Effects of nitrogen addition on carbonate-derived CO₂ emission after biochar addition

Highlights

● We studied the effect of nitrogen and biochar on CO₂ emission from SOC and SIC.

● Nitrogen increased SIC-derived CO₂ by 41% but decreased SOC-derived CO₂ by 20%.

● Biochar reduced total soil-derived CO₂ by neutralizing nitrogen-induced acidity.

● We proposed a method for 3- or 4-source partitioning CO₂ emission from calcareous soils.

Abstract

Biochar addition generally increases the alkalinity regeneration to resist soil acidification driven by nitrogen (N) fertilization. Calcareous soils contain soil organic carbon (SOC) and inorganic C (SIC). Owing to technical limitations in three-source partitioning CO₂, how biochar addition affects SOC- and SIC-derived CO₂ emission has not been clarified yet. Therefore, we conducted a 70-day incubation experiment of ammonium-N and maize-straw-derived biochar additions to investigate the N plus biochar impacts on SOC- and SIC-derived CO₂ emission. Over the 70-day incubation, we found that the N-only addition increased the SIC-derived CO₂ emission by approximately 41% compared with the control, but decreased the SOC-derived CO₂ emission by approximately 20%. This suggests that the distinct responses of SIC- and SOC-derived CO₂ emission to N-only addition come from N-induced acidification and preferential substrate (N) utilization of soil microorganisms, respectively. Compared with N-only addition, N plus biochar addition decreased the SIC-derived CO₂ emission by 17%−20% during the first 20 days of incubation, but increased it by 54% during the next 50 days. This result suggested that biochar addition reduced the SIC-derived CO₂ emission likely due to the alkalization capacity of biochar exceeding the acidification capacity of ammonium-N in the short term, but it may increase the SIC-derived CO₂ emission induced by the weak acidity produced from biochar mineralization in the long term. This study is helpful to improve the quantification of CO₂ emission from calcareous soils.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

biochar / soil organic carbon / soil inorganic carbon / three-source partitioning / soil CO₂ emission / ¹³C isotope

References

[1] Azeem, M., Raza, S., Li, G., Smith, P., Zhu, Y.G., 2022. Soil inorganic carbon sequestration through alkalinity regeneration using biologically induced weathering of rock powder and biochar. Soil Ecology Letters4, 293–306.

[2] Batjes, N.H., 1996. Total carbon and nitrogen in the soils of the world. European Journal of Soil Science47, 151–163.

[3] Bramble, D.S.E., Gouveia, G.A., Ramnarine, R., Farrell, R.E., 2020. Short-term effects of aglime on inorganic- and organic-derived CO₂ emissions from two acid soils amended with an ammonium-based fertiliser. Journal of Soils and Sediments20, 52–65.

[4] Bruun, S., Clauson-Kaas, S., Bobuľská, L., Thomsen, I.K., 2014. Carbon dioxide emissions from biochar in soil: role of clay, microorganisms and carbonates. European Journal of Soil Science65, 52–59.

[5] Chalk, P., Smith, C.J., 2022. ¹³C methodologies for quantifying biochar stability in soil: A critique. European Journal of Soil Science73, e13245.

[6] Chen, X., Lin, J., Wang, P., Zhang, S., Liu, D., Zhu, B., 2022a. Resistant soil carbon is more vulnerable to priming effect than active soil carbon. Soil Biology & Biochemistry168, 108619.

[7] Chen, Y., Barak, P., 1982. Iron nutrition of plants in calcareous soils. Advances in Agronomy35, 217–240.

[8] Chen, Z., Kumar, A., Brookes, P.C., Kuzyakov, Y., Luo, Y., Xu, J., 2022b. Three source-partitioning of CO₂ fluxes based on a dual isotope approach to investigate interactions between soil organic carbon, glucose and straw. Science of the Total Environment811, 152163.

[9] Cheng, W., Johnson, D.W., Fu, S., 2003. Rhizosphere effects on decomposition: Controls of plant species, phenology and fertilization. Soil Science Society of America Journal67, 1418–1427.

[10] Cui, J., Ge, T., Kuzyakov, Y., Nie, M., Fang, C., Tang, B., Zhou, C., 2017. Interactions between biochar and litter priming: A three-source ¹⁴C and δ¹³C partitioning study. Soil Biology & Biochemistry104, 49–58.

[11] Dong, X., Singh, B.P., Li, G., Lin, Q., Zhao, X., 2018. Biochar application constrained native soil organic carbon accumulation from wheat residue inputs in a long-term wheat-maize cropping system. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment252, 200–207.

[12] Dong, X., Singh, B.P., Li, G., Lin, Q., Zhao, X., 2019. Biochar increased field soil inorganic carbon content five years after application. Soil & Tillage Research186, 36–41.

[13] Fang, Y., Tavakkoli, E., Weng, Z., Collins, D., Harvey, D., Karimian, N., Luo, Y., Mehra, P., Rose, M.T., Wilhelm, N., Zwieten, L.V., 2022. Disentangling carbon stabilization in a Calcisol subsoil amended with iron oxyhydroxides: A dual-¹³C isotope approach. Soil Biology & Biochemistry170, 108711.

[14] Feng, J., Zhu, B., 2021. Global patterns and associated drivers of priming effect in response to nutrient addition. Soil Biology & Biochemistry153, 108118.

[15] Ferdush, J., Paul, V., 2021. A review on the possible factors influencing soil inorganic carbon under elevated CO₂. Catena204, 105434.

[16] Fidel, R.B., Laird, D.A., Parkin, T.B., 2017b. Impact of biochar organic and inorganic carbon on soil CO₂ and N₂O emissions. Journal of Environmental Quality46, 505–513.

[17] Fidel, R.B., Laird, D.A., Thompson, M.L., Lawrinenko, M., 2017a. Characterization and quantification of biochar alkalinity. Chemosphere167, 367–373.

[18] Fiorentino, N., Sánchez-Monedero, M.A., Lehmann, J., Enders, A., Fagnano, M., Cayuela, M.L., 2019. Interactive priming of soil N transformations from combining biochar and urea inputs: A ¹⁵N isotope tracer study. Soil Biology & Biochemistry131, 166–175.

[19] Grandy, A.S., Salam, D.S., Wickings, K., McDaniel, M.D., Culman, S.W., Snapp, S.S., 2013. Soil respiration and litter decomposition responses to nitrogen fertilization rate in no-till corn systems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment179, 35–40.

[20] Harris, D., Porter, L.K., Paul, E.A., 1997. Continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry of carbon dioxide trapped as strontium carbonate. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis28, 747–757.

[21] Jobbagy, E.G., Jackson, R.B., 2000. The vertical distribution of soil organic carbon and its relation to climate and vegetation. Ecological Applications10, 423–436.

[22] Jones, D.L., Murphy, D.V., Khalid, M., Ahmad, W., Edwards-Jones, G., Deluca, T.H., 2011. Short-term biochar-induced increase in soil CO₂ release is both biotically and abiotically mediated. Soil Biology & Biochemistry43, 1723–1731.

[23] Ju, X.T., Zhang, C., 2017. Nitrogen cycling and environmental impacts in upland agricultural soils in North China: A review. Journal of Integrative Agriculture16, 2848–2862.

[24] Kuzyakov, Y., 2002. Review: factors affecting rhizosphere priming effects. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science165, 382–396.

[25] Lal, R., 2004. Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. Science304, 1623–1627.

[26] Li, Y., Wang, Y., Tang, L., 2016. The effort to re-activate the inorganic carbon in soil. Acta Pedologica Sinica53, 845–849.

[27] Luo, Y., Zang, H., Yu, Z., Chen, Z., Gunina, A., Kuzyakov, Y., Xu, J., Zhang, K., Brookes, P., 2017. Priming effects in biochar enriched soils using a three-source-partitioning approach: ¹⁴C labelling and ¹³C natural abundance. Soil Biology & Biochemistry106, 28–35.

[28] Meng, F., Dungait, J.A.J., Xu, X., Bol, R., Zhang, X., Wu, W., 2017. Coupled incorporation of maize (Zea mays L. ) straw with nitrogen fertilizer increased soil organic carbon in Fluvic Cambisol. Geoderma304, 19–27.

[29] Monger, H.C., Kraimer, R.A., Khresat, S.E., Cole, D.R., Wang, X., Wang, J., 2015. Sequestration of inorganic carbon in soil and groundwater. Geology43, 375–378.

[30] Pan, G.X., 1999. Study on carbon reservoir in soils of China. Bulletin of Science and Technology15, 330–332.

[31] Parnell, A.C., Inger, R., Bearhop, S., Jackson, A.L., 2010. Source partitioning using stable isotopes: coping with too much variation. PLoS One5, e9672.

[32] Parnell, A.C., Phillips, D.L., Bearhop, S., Semmens, B.X., Ward, E.J., Moore, J.W., Jackson, A.L., Grey, J., Kelly, D.J., Inger, R., 2013. Bayesian stable isotope mixing models. Environmetrics24, 387–399.

[33] Raza, S., Zamanian, K., Ullah, S., Kuzyakov, Y., Virto, I., Zhou, J., 2021. Inorganic carbon losses by soil acidification jeopardize global efforts on carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. Journal of Cleaner Production315, 128036.

[34] Sanderman, J., 2012. Can management induced changes in the carbonate system drive soil carbon sequestration? A review with particular focus on Australia. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment155, 70–77.

[35] Sheng, Y., Zhan, Y., Zhu, L., 2016. Reduced carbon sequestration potential of biochar in acidic soil. Science of the Total Environment572, 129–137.

[36] Song, C., Liu, C., Han, G., Liu, C., 2017. Impact of different fertilizers on carbonate weathering in a typical karst area, Southwest China: a field column experiment. Earth Surface Dynamics5, 605–616.

[37] Sun, Z., Wang, F., Zhang, S., Zhang, X., Meng, F., 2021a. The effect of straw addition on organic and inorganic carbon release from calcareous soils. Acta Pedologica Sinica58, 1520–1529.

[38] Sun, Z., Wu, S., Zhang, Y., Meng, F., Zhu, B., Chen, Q., 2019. Effects of nitrogen fertilization on pot-grown wheat photosynthate partitioning within intensively farmed soil determined by ¹³C pulse-labeling. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science182, 896–907.

[39] Sun, Z., Zhu, B., Wang, F., He, M., Meng, F., 2021b. Rhizosphere effects of maize and wheat increase soil organic and inorganic carbon release in carbonate-rich soils: A three-source ¹³C partitioning study. Frontiers in Environmental Science9, 654354.

[40] Sun, Z.A., Meng, F.Q., Zhu, B., 2023. Influencing factors and partitioning methods of carbonate contribution to CO₂ emissions from calcareous soils. Soil Ecology Letters5, 6–20.

[41] Tamir, G., Shenker, M., Heller, H., Bloom, P.R., Fine, P., Bar-Tal, A. 2011. Can soil carbonate dissolution lead to overestimation of soil respiration?. Soil Science Society of America Journal75, 1414–1422.

[42] Tamir, G., Shenker, M., Heller, H., Bloom, P.R., Fine, P., Bar-Tal, A., 2012. Dissolution and re-crystallization processes of active calcium carbonate in soil developed on tufa. Soil Science Society of America Journal76, 1606–1613.

[43] Treseder, K.K., 2008. Nitrogen additions and microbial biomass: a meta-analysis of ecosystem studies. Ecology Letters11, 1111–1120.

[44] Wang, H., Boutton, T.W., Xu, W., Hu, G., Jiang, P., Bai, E., 2015. Quality of fresh organic matter affects priming of soil organic matter and substrate utilization patterns of microbes. Scientific Reports5, 10102.

[45] Wang, H., Hu, G., Xu, W., Boutton, T.W., Zhuge, Y., Bai, E., 2018. Effects of nitrogen addition on soil organic carbon mineralization after maize stalk addition. European Journal of Soil Biology89, 33–38.

[46] Wang, J., Xiong, Z., Kuzyakov, Y., 2016. Biochar stability in soil: meta-analysis of decomposition and priming effects. Global Change Biology. Bioenergy8, 512–523.

[47] Wang, T., Camps-Arbestain, M., Hedley, M., Singh, B.P., Calvelo-Pereira, R., Wang, C., 2014. Determination of carbonate-c in biochars. Soil Research (Collingwood, Vic.)52, 495–504.

[48] Whitman, T., Lehmann, J., 2015. A dual-isotope approach to allow conclusive partitioning between three sources. Nature Communications6, 8708.

[49] Yang, M., 2013. Stability of rice straw-derived biochar and its mechanism in paddy soil. PhD thesis, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

[50] Zamanian, K., Kuzyakov, Y., 2019. Contribution of soil inorganic carbon to atmospheric CO₂: more important than previously thought. Global Change Biology25, e1–e3.

[51] Zamanian, K., Zarebanadkouki, M., Kuzyakov, Y., 2018. Nitrogen fertilization raises CO₂ efflux from inorganic carbon: A global assessment. Global Change Biology24, 2810–2817.

[52] Zamanian, K., Zhou, J., Kuzyakov, Y., 2021. Soil carbonates: The unaccounted, irrecoverable carbon source. Geoderma384, 114817.

[53] Zhou, S., Lin, J., Wang, P., Zhu, B., Zhu, B., 2022. Resistant soil organic carbon is more vulnerable to priming by root exudate fractions than relatively active soil organic carbon. Plant and Soil doi:10.1007/s11104–021-05288-y

[54] Zhu, B., Gutknecht, J.L.M., Herman, D.J., Keck, D.C., Firestone, M.K., Cheng, W.X., 2014. Rhizosphere priming effects on soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization. Soil Biology & Biochemistry76, 183–192.

[55] Zimmerman, A.R., 2010. Abiotic and microbial oxidation of laboratory-produced black carbon (biochar). Environmental Science & Technology44, 1295–1301.

Abbreviations

SOC, soil organic carbon; SIC, soil inorganic carbon; STC, soil total carbon; BC, biochar; BTC, biochar total carbon; BOC, biochar organic carbon; BIC, biochar inorganic carbon.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072518 and 42141006) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2020QD042). We are very grateful to Lili Sun for the insightful suggestions on Fig.7 drawing.

Electronic supplementary material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s42832-022-0169-8 and is accessible for authorized users.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2023 Higher Education Press