, but the yield reduction under B700 was lower than under B400. CONCLUSION: Irrespective of pyrolysis temperature, biochar had a positive effect on residual soil 15N content, while it negatively affected the 15N recovery of rice, N2O emissions from soil, rice biomass, and grain yield in the first year. Generally, a high application rate of biochar prepared at high or low pyrolysis temperature reduced the N fertilizer-induced N2O emission factor considerably. These biochar effects were dependent on N fertilizer level, biochar application rate, and their interactions.
RESUMO
Impacts of biochar on greenhouse gas emissions and C sequestration in agricultural soils have been considered as the key to mitigate climate change. There is limited knowledge regarding the effects of rice straw-derived biochar and interaction with N fertilization on soil C sequestration and rice productivity in fertile paddy fields. A 2-year (2013 and 2014) consecutive field trial was performed using straw treatment (5.05 t ha(-1)) and biochar amendment (0, 1.78, 14.8 and 29.6 t ha(-1)) with or without urea application in a rice paddy in Northeast China. A super high yielding rice variety (Oryza sativa L. subsp. Japonica cv. 'Shennong 265') was cultivated with permanent flooding. Results showed that biochar amendments significantly decreased CH4 emissions relative to straw treatment irrespective of N fertilization, especially in N-fertilized soils with 1.78 t ha(-1) biochar. There were no differences in CO2 emissions with respect to biochar amendments, except for 14.8 t ha(-1) biochar with N fertilization. Straw treatment had the highest global warming potential over a 100-year time frame, which was nearly 1.5 times that of 14.8 t ha(-1) biochar amendment without N fertilization. Biochar addition increased total soil C by up to 5.75 mg g(-1) and 11.69 mg g(-1) (with 14.8 and 29.6 t ha(-1) biochar, respectively), whereas straw incorporation increased this value by only 3.92 mg g(-1). The aboveground biomass of rice in biochar-amended soils increased to varying degrees compared with that in straw-treated soils. However, biochar application had no effects on rice yield, regardless of N fertilization. This study indicated that transforming straw to biochar was more stabilized and more suitable to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and increase C storage in agriculture soils in Northeast China.
