Open Access

ARTICLE

Biochar Effectively Reduces Ammonia Volatilization From Nitrogen-Applied Soils in Tea and Bamboo Plantations

Lei Chu, H. M. K. Darshika Hennayake, Haijun Sun*

Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China.

* Corresponding Author: Haijun Sun. Email: .

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2019, 88(3), 261-267. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2019.07791

Abstract

Intensive practices in forest soils result in dramatic nitrogen (N) losses, particularly ammonia (NH₃) volatilization, to adjacent environmental areas. A soil column experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of bamboo biochar on NH₃ volatilization from tea garden and bamboo forest soils. The results showed that biochar amendment effectively reduced NH₃ volatilization from tea garden and bamboo forest soil by 79.2% and 75.5%, respectively. The soil pH values increased by 0.53-0.61 units after biochar application. The NH₄⁺-N and total N of both soils were 13.8-29.7% and 34.0-41.9% higher under the biochar treatments than under the control treatment, respectively. In addition, the soil water contents of the two biochar-amended soils were significantly higher (P < 0.05), by 10.7-12.5%, than that of the soils without biochar amendment. Therefore, biochar mitigates NH₃ volatilization from the tested forest soils, which was due to the increases in soil NH₄⁺-N, total N and water contents after biochar amendment. Our main findings suggest that biochar addition is an effective management option for sustainable forest management.

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