Effect of biochar addition on CO2 exchange in paddy fields under water-saving irrigation in Southeast China

Tuning Electrons Migration of Dual S Defects Mediated MoS2-x/ZnIn2S4-x Toward Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Photocatalytic hydrogen production is a prevalent method for hydrogen synthesis. However, high recombination rate of photogenerated carriers and high activation energy barrier of H remain persistent challenge. Here, the two-step hydrothermal method is utilized to prepare dual S-defect mediated catalyst molybdenum sulfide/zinc indium sulfide (MSv/ZISv), which has high hydrogen production rate of 8.83 mmol g-1h-1 under simulated sunlight. The achieved rate is 21.91 times higher than pure ZnIn2S4 substrate. Defects in ZIS within MSv/ZISv modify the primitive electronic structure by creating defect state that retaining good reducing power, leading to the rapid separation of electron-hole pairs and the generation of additional photogenerated carriers. The internal electric field further enhances the migration toward to cocatalyst. Simultaneously, the defects introduced on the MoS2 cause electron rearrangement, leading to electron clustering on both S vacancies and edge S. Thereby MSv/ZISv exhibits the lowest activation energy barrier and |ΔGH*|. This work explores the division of synergies between different types of S defects, providing new insights into the coupling of defect engineering.

Evaluation of net carbon sequestration and ecological benefits from single biochar-incorporated sorghum farmland systems in saline-alkali areas of Inner Mongolia, China

Biochar is widely recognized as a soil amendment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance soil carbon storage in agroecosystems; however, the systematic focus on carbon balance and ecological benefits in cropping systems remains unclear in saline-alkali areas under water-saving irrigation. Here, a 2-yr field experiment with carbon footprint method was conducted to determine soil carbon budgets, biochar carbon efficiency performance, and the economic and ecological benefits of mulched drip-irrigated sorghum production, in an arid salinized region of Inner Mongolia, China. Corn straw-derived biochar dosages of 0 (CK), 15 (B15), 30 (B30), and 45 (B45) t hm-2 were just applied into the soil in the first crop growing season. A single application of biochar to soil significantly reduced CO2 emissions for the current and subsequent crop-growing seasons, with 13.1%, 16.7%, and 12.5% reductions for B15, B30, and B45, respectively. Compared with the non-biochar control plots, B15, B30, and B45 also increased NPP by 36.7%, 38.4%, and 27.1%, respectively. The actual effects on improving net carbon sequestration for B15, B30, and B45 in the first year were higher than those in the second year, with mean increases of 1.27, 1.47, and 1.36 times, respectively; however, the efficiencies of biochar for fixing carbon per biochar dosage input for B15 were 72.8% and 64.1% higher than those of B30 and B45, respectively. Net profits were significantly improved by 57.2-87.1% by biochar treatments. The environmental benefits of biochar carbon trading revenues for B15, B30, and B45 increased by 105.9%, 162.1%, and 109.6%, respectively. The minimum observation for carbon productivity and the maximum measurements for both the economic and ecological benefits were B15. The B15 also significantly increased sorghum yield and grain number. Results demonstrate that biochar application in the current growing season helps reduce soil carbon emissions, increases net carbon sequestration for current and subsequent sorghum agroecosystems, and enhances net profit and ecological benefits. The optimal positive synergistic effect was observed at a biochar application rate of 15 t hm-2 for reducing soil carbon emissions, increasing crop production, and improving the ecological environment.

Design of a Portable Analyzer to Determine the Net Exchange of CO2 in Rice Field Ecosystems

Global warming is influenced by an increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration in the atmosphere. Consequently, Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) is the main factor that influences the exchange of carbon (C) between the atmosphere and the soil. As a result, agricultural ecosystems are a potential carbon dioxide (CO2) sink, particularly rice paddies (Oryza sativa). Therefore, a static chamber with a portable CO2 analyzer was designed and implemented for three rice plots to monitor CO2 emissions. Furthermore, a weather station was installed to record meteorological variables. The vegetative, reproductive, and maturation phases of the crop lasted 95, 35, and 42 days post-sowing (DPS), respectively. In total, the crop lasted 172 DPS. Diurnal NEE had the highest CO2 absorption capacity at 10:00 a.m. for the tillering stage (82 and 89 DPS), floral primordium (102 DPS), panicle initiation (111 DPS), and flowering (126 DPS). On the other hand, the maximum CO2 emission at 82, 111, and 126 DPS occurred at 6:00 p.m. At 89 and 102 DPS, it occurred at 4:00 and 6:00 a.m., respectively. NEE in the vegetative stage was -25 μmolCO2 m2 s-1, and in the reproductive stage, it was -35 μmolCO2 m2 s-1, indicating the highest absorption capacity of the plots. The seasonal dynamics of NEE were mainly controlled by the air temperature inside the chamber (Tc) (R = -0.69), the relative humidity inside the chamber (RHc) (R = -0.66), and net radiation (Rn) (R = -0.75). These results are similar to previous studies obtained via chromatographic analysis and eddy covariance (EC), which suggests that the portable analyzer could be an alternative for CO2 monitoring.

Trade-offs in carbon-degrading enzyme activities limit long-term soil carbon sequestration with biochar addition

Biochar amendment is one of the most promising agricultural approaches to tackle climate change by enhancing soil carbon (C) sequestration. Microbial-mediated decomposition processes are fundamental for the fate and persistence of sequestered C in soil, but the underlying mechanisms are uncertain. Here, we synthesise 923 observations regarding the effects of biochar addition (over periods ranging from several weeks to several years) on soil C-degrading enzyme activities from 130 articles across five continents worldwide. Our results showed that biochar addition increased soil ligninase activity targeting complex phenolic macromolecules by 7.1%, but suppressed cellulase activity degrading simpler polysaccharides by 8.3%. These shifts in enzyme activities explained the most variation of changes in soil C sequestration across a wide range of climatic, edaphic and experimental conditions, with biochar-induced shift in ligninase:cellulase ratio correlating negatively with soil C sequestration. Specifically, short-term (<1 year) biochar addition significantly reduced cellulase activity by 4.6% and enhanced soil organic C sequestration by 87.5%, whereas no significant responses were observed for ligninase activity and ligninase:cellulase ratio. However, long-term (≥1 year) biochar addition significantly enhanced ligninase activity by 5.2% and ligninase:cellulase ratio by 36.1%, leading to a smaller increase in soil organic C sequestration (25.1%). These results suggest that shifts in enzyme activities increased ligninase:cellulase ratio with time after biochar addition, limiting long-term soil C sequestration with biochar addition. Our work provides novel evidence to explain the diminished soil C sequestration with long-term biochar addition and suggests that earlier studies may have overestimated soil C sequestration with biochar addition by failing to consider the physiological acclimation of soil microorganisms over time.

Tea biochar-immobilized Ralstonia Bcul-1 increases nitrate nitrogen content and reduces the bioavailability of cadmium and chromium in a fertilized vegetable soil

Pyrolytic biochar (PL-BC, pyrochar) and hydrothermal biochar (HT-BC, hydrochar) derived from branches and leaves of tea plants had different pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total carbon nitrogen content, BET surface area, total pore volume, average pore diameter, and functional groups. HT-BC had a larger specific surface area and more functional groups than PL-BC. Ralstonia Bcul-1 (R-B) was the dominant and functional bacteria in a fertilized vegetable soil supplemented with TBB-immobilized R-B (TBB + R-B). R-B vitality was more closely related to BET surface area, total pore volume, and functional groups of tea-based biochar (TBB: PL-BC and HT-BC). R-B was able to maintain high oxidase activity. R-B and TBB + R-B can increase the activities of urease and peroxidase in vegetable soil playing an essential role in the biotransformation of ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO₃^--N). TBB was able to simultaneously increase the content of NO₃^--N and NH₄⁺-N, and TBB + R-B also significantly increased NO₃^--N content but decreased NH₄⁺-N content in a fertilized vegetable soil. These results indicated that R-B promoted nitrification in the soil, i.e. conversion of NH₄⁺-N into NO₃^--N, by enhancing the activities of urease and peroxidase. R-B had high adsorption capacity for cadmium (Cd) and chromium (Cr) (Cd&Cr: Cd and Cr). Moreover, TBB + R-B was able to convert weak acid extractable and reducible Cd&Cr into a more stable residual fraction and oxidizable Cd&Cr. The overall effect of the treatments was to reduce plant uptake of Cd&Cr by cabbage. TBB + R-B significantly promoted R-B growth, changed inorganic nitrogen speciation, increased NO₃^--N supply, reduced Cd&Cr bioavailability, and decreased plant tissue Cd&Cr content.

Linking the chemical nature of soil organic carbon and biological binding agent in aggregates to soil aggregate stability following biochar amendment in a rice paddy

Changes in soil aggregation with biochar amendment have been investigated extensively, but how biochar affects the chemical composition of organic carbon (C) and biological binding agents in aggregates and their linkage with soil aggregate stability remains unclear. Soil samples were collected in a rice paddy treated with 0 (C0, control), 10 t ha^-1 (C10), 20 t ha^-1 (C20) and 40 t ha^-1 (C40) biochar for twenty months. The amount and chemical composition of soil organic C (SOC), microbial abundances and glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) were determined in bulk soil and four fractions: large macroaggregates (>2000 μm), small macroaggregates (250-2000 μm), microaggregates (53-250 μm), and silt + clay (<53 μm). Our results showed that the proportion of >250 μm water-stable aggregates and mean weight diameter were gradually increased with increasing biochar addition rate. The concentrations of SOC, readily oxidizable C and microbial biomass C increased most in the small macroaggregates, followed by microaggregates under biochar amendment. Increasing biochar addition rate gradually decreased the relative contents of alkyl C, O-alkyl C and carbonyl C, but increased those of aromatic C across the aggregates, resulting in a higher aromaticity and hydrophobicity of SOC with respect to the control. The abundances of bacteria, fungi and archaea and the content of GRSP were significantly enhanced in the large and small macroaggregates under the C40 treatment. The proportion of >250 μm aggregates was significantly correlated with the contents of soil organic C fractions, GRSP and microbial abundance. Structural equation modeling further revealed that changes in SOC hydrophobicity and GRSP content under biochar amendment had significant and direct effects on the soil aggregate size distribution. In summary, our findings suggest that biochar amendment in rice paddy could improve soil aggregation through altering the chemical composition of soil organic C and the abundance of biological binding agents.

Evaluation of the synergistic effects of biochar and biogas residue on CO2 and CH4 emission, functional genes, and enzyme activity during straw composting

This study examined the effects of biochar, biogas residue, and their combined amendments on CO₂ and CH₄ emission, enzyme activity, and related functional genes during rice straw composting. Results showed that the biogas residue increased CO₂ and CH₄ emissions by 13.07 % and 74.65 %, while biochar had more obvious inhibition. Biogas residue addition enhanced functional gene abundance more than biochar. Biogas residue raised the methanogens mcrA gene by 2.5 times. Biochar improved the Acetyl-CoA synthase and β-glucosidase activities related to carbon fixation and decreased coenzyme activities related to methanogens. Biochar and biogas residue combined amendments enhanced the acsB gene abundance for CO₂ assimilation process and decreased methyl-coenzyme M reductase α subunit activity. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that organic matter was the significant variable affecting CO₂ and CH₄ emissions (P < 0.01). These results indicated biochar played significant roles in carbon loss and greenhouse emissions caused by biogas residue incorporation during composting.

Characteristics and influencing factors of carbon fluxes in winter wheat fields under elevated CO2 concentration

Elevated carbon dioxide (ECO₂) concentration has profound impacts on ecosystem carbon fluxes, with consequent changes in carbon sequestration and its feedback to climate change. Agroecosystem plays an essential role in global carbon sequestration. However, it is not well understood how the carbon fluxes of agroecosystem respond to increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. In this study, an in-situ 2-year field experiment was conducted using open-top chamber with treatments including ambient CO₂ concentration (CK) and ambient plus 200 μmol mol^-1 (T) to investigate the characteristics and main factors influencing carbon fluxes during the 2017-2019 winter wheat growing seasons. Results showed that the dynamics of CO₂ fluxes under different treatments had similar seasonal trends, with the peak flux observed at the heading-filling stage. Compared to the CK, T treatment increased the cumulative amount of CO₂ (CAC) by 17.2% and 24.0% in 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 growing seasons, respectively. In addition, the seasonal CAC was highly dependent on treatment and varied with year, while there was no interactive effect of treatment and year (p > 0.05). ECO₂ concentration increased the biomass of wheat by an average of 8.28% over two growing seasons. There was a significant positive correlation between biomass and CAC, with biomass elucidating 52% and 76% of the variations in CAC under CK and T treatments, respectively. A good correlation was found between net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and environmental variables under different treatments. During the pre-milk ripening period, the NEE mainly depended on photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and air temperature (Ta), while NEE was mainly controlled by PAR and soil water content (SWC) during the post-milk ripening period. Overall, the findings presented here demonstrate that the carbon exchange in wheat fields under different treatments serves as carbon sequestration, while ECO₂ concentration enhances the capacity of winter wheat fields to act as carbon sinks, which may have feedback to the climate system in the future.

Effects of residue removal and tillage on greenhouse gas emissions in continuous corn systems as simulated with RZWQM2

Agricultural production is a major source of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) globally. The effects of conservation practices on soil CO₂ and N₂O emissions remain a high degree of uncertainty. In this study, soil CO₂ and N₂O emissions under different residue and tillage practices in an irrigated, continuous corn system, were investigated using the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2). Combinations of no/high stover removal (NR and HR, respectively) and no-till/conventional tillage (NT and CT, respectively) field experiments were tested over the four crop-years (Apr. 2011-Apr. 2015). The model was calibrated using the NRCT, and validated with other treatments. The simulation results showed that soil volumetric water content (VWC) in the NR treatments (i.e., NRCT and NRNT) was 1.3%-1.9% higher than that in the HR treatments (i.e., HRCT and HRNT) averaged across the four years. A higher amount of CO₂ and N₂O emissions were simulated in the NRCT across the four years (annual average: 7034 kg C/ha/yr for CO₂ and 3.8 kg N/ha/yr for N₂O), and lower emissions were in the HRNT (annual average: 6329 kg C/ha/yr and 3.7 kg N/ha/yr for N₂O). A long-term simulation (2001-2015) suggested that the CO₂ and N₂O emissions were closely correlated with the stover removal degree (SRD), tillage, VWC, soil temperature (ST), years in management (Y), and fertilizer application. Stover and tillage practices had cumulative effects on CO₂ emissions. The simulated annual CO₂ emissions in 1st year from NRCT, NRNT, and HRCT were 7.8%, 0.0%, and 7.7% higher than that from HRNT, respectively; then the emissions in 15th year were 63.6%, 47.7%, and 29.1% higher, respectively. Meanwhile, there were no cumulative effects on N₂O emissions. The results also demonstrated that the RZWQM2 is a promising tool for evaluating the long-term effects of CO₂ and N₂O emissions on different conservation practices.

Effects of different types of humic acid isolated from coal on soil NH3 volatilization and CO2 emissions

Humic acid can improve soil nutrients and promote plant growth. Weathered coal and lignite can be used as agricultural resources due to high humic acid content, but their impact on soil NH₃ volatilization and CO₂ emissions are yet to be determined. In this study, a field experiment was carried out to compare the effects of four types of humic acid isolated from coal (pulverized weathered coal (HC), pulverized lignite (HL), alkalized weathered coal (AC) and alkalized lignite (AL)) on NH₃ volatilization, CO₂ emissions, pH, the C/N ratio and enzyme activities in soil cultivated with maize. The effect of biotechnology humic acids (BHA) was also examined for comparison. HL, AC, AL and BHA all increased cumulative NH₃ losses by 147.7, 278.5, 113.9, and 355.3%, respectively, compared with the control (chemical fertilizer only), and notably, BHA caused an increase of 90.71% compared with the humic acids isolated from coal. A significant increase in cumulative CO₂ losses was observed only under AL treatment, by 14.44-24.90% compared with all other treatments. Soil urease activity was positively correlated with cumulative NH₃ losses (P < 0.001), while the soil C/N ratio (P < 0.001) and soil sucrase activity (P < 0.05) were positively correlated with cumulative CO₂ losses. Since humic acid from pulverized weathered coal caused no increase in NH₃ volatilization or CO₂ emissions, it is therefore thought to be the most suitable humic acid for field application.