Cited by 150Soil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsAgricultural Science and FertilizationSoil and Water Nutrient Dynamics

The effect of biochar feedstock, pyrolysis temperature, and application rate on the reduction of ammonia volatilisation from biochar-amended soil

Mandal, Sanchita, Donner, Erica, Vasileiadis, Sotirios, Skinner, William, Smith, Euan, Lombi, Enzo·2018·Science of The Total Environment

Abstract

Ammonia (NH 3) volatilisation is one of the most important causes of nitrogen (N) loss in soil-plant systems worldwide. Carbon-based amendments such as biochar have been shown to mitigate NH 3 volatilisation in agricultural soils to various degrees. In this study, we investigated the influence of biochar feedstocks (poultry manure, green waste compost, and wheat straw), pyrolysis temperatures (250, 350, 450, 500 and 700°C) and application rates (1 and 2%), on NH 3 volatilisation from a calcareous soil. The 15 biochars were chemically characterized, and a laboratory incubation study was conducted to assess NH 3 volatilisation from the soil over a period of four weeks. Furthermore, changes to the bacterial and fungal communities were assessed via sequencing of phylogenetic marker genes. The study showed that biochar feedstock sources, pyrolysis temperature, and application rates all affected NH 3 volatilisation. Overall, low pyrolysis temperature biochars and higher biochar application rates achieved greater reductions in NH 3 volatilisation. A feedstock related effect was also observed, with poultry manure biochar reducing NH 3 volatilisation by an average of 53% in comparison to 38% and 35% reductions for biochar from green waste compost and wheat straw respectively. Results indicate that the biogeochemistry underlying biochar-mediated reduction in NH 3 volatilisation is complex and caused by changes in soil pH, NH 3 sorption and microbial community composition (especially ammonia oxidising guilds).

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.312

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Authors
Mandal, S., Donner, E., Vasileiadis, S., Skinner, W., Smith, E., & Lombi, E.
Affiliations
  • University of South Australia (AU)
  • University of Thessaly (GR)
Corresponding author
  • Mandal, Sanchita
  • Lombi, Enzo
Venue
Science of The Total Environment
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-06
Volume
627
Pages
942-950
ISSN
0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2790123852
Cited by
149
References
77
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 3
FWCI
12.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion)
  • University of Thessaly Institutional Repository (University of Thessaly) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Department of Education and Training
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Agricultural Science and Fertilization
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
Keywords
biochar, ammonia volatilization, nitrogen loss, pyrolysis temperature, biochar feedstock, biochar application rate, green waste compost, wheat straw, calcareous soils, soil microbial communities, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, soil pH, ammonia sorption, soil amendment

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