Biochar Application. Essential Soil Microbial Ecology PDF
Preview Biochar Application. Essential Soil Microbial Ecology
BIOCHAR APPLICATION ESSENTIAL SOIL MICROBIAL ECOLOGY Edited by T. K R -s , C H. o omang alebiTso enioR aRoline RR Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Elsevier Radarweg 29, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, UK 50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions. This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein). Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and ex- perience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional p ractices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and k nowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments d escribed herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional r esponsibility. To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or edi- tors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN: 978-0-12-803433-0 For information on all Elsevier publications visit our website at https://www.elsevier.com/ Publisher: Candice Janco Editorial Project Manager: Marisa LaFleur Production Project Manager: Vijayaraj Purushothaman Designer: Matthew Limbert Typeset by TNQ Books and Journals Dedication To our families Contributors P. Barakoti Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom A.O. Bayode Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom S. Behrens University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States and BioTechonology Institute, St. Paul, MN, United States F.S. Cannavan University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil T.R. Cavagnaro The Waite Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, SA, Australia R. Chintala Nutrient Management & Stewardship, Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, Rosemont, IL, United States L.F. de Souza University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil X. Domene Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain C.J. Ennis Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom A.-M. Fortuna North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, United States M.G. Germano University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil; Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Embrapa Soybean, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil Y. Gong Nankai University, Tianjin, China R. Gurav Nankai University, Tianjin, China N. Hagemann University of Tüebingen, Tüebingen, Germany J. Harter University of Tüebingen, Tüebingen, Germany H. Lyu Nankai University, Tianjin, China F.M. Nakamura University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil E.-L. Ng Future Soils Laboratory, Melbourne, VIC, Australia C.H. Orr Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom J. Pickering Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom S. Prior Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom T. Komang Ralebitso-Senior Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom T.E. Schumacher South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, United States G. Soja AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Tulln, Austria C. Steiner University of Kassel, Witzenhausen, Germany S. Subramanian South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, United States J. Tang Nankai University, Tianjin, China S.M. Tsai University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil xi Foreword Biochar is charcoal made from biomass and used as a soil amendment. In late 2014, Elsevier asked me to review a book proposal on biochar by Komang Ralebitso-Senior and Caroline Orr. I had been aware of the potential of biochar to improve agricultural productivity, clean up con- taminated land, and promote carbon sequestration to reduce the impact of climate change. As always my advice to investigators was to provide evidence in support of the claims. It seemed to me that a lot had already been written, but few books covered in depth the hard scientific evidence backing the case for biochar use. My dialogue with the authors on their proposal suggested that they had the capacity to produce just the type of book needed for scientists to evaluate the evidence base for the bio- logical activity. If it passed that test, and field trials were positive, then policymakers would be in a better place to recommend various biochar formulations as a means to protect the planet and promote food security. Komang and Caroline have been up to the challenge of producing such a book, and the scientific and agricultural communities now have a very useful volume to consider the evidence. I have spent a career in research largely trying to establish evidence that might be useful to develop policy for public and environmental good. This is in contrast to curiosity–driven activity, which might also be termed “blue sky” research. The reality is that innovation, which is the process of translating an idea or invention into goods or services for the public good or for which people will pay commercially, is critical in both paths. As Coordinator of the OECD Co-operative Research Programme for Biological Resource Management for Agricultural Sustainability from 1989 to 2006, I was continually inviting topics for bi-national research collaboration and international workshops. Always the challenge was to select innovative ideas, often applying the latest technologies from widely varying topics. For example, these ranged from the use of earth observa- tion in precision agriculture, to the use of the latest DNA/RNA probes to identify relevant biological activity in soil. Many were in the context of cli- mate change, which is having so much impact on the planet, its biota, and its people. Biochar is a potentially innovative topic and product, and can be investigated using innovative technologies such as DNA/RNA probes. Innovation can be clouded by false claims. While working in the United States and in other countries such as India, I became aware of the “snake oil salesman” who would try to peddle microbial inoculants to improve xiii xiv FOREWORD agricultural production. Most could be dismissed because of lack of evi- dence but occasionally evidence was produced for the value of a prepara- tion. These included rhizobia to stimulate nitrogen fixation in legumes, and bacteria and fungi that can control pests and diseases, some of the inoculants having been genetically modified. Most importantly, however, molecular markers became increasingly the system of choice to identify establishment and effectiveness. Caroline and Komang’s book effectively collates some of the latest scientific investigations, including molecular markers, on biochar action in the environment and will provoke much discussion; I hope it is read widely. Jim Lynch, OBE Distinguished Professor of Life Sciences, University of Surrey Acknowledgments First, we would like to acknowledge those who contributed directly to this manuscript: the teams of authors who helped to make our idea a reality and added to the strength of the book; and Professor Jim Lynch, who gave us his time to discuss the need for a policy statement and then agreed generously to write the Foreword. Several anonymous reviewers endorsed our book proposal and informed some of our decisions, helping to shape the book into its current form. We were also helped by researchers who could not contribute to the manuscript, but pointed us in the direction of people who could. We are grateful to Elsevier for giving us this opportunity to showcase our analysis of state-of-the-art biochar research, its future direction, and policy requirements. In particular, Marisa LaFleur is acknowledged grate- fully for her friendly, task-oriented, and supportive professionalism. Throughout the process we have been supported by our colleagues at Teesside University who: allowed us to pick their brains on the publishing process and shared their experiences of its inherent joys and pitfalls; made time to help develop our blog video clip; and, generally, provided us with a “Go for it!” attitude. This book has also happened as a result of contributions from our student researchers Abayomi Olaifa, Pratima Rai, Daniel Dancsics, Emma Phillips, Stephen Anderson, Shaun Prior, Christopher Schroeter, Sean Lindsay, Joe Russell, Jodie Harris, and Paul Wilkinson. Their enthusiasm for our biochar research has helped focus our minds and kept the wheels going. Furthermore, their research would not have been possible with- out funding from the Teesside University Research Fund, Department for Learning Development Students as Researchers, and Society for Applied Microbiology Students into Work schemes. Of course, there are many people who supported us academically before we had the idea for this book but whose encouragement has helped shape our careers. Specifically, Komang would like to thank Professor Eric Senior, Professor Henk van Verseveld (RIP), and Dr Wilfred Röling (RIP). Caroline would like to thank Professor Stephen Cummings, Dr Julia Cooper, Professor Jennifer Ames, Dr Lynn Dover, and Dr Andrew Nelson. Thankfully, there is more to our lives than being academics and we are lucky enough to be surrounded by many fantastic people who remind us of, and nurture, this balance when we need it. We will never be able to communicate fully our gratitude to you, our family and friends, for your xv xvi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS support this year, and always especially our parents: Malebitso and Alex (RIP), Jean and Michael. Our final acknowledgment is reserved for our husbands, Eric Senior (and Our Two Ks) and Mark Dunkley. Thank you, mainly, for tolerating us, particularly when we come home late, get distracted with emails at weekends and holidays, and expect you to act as sounding boards during moments of ranting. Your unconditional love and support helps make us what and who we are. C H A P T E R 1 Microbial Ecology Analysis of Biochar-Augmented Soils: Setting the Scene T. Komang Ralebitso-Senior, C.H. Orr Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom O U T L I N E Overview 2 Biochar 2 Terra Preta 4 Contemporary Biochar and Physico-/Biochemical Characteristics 4 Biochar and Its Applications 5 Climate Change Mitigation 5 Agriculture 7 Bioremediation 15 Biochar as Habitat for Soil Organisms 16 Soil Biota Response to Biochar 19 Microfauna 19 Meso-/Macrofauna 23 Policy Guidelines and Requirements for Biochar Application 24 Summary 31 References 32 Biochar Application 1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803433-0.00001-1 © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 2 1. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY ANALYSIS OF BIOCHAR-AUGMENTED SOILS OVERVIEW Surpassing energy production and water provision, carbon seques- tration, to slow the momentum of inimical climate change, is now the single greatest challenge facing the scientific community. Of the various sequestration options, charcoal production, to stabilize photosynthetically fixed carbon, and its subsequent application to soil (biochar), is destined to make a significant contribution particularly with its additionalities of waste reduction and energy production. Together with carbon sequestra- tion, significant economic benefits can be gained through ecosystem res- toration, including contaminated land remediation and improved plant productivity, by enhanced fertilizer efficacy, with small farmers in devel- oping countries set to benefit most from this “climate-smart” agriculture (Cernansky, 2015). The importance of harnessing carbon can be gauged readily by recog- nizing that between the 1850s and 2000 carbon loss from the soil organic pool totaled 78 ± 12 gigatonnes (Gt) while natural fire biochar redressed the balance by 35% at most. According to the UK Environment Agency, contaminated land accounts for >57,000 ha in England and Wales alone while the African continent is blighted by 63 million hectares. Current bioremediation strategies, such as land-farming/pump-and-treat/semipermeable and permeable reac- tive barriers, can be enhanced considerably by biochar as a vehicle for biosupplementation, biostimulation, and bioaugmentation. With the unprecedented global interest in the use of biochar as an environmental management tool, this book aims to showcase the cutting-edge studies and findings on the (molecular) microbial ecology of historical and con- temporary biochar applications to soil. BIOCHAR Biochar, sometimes termed “pyrochar,” is the carbon-rich, solid by- product obtained from the carbonization of biomass, such as wood, manure, or leaves, heated to temperatures between 300°C and 1000°C under low (preferably zero) oxygen concentration. This process is known as pyrolysis (Lehmann, 2007; Lehmann and Joseph, 2009; Verheijen et al., 2010), which, typically, gives three products: liquid (bio-oil); solid (biochar); and gas (syngas) with the yield of each varying dramatically depending on the pyrolysis process (slow, fast, and flash) and conditions (ie, feedstock, temperature, pressure, time, heating, and rate) (Fig. 1.1). In particular, biochar production has been reported to decrease with increas- ing temperature (IEA, 2007 cited in Spokas et al., 2009).
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