Department of Agronomy

Permanent URI for this community

http://localhost:4000/handle/20.500.14270/203

Browse

Browsing Department of Agronomy by Subject "Biochar"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Biochar Application to Soil for Increased Resilience of Agroecosystems to Climate Change in Eastern and Southern Africa
    (Springer Nature Switzerland, 2019)  Obia, Alfred;  Martinsen, Vegard;  Cornelissen, Gerard;  Børresen, Trond;  Smebye, Andreas Botnen;  Munera-Echeverri, Jose Luis;  Mulder, Jan
    With the current unreliable rainfall pattern, which is expected to worsen due to climate change, agricultural production might become more challenging especially among resource-poor farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa. This calls for adaptation of farming systems to overcome this emerging challenge. Biochar, a product of biomass pyrolysis, with long-term evidence from Amazonia, might contribute to a climate-resilient farming system. This is due to its positive effects on soil chemical and physical properties resulting in increased crop yields, which has been experimentally demonstrated largely within the last two decades. In acidic low cation exchange capacity (CEC) soils, biochar derived from corncob at 5% application rate, for example, increased pH by ≥1 unit and CEC by ≥2 cmolc kg−1 in addition to direct nutrient supply. Increased CEC may be linked to the observed increase in soil organic carbon content (biochar carbon/sequestered carbon) due to biochar addition. Sequestration of carbon due to biochar has been reported to be stronger in soils that have low pH and low carbon contents, with greater effects from biochars produced from woody materials or those produced at high temperature. Such soils with low pH and carbon contents are common in tropical areas. Another effect of biochar at field-relevant doses of ≤5% is the improvement of physical properties such as increased aggregate stability by up to 7%, increased aggregate mean weight diameter by 8–13%, increased soil water contents and reduced soil temperature fluctuations. Similar changes to soil properties have been found to increase yield by 10% based on global dataset, but up to fourfold increases have also been reported for acidic low CEC soils. One key challenge to implementation of biochar technology for increased yields is probably the unavailability of large quantity of biochar often in tens of Mg ha−1 that is required for field application. Conservation agriculture (CA) with its three principles of minimum tillage, residue retention and crop diversification may partly address this key challenge of biochar implementation. This can be achieved by applying biochar only in the tilled part of land in a minimum tillage operation, which can be only 10% of the land surface. In this way, biochar may increase the positive attributes of CA such as increased rainwater harvesting and crop yields. Further solution to the quantity of biochar material for field application is the application of limited quantity of biochar in combination with traditional amendment such as manures either in mixtures or after co-composting. In this way, biochar is expected to deliver its benefits to manure resulting in improved soil properties and increased yields. Overall, incorporation of biochar in CA-based farming system alone or in combination with manures might contribute to building of climate- resilient agroecosystem.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Conservation tillage and biochar improve soil water content and moderate soil temperature in a tropical Acrisol
    (Soil & Tillage Research, 2020-03) Obia, Alfred; Cornelissen, Gerard; Martinsenb, Vegard; Smebyea, Andreas Botnen; Martinsenb, Jan Mulder; Smebyea, Andreas Botnen; Mulder, Jan
    Projected climate change in Sub-Saharan Africa involves increased drought and elevated soil temperature. Conservation farming (CF), including minimum tillage, crop rotation and crop residue retention, is proposed as a climate smart soil management option to adapt to climate change through enhanced climate resilience. Here, we determine the effect on soil moisture and temperature of CF planting basins in a Zambian Acrisol. Construction of CF planting basins (40 cm x 15 cm, while 20 cm deep), using hand-hoes, is a commonly used minimum tillage practice among small holders in southern Africa, effectively requiring tillage of only 10 % of a field. The study included basins under regular CF and under CF with 4 t ha−1 pigeon pea biochar (CF + BC). Effects are com pared with those in an adjacent soil under conventional tillage, where the entire land surface is ploughed. Soil moisture and temperature sensors were installed in the root zone, 10–12 cm deep, for continuous monitoring during two growing seasons. Soil moisture decreased in the order CF + BC > CF > conventional farming. Due to rainwater harvesting in the basins, maximum soil water retention under CF + BC and CF was greater than under conventional farming (+59 % to +107 % and +15 % to +65 %, respectively). Soil drying after free drainage until permanent wilting point lasted longer under CF + BC (18.4–22.3 days) than under both CF and conventional farming (13.3–18.4 days and 14.9–17.8 days, respectively). In situ soil maximum temperature and diurnal temperature range in the growing season increased in the order CF + BC < CF < conventional farming due to decreases in soil moisture. However, additional laboratory tests, with soil-BC mixtures at field capacity, revealed that BC addition to soil, which caused a decrease in bulk density, also resulted in a significant decline in soil thermal conductivity (p < 0.001). Thus, we hypothesize that BC-enhanced soil moisture in basins helped to reduce soil temperature and its fluctuations, due to both increased heat capacity and decreased thermal con ductivity. This study shows that CF in combination with BC in an Acrisol, through enhancing plant-available water and moderating soil temperature, is important for crop productivity and has potential as an element of climate smart agriculture.