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Climate change

Biochar Enhances Soil Quality and Carbon Sequestration under Alternate Wetting and Drying in Paddy Ecosystems

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Researchers from the School of Agriculture at Liaodong University have conducted a two-year field experiment to investigate the effects of biochar on soil organic carbon (SOC) and its labile fractions in paddy fields under alternate wetting and drying (AWD) conditions. The study found that biochar increased SOC, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), easily oxidizable organic carbon (EOC), light fraction organic carbon (LFOC), and carbon pool management index (CPMI) at depths of 0-10 cm and 0-20 cm.

Key Takeaways:

  • Biochar increased SOC by 18.4-53.3% and 14.7-70.2% at depths of 0-10 cm and 0-20 cm, respectively.
  • AWD had no effect on SOC and particulate organic carbon (POC) content, but increased DOC, MBC, EOC, LFOC, and CPMI by 24.4-56.4%, 12.6-17.7%, 9.2-16.8%, 25.6-28.1%, and 11.3-18.6%, respectively.
  • Biochar increased DOC, MBC, EOC, LFOC, POC, and CPMI at depths of 0-20 cm by 95.2-188.3%, 46.6-224%, 17.4-22.3%, 10.2-27.6%, 5.6-27.2, and 14.7-70.2%, respectively.
  • The combination of biochar and AWD achieved synergistic optimization of the food-water-carbon sequestration trade-off, beneficial for sustainable agricultural production.

Statistics:

  • Increase in SOC: 18.4-53.3% (0-10 cm), 14.7-70.2% (0-20 cm)
  • Increase in DOC: 24.4-56.4% (AWD), 95.2-188.3% (biochar)
  • Increase in MBC: 12.6-17.7% (AWD), 46.6-224% (biochar)
  • Increase in EOC: 9.2-16.8% (AWD), 10.2-27.6% (biochar)
  • Increase in LFOC: 25.6-28.1% (AWD), 17.4-22.3% (biochar)
  • Increase in POC: 11.3-18.6% (AWD), 5.6-27.2 (biochar)
  • Increase in CPMI: 11.3-18.6% (AWD), 5.6-27.2 (biochar)

Sources:

  • Biochar Makes Soil Organic Carbon More Labile, but Its Carbon Sequestration Potential Remains Large in an Alternate Wetting and Drying Paddy Ecosystem. Agronomy, 2025, 15(7), 1547.
  • (Agronomy - http://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy)
  • The publisher for Agronomy is MDPI AG.
  • A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15071547

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