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Cited by 36Soil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsPeatlands and Wetlands EcologySoil and Unsaturated Flow

Biochar influences on soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes in response to wetting and drying cycles for a forest soil

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Johnson, Mark S., Webster, Cameron, Jassal, Rachhpal S., Hawthorne, Iain, Black, T. Andrew·2017·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/s41598-017-07224-6PMC PMC5533733
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Abstract

Biochar has been the focus of significant research efforts in agriculture, but little research has been conducted in forested ecosystems. Here, we assess CO 2 and CH 4 fluxes from a forest soil in response to biochar additions using a before-after-control-intervention experimental design. Soil CO 2 and CH 4 fluxes were measured over a series of wetting cycles by coupling soil mesocosms equipped with auto-chambers to a laser-based spectrometer for high-frequency measurements of gas fluxes and related soil processes. We found that soil CO 2 fluxes were higher and CH 4 fluxes were less negative (e.g. reduced CH 4 uptake) for the biochar-amended soil compared to the no biochar condition. Furthermore, biochar improved soil infiltrability under wet conditions, and enhanced soil moisture levels under dry conditions. Biochar additions shifted the point of maximum soil respiration (i.e. soil CO 2 efflux) to a slightly wetter soil moisture level. The point of maximum CH 4 uptake was also shifted to a slightly wetter moisture level for soil with biochar. Overall differences in soil gas fluxes were found to be minor compared to the increase in soil carbon resulting from the biochar addition. Biochar may thus contribute to improved forest management through increases to soil carbon stocks and improved soil moisture levels.

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  • Previous studies have shown that biochar amendment can increase, decrease, or have negligible effect on soil CO2 emissions.

    “Previous studies have shown that biochar amendment can increase (Johnson et  al. 2017; Yuan et al. 2014), decrease (Gascó et al. 2016; Sun et al. 2014), or have negligible effect (Sackett et al. 2015; Zhou et al. 2017) on soil ­ CO 2 emissions.”

    From Role of biochar toward carbon neutrality (2023) · cites this paper as Johnson et al. 2017

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Research works printed but not linked: 23

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Johnson, M. S., Webster, C., Jassal, R. S., Hawthorne, I., & Black, T. A.
Affiliations
University of British Columbia (CA)
Corresponding author
Johnson, Mark S.
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2017-07-28
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
6780-6780
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41598-017-07224-6
PMC
PMC5533733
OpenAlex
W2736358360
Cited by
36
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1
FWCI
3.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • British Columbia Innovation Council
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Soil and Unsaturated Flow
Keywords
biochar, soil CO2 flux, methane flux, wetting-drying cycles, forest soils, soil respiration, soil carbon sequestration, soil moisture, soil infiltrability, soil gas exchange, forest management

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