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He M, Xiong X, Wang L, Hou D, Bolan NS, Ok YS, Rinklebe J, Tsang DCW. A critical review on performance indicators for evaluating soil biota and soil health of biochar-amended soils. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2021; 414:125378. [PMID: 33652215 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 12/25/2020] [Accepted: 02/06/2021] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Amendment of soil with biochar has been widely investigated for soil quality improvement in terms of biotic and abiotic functionalities. The performance of biochar-based amendment varies according to the site characteristics, biochar properties, and soil management targets. There is no existing review that summarizes a broad range of performance indicators to evaluate the health of biochar-amended soil. Based on the latest studies on soil amendment with biochar, this review critically analyzes the soil health indicators that reveal the potential impact of biochar amendment with respect to physicochemical properties, biological properties, and overall soil quality. It is found that soil pH, soil aggregate stability, and soil organic matter are the basic indicators that could influence most of the soil functions, which should be prioritized for measurement. Relevant functional indicators (e.g., erosion rate, crop productivity, and ecotoxicity) should be selected based on the soil management targets of biochar application in agricultural soils. With this review, it is expected that target-oriented performance indicators can be selected in future studies for field-relevant evaluation of soil amendment by biochar under different situations. Therefore, a more cost-effective and purpose-driven assessment protocol for biochar-amended soils can be devised by using relevant measurable attributes suggested in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingjing He
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xinni Xiong
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Lei Wang
- Institute of Construction Materials, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
| | - Deyi Hou
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Nanthi S Bolan
- Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, Faculty of Science, Enginnering and Environment, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils (Soil CRC), Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
| | - Yong Sik Ok
- Korea Biochar Research Center & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jörg Rinklebe
- Laboratory of Soil, and Groundwater-Management, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water, and Waste, Management, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany; Department of Environment, Energy and Geoinformatics, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea
| | - Daniel C W Tsang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
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