Microbially Driven Iron Cycling Facilitates Organic Carbon Accrual in Decadal Biochar-Amended Soil.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is pivotal for both agricultural activities and climate change mitigation, and biochar stands as a promising tool for bolstering SOC and curtailing soil carbon dioxide (CO) emissions. However, the involvement of biochar in SOC dynamics and the underlying interactions among biochar, soil microbes, iron minerals, and fresh organic matter (FOM, such as plant debris) remain largely unknown, especially in agricultural soils after long-term biochar amendment. We therefore introduced FOM to soils with and without a decade-long history of biochar amendment, performed soil microcosm incubations, and evaluated carbon and iron dynamics as well as microbial properties.

Exploring negative emission potential of biochar to achieve carbon neutrality goal in China.

Limiting global warming to within 1.5 °C might require large-scale deployment of premature negative emission technologies with potentially adverse effects on the key sustainable development goals. Biochar has been proposed as an established technology for carbon sequestration with co-benefits in terms of soil quality and crop yield.

Grazing exclusion alters denitrification NO/(NO + N) ratio in alpine meadow of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Grazing exclusion has been implemented worldwide as a nature-based solution for restoring degraded grassland ecosystems that arise from overgrazing. However, the effect of grazing exclusion on soil nitrogen cycle processes, subsequent greenhouse gas emissions and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of four-year grazing exclusion on plant communities, soil properties, and soil nitrogen cycle-related functional gene abundance in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Dynamic changes in soil organic carbon induced by long-term compost application under a wheat-maize double cropping system in North China.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a vital role in improving soil quality and alleviating global warming. Understanding the dynamic changes in SOC is crucial for its accumulation induced by compost application in agroecosystem. In this study, soil samples were collected from three treatments: high-rate bio-compost (BioM), low-rate bio-compost (BioM), and control (CK, no fertilization) during 2002-2020 in a wheat-maize double cropping system in North China.

Mitigation of soil NO emissions by decomposed straw based on changes in dissolved organic matter and denitrifying bacteria.

The return of decomposed straw represents a less explored potential option for reducing NO emissions. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of decomposed straw return on soil NO mitigation are still not fully clear. Therefore, we used a helium atmosphere robotized continuous flow incubation system to compare the soil NO and N emissions from four treatments: CK (control: no straw), WS (wheat straw), IWS (wheat straw decomposed with Irpex lacteus), and PWS (wheat straw decomposed with Phanerochaete chrysosporium).

Formation of soil organic carbon pool is regulated by the structure of dissolved organic matter and microbial carbon pump efficacy: A decadal study comparing different carbon management strategies.

To achieve long-term increases in soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, it is essential to understand the effects of carbon management strategies on SOC formation pathways, particularly through changes in microbial necromass carbon (MNC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Using a 14-year field study, we demonstrate that both biochar and maize straw lifted the SOC ceiling, but through different pathways. Biochar, while raising SOC and DOC content, decreased substrate degradability by increasing carbon aromaticity.

Effects of white-rot fungal pretreatment of corn straw return on greenhouse gas emissions from the North China Plain soil.

Straw-return with fungal treatment is a potential method for reducing soil greenhouse gas emissions through carbon (C) sequestration and NO mitigation. However, there is little information on the effects of different fungal treatments of crop straw return on soil CO and NO emissions. To explore to what extent decomposed corn straw and its components controls soil CO and NO emissions, we set up three sequential incubation experiments using soil collected from the North China Plain, an intensive agricultural area.

The importance of ammonia volatilization in estimating the efficacy of nitrification inhibitors to reduce NO emissions: A global meta-analysis.

Nitrification inhibitors (NIs) have been shown to be an effective tool to mitigate direct NO emissions from soils. However, emerging findings suggest that NIs may increase soil ammonia (NH) volatilization and, subsequently, indirect NO emission. A quantitative synthesis is lacking to evaluate how NIs may affect NH volatilization and the overall NO emissions under different environmental conditions.

Conservation tillage for 17 years alters the molecular composition of organic matter in soil profile.

Conservation tillage is considered as a potential measure to mitigate climate change by sequestering soil organic matter (SOM), however its stabilization mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, we revealed the molecular composition of SOM in soil profile (~50 cm depth) from a 17-yr tillage experiment in North China. The soils were collected from 0-10, 10-20, 20-30 and 30-50 cm layers under conventional tillage (CT), and conservation tillage such as rotary tillage (RT) and no-tillage (NT).

Long-term biochar addition alters the characteristics but not the chlorine reactivity of soil-derived dissolved organic matter.

Biochar is widely and increasingly applied to farmlands. However, it remains unclear how long-term biochar addition alters the characteristics and chlorine reactivity of soil-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM), an important terrestrial disinfection byproduct (DBP) precursor in watersheds. Here, we analyzed the spectroscopic and molecular-level characteristics of soil-derived DOM and the formation and toxicity of DBP mixtures from DOM chlorination for two long-term (5 and 11 years) biochar addition experimental farmlands.

[Effects of biochar amendment on cropland soil bulk density, cation exchange capacity, and particulate organic matter content in the North China Plain].

A 3-year field experiment with randomized block design was conducted to study the effects of biochar amendment on the soil bulk density, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and particulate organic matter C (POM-C) and N (POM-N) contents in a high-yielding cropland in the North China Plain. Four treatments were installed, i.e.