Microspectroscopic visualization of how biochar lifts the soil organic carbon ceiling.

ABSTRACT: The soil carbon (C) saturation concept suggests an upper limit to the storage of soil organic carbon (SOC). It is set by the mechanisms that protect soil organic matter from mineralization. Biochar has the capacity to protect new C, including rhizodeposits and microbial necromass. However, the decadal-scale mechanisms by which biochar influences the molecular diversity, spatial heterogeneity, and temporal changes in SOC persistence, remain unresolved. Here we show that the soil C storage ceiling of a Ferralsol under subtropical pasture was raised by a second application of Eucalyptus saligna biochar 8.2 years after the first application-the first application raised the soil C storage ceiling by 9.3 Mg new C ha^-1 and the second application raised this by another 2.3 Mg new C ha

SUBMITTER: Weng ZH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9440262 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature