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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Microspectroscopic visualization of how biochar lifts the soil organic carbon ceiling
Nature Communications, Vol.13(1), pp.1-12
02/09/2022
PMCID: PMC9440262
PMID: 36056025
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Abstract
The soil carbon (C) saturation concept suggests an upper limit to the storage of soil organic carbon (SOC). It is set by the mechanisms that protect soil organic matter from mineralization. Biochar has the capacity to protect new C, including rhizodeposits and microbial necromass. However, the decadal-scale mechanisms by which biochar influences the molecular diversity, spatial heterogeneity, and temporal changes in SOC persistence, remain unresolved. Here we show that the soil C storage ceiling of a Ferralsol under subtropical pasture was raised by a second application of Eucalyptus saligna biochar 8.2 years after the first application—the first application raised the soil C storage ceiling by 9.3 Mg new C ha−1 and the second application raised this by another 2.3 Mg new C ha−1. Linking direct visual evidence from one-, two-, and three-dimensional analyses with SOC quantification, we found high spatial heterogeneity of C functional groups that resulted in the retention of rhizodeposits and microbial necromass in microaggregates (53–250 µm) and the mineral fraction (<53 µm). Microbial C-use efficiency was concomitantly increased by lowering specific enzyme activities, contributing to the decreased mineralization of native SOC by 18%. We suggest that the SOC ceiling can be lifted using biochar in (sub)tropical grasslands globally.
Details
- Title
- Microspectroscopic visualization of how biochar lifts the soil organic carbon ceiling
- Creators
- Zhe Han Weng - La Trobe UniversityLukas Van Zwieten - NSW Department of Primary IndustriesEhsan Tavakkoli - NSW Department of Primary IndustriesMichael T Rose - NSW Department of Primary Industries, WollongbarBhupinder Pal Singh - University of New EnglandStephen Joseph - University of New South WalesLynne M Macdonald - CSIROStephen Kimber - NSW Department of Primary IndustriesStephen Morris - NSW Department of Primary IndustriesTerry J Rose - Southern Cross UniversityBraulio S Archanjo - National Institute of MetrologyCaixian Tang - La Trobe UniversityAshley E Franks - La Trobe UniversityHui Diao - University of QueenslandSteffen Schweizer - Technical University of MunichMark J Tobin - Australian Nuclear Science and Technology OrganisationAnnaleise R Klein - Australian Nuclear Science and Technology OrganisationJitraporn Vongsvivut - Australian Nuclear Science and Technology OrganisationShery L Y Chang - University of New South WalesPeter M Kopittke - University of QueenslandAnnette Cowie - University of New England
- Publication Details
- Nature Communications, Vol.13(1), pp.1-12
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Grant note
- The authors thank the Australian Government, Department of Agriculture and Water Resources for supporting the National Biochar Initiatives (2009–2012, 2012–2014; L.V.Z. and L.M.M.) that co-funded this research. Part of this research was undertaken on the SXR spectroscopy and the IR microspectroscopy beamlines at the Australian Synchrotron, part of ANSTO (Proposal IDs 15754 and 15940, Z.W. and P.M.K.). We thank the beamline scientists, Drs Bruce Cowie and Lars Thomsen, for their technical support on the SXR analysis. Part of the research is funded by La Trobe University’s Research Focus Area in Securing Food, Water and the Environment (Grant Ready: SFWE RFA 2000004295; Z.W.; Collaboration Ready: SFWE RFA 2000004349; Z.W.). We appreciate the funding of Universities Australia and DAAD (Application ID: 57600933; Z.W., P.M.K., and S.S.) under the 2021 Australia-Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme for the development of image processing pipeline.
- Identifiers
- 991013052413802368
- Copyright
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. © Crown 2022
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Centre for Organics Research; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article