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Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology ›› 2020, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (12): 4117-4124.doi: 10.13287/j.1001-9332.202012.027

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Effects of chemical N fertilizer reduction combined with biochar application on soil organic carbon active components and mineralization in paddy fields of yellow soil.

SHI Deng-lin1, WANG Xiao-li1*, DUAN Jian-jun2, LIU An-kai1,3, LUO An-huan1, LI Rui-dong1, HOU Zai-fen4   

  1. 1College of Agriculture, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China;
    2College of Tobacco Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China;
    3Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Guizhou Province, Guiyang 550001, China;
    4Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Sinan County, Tongren 565100, Guizhou, China
  • Received:2020-07-13 Accepted:2020-09-22 Published:2021-06-15
  • Contact: *E-mail: xlwang@gzu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China (31860160, 41361064) and the Experimental Project of Returning Straw Biochar to the Field in Sinan County.

Abstract: Reducing the application of chemical fertilizer and increasing fertilizer efficiency can contribute to the sustainable development of agriculture. To evaluate the impacts of N fertilizer reduction and biochar application on soil organic carbon active components and mineralization in yellow soil, an experiment was carried out with five different substitution rates of chemical N fertilizer by biochar under the same rate of N input, i.e., 0, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% (CK, T1-T4). The results showed that chemical N fertilizer reduction combined with biochar application could significantly improve soil organic carbon (SOC), the magnitude of which was proportional to the amount of biochar application. Under the condition of 20% substitution rate (T2), soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and readily oxidized carbon (ROC) were the highest with 293.68 mg·kg-1 and 250.00 mg·kg-1, respectively, but the concentration of soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was the lowest. SOC mineralization rate reached the highest on the third day of incubation. Then, it decreased rapidly in the early period (day 3 of incubation to day 6), decreased slowly in the middle period (day 6 of incubation to day 18), and stabilized in the later period (day 18 of incubation to day 30). There was a logarithmic relationship between mineralization rate of soil organic carbon and incubation time. SOC cumulative mineralization amount and cumulative mineralization rate were the lowest in the T2 treatment with 0.66-0.86 g·kg-1 and 2.9%-4.0%, respectively. As the substitution rate of chemical N fertilizer by biochar increased, rice yield increased firstly and then decreased. Rice yield in the T2 treatment was the highest, which increased by 13.4% compared with the CK. The substitution of 20% chemical N fertilizer with biochar (5 t·hm-2) could effectively improve the contents of SOC, MBC, ROC, and rice yield, reduce the cumulative mineralization amount of organic carbon and cumulative mineralization rate, and enhance the capacity of soil carbon sequestration. Hence, it could be the most effective fertilizer practice for improving soil fertility and rice yield in paddy field of yellow soil in Guizhou Province.

Key words: biochar, yellow paddy soil, organic carbon component, organic carbon mineralization, cumulative mineralization rate.