Differential ability of pyrolysed biomass derived from diverse feedstocks in alleviating salinity stress
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Differential ability of pyrolysed biomass derived from diverse feedstocks in alleviating salinity stress Manpreet Singh Mavi 1 & Rajanbeer Singh Bhullar 1 & Om Parkash Choudhary 1 Received: 11 June 2020 / Revised: 7 October 2020 / Accepted: 16 October 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Effectiveness of application of pyrolysed biomass (biochar) derived from different feedstocks in mitigating adverse response in the saline environments needs further insight. Therefore, ability of three different biochars [maize stover biochar (MB), poultry manure biochar (PB), rice straw biochar (RB)] in ameliorating saline soils varying in electrical conductivity (EC2, EC8, EC16 dS m−1) was investigated by conducting an incubation experiment for 8 weeks. Increasing salinity reduced (28–45%) soil microbial activity in the unamended soils. However, greater C mineralization and microbial biomass C (MBC) were noticed in soils amended with PB followed by RB or MB. Likewise, the percentage of net C mineralized was greater in the PB-amended (15– 23%) compared to RB (11–19%)- or MB (9–17%)-amended soils at given salinity levels. Furthermore, greater available N and P in soils amended with PB than RB or MB could be related to its lower C to N ratio and better ash content. Instead, significantly higher soil organic C (SOC) concentration observed in the saline soils amended with RB (41–67%) than PB (17–44%) was most likely due to its higher C content and greater stability. Additionally, RB with its greater reserve of potassium can serve as a good source of available K in the saline soils. The study showed the potential of biochar derived from different feedstocks in ameliorating saline soils. Greater ability of poultry manure biochar in improving resilience of soil microbial biomass to survive under salinity was a noticeable evidence of feedstock’s type in influencing biochar behavior in stressed environments. Keywords Salinity . Biochar . Organic amendments . EC . Microbial activity . Soil nutrients
1 Introduction Soil degradation caused by salinity is a universal environmental concern threatening agricultural production [1]. Salinity affects approximately 30% of irrigated croplands worldwide and poses a major threat to agricultural sustainability [2]. This area is predicted to increase due to human activities such as deforestation, accumulation of salts in soils from nearby industries, or by the use of wastewater from municipalities and sludge and continuous use of poor-quality irrigation water [3]. Ground water is an important and dependable source for agriculture, industrial, and domestic use. However, in many parts of arid and semi-arid areas, ground water high in salts is the only option for farmers to irrigate their crops [4]. Longterm use of saline ground water containing excessive salt * Manpreet Singh Mavi [email protected] 1
Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India
retards plant growth and result in poor crop production due to (
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