Effect of Corn and Sugarcane Biochars on Some Soil Biological Properties and Carbon Sequestration

Biochar is a recalcitrant soil amendment that is being used to carbon sequestrates and also enhances soil fertility. This research was done to study the effect of corn and sugarcane biochar as organic amendment on some soil biological properties and CO2 emission.
Material and

Corn and sugarcane residues were air dried and then pyrolised in handmade furnace. Biochar was added to the soil according to the treatments (0, 1 and 2 percent). The samples were stored 100 days at 25oC and their moisture content was kept at 60% of field capacity. After this period microbial respiration by titration with hydrochloric acid, microbial biomass carbon by fumigation-extraction method, ammonium emission by titration with sulfuric acid and nitrification by colorimetric method was measured. Then microbial and metabolic quotient and carbon sequestration were calculated.

The results showed significant effect of biochar on microbial respiration, microbial biomass carbon, microbial and metabolic quotient, ammonium emission and carbon sequestration (P<0/001), but that effect was not significant on soil nitrification. The highest amount of microbial respiration (27/31 mg CO2-C/100g soil), microbial biomass carbon (37/05 mg Cmic/100g soil) and carbon sequestration (13/67 mg/kg) was obtained in soil treated with 2 percent of sugarcane biochar and the highest ammonia emission (18/8 % N) was the most in the samples containing one percent of corn biochar.
Discussion and

The results showed that sugrecane biochar had more effect on carbon-dependence biological properties of soil due to more carbon content.