1
|
Andrés P, Rosell-Melé A, Colomer-Ventura F, Denef K, Cotrufo MF, Riba M, Alcañiz JM. Belowground biota responses to maize biochar addition to the soil of a Mediterranean vineyard. Sci Total Environ 2019; 660:1522-1532. [PMID: 30743944 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2018] [Revised: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Biochar is a high carbon material resulting from biomass pyrolysis that, when applied to croplands, can increase soil carbon and soil water retention. Both effects are of critical importance in semi-arid regions, where carbon decline and desertification are the main drivers of soil degradation. Since most environmental services provided by soil are mediated by belowground biota, effects of biochar on soil microbial and invertebrate communities must be evaluated under field conditions before its agricultural application can be recommended. We tested maize biochar for its mid-term effect on soil microbes and micro-arthropods of a Mediterranean vineyard. We applied biochar to three field plots with neutral sandy loam soils at a dose of 5 Mg ha-1. During two years, we monitored the abundance of functional groups of soil micro-arthropods and estimated the biomass of soil microbial groups. We also analyzed the δ13C value of microbial PLFA biomarkers to determine biochar-C utilization by each microbial group taking advantage of the δ13C natural abundance differences between the applied biochar and the soil. Biochar addition significantly reduced soil microbial biomass but did not alter the functional microbial diversity nor the abundance or biodiversity of soil micro-arthropods. The contribution of biochar-C to the diet of most microbial groups was very low through the monitoring period. However, two gram-negative bacterial groups increased their biochar-derived carbon uptake under extreme soil dryness, which suggests that biochar-C might help soil microbes to overcome the food shortage caused by drought. The decrease in microbial biomass observed in our experiment and the concomitant decrease of SOM mineralization could contribute to the carbon sequestration potential of Mediterranean soils after biochar addition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Andrés
- CREAF, Edifici C, Campus UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; ICTA, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes s/n, Campus UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Antoni Rosell-Melé
- ICTA, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Carrer de les Columnes s/n, Campus UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Karolien Denef
- Central Instrument Facility, Chemistry Department, Colorado State University, 1301 Center Avenue. Campus Delivery 1872. Fort Collins, CO 80523-1872, USA
| | - M Francesca Cotrufo
- Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Soil and Crop Sciences Department, Colorado State University, 200 W. Lake. Campus Delivery 1499. Fort Collins, CO 80523-1499, USA
| | - Miquel Riba
- CREAF, Edifici C, Campus UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Edifici C, Campus UAB, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès. Barcelona, Spain
| | - Josep M Alcañiz
- CREAF, Edifici C, Campus UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Edifici C, Campus UAB, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès. Barcelona, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Rosell-Melé A, Moraleda-Cibrián N, Cartró-Sabaté M, Colomer-Ventura F, Mayor P, Orta-Martínez M. Oil pollution in soils and sediments from the Northern Peruvian Amazon. Sci Total Environ 2018; 610-611:1010-1019. [PMID: 28847095 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2017] [Revised: 07/23/2017] [Accepted: 07/23/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Oil has been extracted from the Northern Peruvian Amazon for over four decades. However, few scientific studies have assessed the impacts of such activities in the environment and health of indigenous communities in the region. We have investigated the occurrence of petrogenic hydrocarbon pollution in soils and sediments from areas favoured as hunting or fishing grounds by local indigenous inhabitants. The study was conducted in one of the most productive oil blocks in Peru, located in the headwaters of the Amazon river. Soils and river sediments, in the vicinity of oil extraction and processing infrastructure, contained an oil pollution signature as attested by the occurrence of hopanes and steranes. Given the lack of any other significant source of oil pollution in the region, the sources of hydrocarbons are likely to be the activities of the oil industry in the oil block, from voluntary discharges or accidental spills. Spillage of produced water was commonplace until 2009. Moreover, petrogenic compounds were absent in control samples in sites far removed from any oil infrastructure in the oil block. Our findings suggest that wildlife and indigenous populations in this region of the Amazon are exposed to the ingestion of oil polluted soils and sediments. The data obtained supports previous claims that the local spillage of oil and produced waters in the water courses in the Corrientes and Pastaza basins could have eventually reached the main water course of the Amazon.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antoni Rosell-Melé
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain; ICREA, 08010 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Núria Moraleda-Cibrián
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Mar Cartró-Sabaté
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Ferran Colomer-Ventura
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Pedro Mayor
- Dept. Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain; FUNDAMAZONIA, Iquitos, Loreto, Peru; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde e Produção Animal na Amazônia, Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Belém, CEP 66077-901, Brazil
| | - Martí Orta-Martínez
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain; International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Hague, The Netherlands; Instituto de Geografía, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador.
| |
Collapse
|