Role of Nutrient-Enriched Biochar as a Soil Amendment during Maize Growth: Exploring Practical Alternatives to Recycle Agricultural Residuals and to Reduce Chemical Fertilizer Demand

Recycling and value-added utilization of agricultural residues through combining technologies such as anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis could double the recoverable energy, close the nutrient recycle loop, and ensure cleaner agricultural production. This study assessed the beneficial application of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2019-06, Vol.11 (11), p.3211
Main Authors: Kizito, Simon, Luo, Hongzhen, Lu, Jiaxin, Bah, Hamidou, Dong, Renjie, Wu, Shubiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural practices
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Agrochemicals
Alternative energy sources
Anaerobic digestion
Animal husbandry
Biogas
Biomass
Breeding
Bulk density
Calcium
Carbon
Charcoal
Chromium
Copper
Corn
Economic conditions
Fertility
Fertilizers
Heavy metals
Industrial plant emissions
Laboratories
Liquid wastes
Livestock
Magnesium
Manures
Nutrients
Organic chemistry
Planting density
Plants (botany)
Potassium
Pyrolysis
Recycling
Sodium
Soil amendment
Solid wastes
Sustainability
Urine
Waste disposal
Waste management
Waste materials
Zinc
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Summary:Recycling and value-added utilization of agricultural residues through combining technologies such as anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis could double the recoverable energy, close the nutrient recycle loop, and ensure cleaner agricultural production. This study assessed the beneficial application of biochar to soil to recycle digestate nutrients, improve soil quality, and reduce conventional chemical fertilizer. The addition of digestate-enriched biochar improved soil quality as it provided higher soil organic matter (232%–514%) and macronutrients (110%–230%) as opposed to the unenriched biochar and control treatments. Maize grown in soil amended with digestate-enriched biochar showed a significantly higher biomass yield compared to the control and non-enriched biochar treatments but was slightly lower than yields from chemical fertilizer treatments. The slightly lower yield (20%–25%) achieved from digestate-enriched biochar was attributed to slower mineralization and release of the adsorbed nutrients in the short term. However, digestate-enriched biochar could in the long term become more beneficial in sustaining soil fertility through maintaining high soil organic matter and the gradual release of micronutrients compared to conventional chemical fertilizer. Positive effects on soil micronutrients, macronutrients, organic matter, and biomass yield indicates that enriched biochar could partly replace chemical fertilizers and promote organic farming in a circular economy concept.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su11113211