Biochar built soil carbon over a decade by stabilizing rhizodeposits
Weng, Zhe;
van Zwieten, Lukas;
Singh, Bhupinder Pal;
Joseph, Stephen;
Macdonald, Lynne
;
Tavakkoli, Ehsan;
Rose, T;
Kimber, Stephen;
Morris, Stephen;
Araujo, Joyce;
Cowie, Annette
2017-04-24
Journal Article
Nature Climate Change
7
5
May 2017
371-376
While biochar has been widely promoted for its potential to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC), short-term studies have shown that biochar can both stimulate (positive priming) or lower (negative priming) mineralisation of SOC. Understanding plant-soil-biochar interactions over the long-term is crucial to accurately predict the carbon (C) storage potential of biochar additional to its own inherent recalcitrant C content. We performed periodic 13CO2 pulse-labelling of ryegrass in the field, and monitored belowground C allocation, SOC priming, and root-derived C stabilisation between 8.2 and 9.5 years in a nearly decade-aged biochar (hardwood, 550°C) -amended Ferralsol. We provide evidence that field-aged biochar (a) enhanced belowground C recovery by 20%, (b) promoted negative priming (lowered C loss through respiration by 160 g CO2-C m-2 y-1) and (c) increased the retention of root-derived 13C in the stable organo-mineral fractions (<53 μm) by 6% (P< 0.05). Through synchrotron-based spectroscopic analysis of bulk soil, field-aged biochar and microaggregates (<250 μm), we mechanistically demonstrate the role of biochar in accelerating formation of micro-agglomerates via organo-mineral interactions.
Nature Publishing Group
Carbon Sequestration Science
https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3276
| Funding Body Name | Project/Grant ID |
|---|---|
| Australia. Department of Agriculture |
EP161493
Journal article - Refereed
English
Weng, Zhe; van Zwieten, Lukas; Singh, Bhupinder Pal; Joseph, Stephen; Macdonald, Lynne; Tavakkoli, Ehsan; Rose, T; Kimber, Stephen; Morris, Stephen; Araujo, Joyce; Cowie, Annette. Biochar built soil carbon over a decade by stabilizing rhizodeposits. Nature Climate Change. 2017; 7(5 May 2017):371-376.https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3276
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