Biochar Research Update

by Joey Blankenship

In 2018, we set up a pot-scale experiment in the greenhouse that involved mixing UA Campus  Agricultural Center (CAC) soil and manure with different application rates of Pacific Biochar  simulating 8, 17, 33, 50, and 66 tons per acre in each pot. Pacific Biochar was chosen because  this biochar had the 2nd highest water-holding capacity while also being relatively affordable ($162 per ton compared to $1500 per ton from Black Owl Biochar). We also included a microbially inoculated biochar that was 10% compost (by weight) in half of the pots. Our results  showed that the 33 tons per acre application rate (4% biochar by soil weight) was sufficient to  achieve our goal for increased soil water retention. We continue to monitor soil moisture in the  pots at least twice a week and add water when moisture levels become too dry.

How will the pot-scale patterns compare to the scale of a field? How will crops respond to the  presence of biochar in the soil? 

Our planned wheat field experiment at the UA Campus Agricultural Center will begin in October 2019. We have allotted plot space to the inoculation experiment (see below) and will have 36  plots total (12 ft by 15 ft). The design involves treatments with biochar only (4% Pacific  Biochar), microbially activated biochar (4% Pacific Biochar with inoculant to promote plant  growth), and control plots without biochar or inoculant. There will be four replicates of all  treatments randomly assigned to plots. Once the biochar is tilled into the soil and the Sonoran  White Wheat seeds have germinated, we will set up our flood irrigation technology (flow  meter, Netafim piping, pressure column). The plots will be arranged so that one-third of the  plots will receive 100% of the normal irrigation rate (replicated across biochar treatments), one third will receive 75% of the normal irrigation rate, and one-third will receive 50% of the normal  irrigation rate. The different irrigation rates will show us how a crop commonly farmed in the  Sonoran Desert (i.e., wheat) responds to decreased irrigation in the presence of biochar, and  whether augmenting the soil microbiome can help maintain crop production despite decreased  irrigation. We will use Decagon moisture sensors and dataloggers to monitor soil moisture at a  depth of 4 inches in each plot. With additional funding for a more extensive soil sensor  network, we can monitor the moisture at more than one location on each plot and at multiple soil depths. We will record crop height throughout the growing season and measure the yield  and kernel mass at the end of the growing season. We will run this experiment for multiple  growing seasons to observe the effects of the single biochar application over time. Might the  benefits of biochar increase over time rather than diminish over time as with compost and

other common soil organic amendments? The laboratory-scale inoculation study (see below)  will help us narrow down the most effective inoculant to use before we test the microbially  activated biochar under field conditions in Fall 2019.

How much fertilizer is retained in soil with different rates of biochar addition? 

The scientific literature explains that biochar can increase the effectiveness of fertilizer  applications by reducing the run-off of fertilizer as well as having a slow-release effect, allowing  more time for plants to take up nutrients. Additionally, Dos Cabezas vineyard (see below) is  interested in improving their P availability for their wine grapes and would like to quantify how  biochar and phosphorus act together in soil. To answer these questions with desert agricultural  soil, we added fertilizer to the greenhouse experiment described above to observe the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses from the soil system through gaseous emissions and water  leaching. We chose to use diammonium phosphate (DAP) because we aim to quantify the N and  P bioavailability without adding additional carbon, which most organic fertilizers contain. The  additional carbon can affect nutrient retention, which is good. However, we want to see how  the biochar itself affects nutrient retention. We added DAP at the rate of 200 kg N/ha, which is  roughly the total amount that a conventional farmer would add DAP to a wheat field during one  growing season. We are using the Gasmet FTIR Gas Analyzer to measure gas fluxes (CO2, CH4, N2O, NO, NH3, H2O) that come from the soil, and we are collecting the water that leaches  through the soil. We have a microplate spectrophotometer that we will use for measuring N and P in the collected water samples. Half of the columns contain a very small amount of  compost that we added in Fall 2018 as an analog for microbially activated biochar.

Although the gas measurements are only partially complete, we are eager to see if the pots with a small amount of compost show different patterns than biochar alone. Once the gas  measurements are finished, we will remove the soil from the pots to quantify effects of biochar  on total C, N, and P, pH, salinity, microbial activity (using substrate-induced respiration), and  surface area. We may also use an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope to visualize the  surface of the biochar particles after they have aged in soil with and without compost. The  scientific literature describes different organic coatings that form on the surface of biochar over  time due to different environmental conditions.

Methods for quantifying phosphorus in high pH soil are not fully established. How will we measure phosphorus in the soil solution water with a microplate spectrophotometer? 

We are working to develop an accurate, consistent, and high throughput method for  quantifying inorganic P in order to measure baseline conditions at all field sites, measure the  differences in soil P between different biochar application rates in the greenhouse pot  experiment, and to measure the effects that the inoculants have on soil P. Several methods

exist for neutral and acidic soils; the methods must be altered for high pH soils. Also, while  replicability is necessary; minor chemical interferences can produce a wide variety of errors.  The Duval Ecology Lab at New Mexico Tech has shared their draft SOP that we are using and  amending as necessary.

It is important in the future to have a straightforward way of measuring soil P, both inorganic  and organically bound. With an ICP-OES, which is in our recent budget request to TAB AG, we  would have a straightforward way of accurately measuring P as well as accounting for micro nutrients. The ICP-OES nutrient and heavy metal analyzer can help us to ensure that there is no  heavy metal contamination in the biochar we produce together in the future, which is an  essential component for quality control with biochar products.

What is the most effective way to inoculate biochar with phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria? 

We know from the scientific literature that certain microorganisms can unlock P that is already  present in soil but unavailable to plants. The specific microbes are called phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (PSB). We want to inoculate biochar with PSB. We plan to add PSB species isolated from compost (e.g., Pseudomonas putida, Rahnella aquatilis, etc.) and cyanobacteria  (i.e., algae) isolated from Sonoran Desert soils. By using species that are already adapted to a  hot desert climate, we hope to find innovative microbial inoculants that are likely to survive and  thrive in crop fields in the Desert Southwest. Additional benefits of cyanobacteria, besides  unlocking P, are that they fix N naturally (i.e., consistent biological fertilizer from N2 in the  atmosphere) and they produce organic glues that help bind soil particles together to resist  water and wind erosion.

Will biochar boost the effectiveness of nutrient-releasing microorganisms in desert soil? 

The porous structure of biochar is the ideal habitat for soil microorganisms. If microorganisms can thrive inside biochar, their population may increase. This increased microbial activity has  the potential to mineralize nutrients for plants to utilize. During the next few months (March June 2019), we plan to test different inoculants in the lab, primarily using Pacific Biochar and

CAC soil. By mid-summer, we will know which inoculant we want to use in the wheat field based on which inoculant actively produces plant-available P in the soil as well as maintains an  adequate microbial population for at least 3 months after inoculating soil.

Does biochar increase soil microbial activity at the field-scale?  

The second exciting field-scale study is located at the Dos Cabezas Wine Works grape vineyard  in Sonoita, AZ. The vineyard has three distinct soil types in close proximity, thus promoting  research development on biochar products that work across a wide variety of soils. The  different soil textures (clay loam and two sandy loams that differ in carbonate content) will

allow us to monitor the effects of biochar on soil functioning and crop health and productivity.  On March 20, 2019, we will be amending the vineyard soil with two rates of Pacific Biochar  addition: 0.75 tons/acre and 1.5 tons/acre. These are the recommended application rates from  California vineyard owners that show effectiveness while remaining affordable. We will monitor  soil moisture using remote sensors for several years after the biochar application to observe  patterns of water retention after precipitation events and scheduled drip irrigation. We will  monitor microbial activity using substrate-induced respiration every 2 months and nutrient release patterns for inorganic N and P using buried ion-exchange resin strips. An aim of the  vineyard owner is to increase the P availability in the vineyard soil and be able to apply a P  fertilizer without losing the nutrients to run-off. The vineyard owner’s desire to maximize P  accessibility aligns with our research goal of using biochar to maximize fertilizer efficiency.

A pot-scale study was run in the greenhouse during Summer 2018 that compared different  biochar and mulch feedstocks at a rate of 4% (by weight) using soil from an abandoned  cropland at the North Altar Watershed Area near Three Points, AZ. Greenhouse gas and NH3 fluxes and soil moisture were recorded for 3 months. We are currently characterizing physical  and chemical properties of various “homemade” biochars (pyrolyzed using our 3-gallon reactor) and mulches used in this experiment, and other commercially available biochars. The  homemade biochars include mesquite wood, buffelgrass, Tank’s Green Stuff decorative  woodchips, and unprocessed yard trimmings from Tank’s Green Stuff pyrolyzed at 500 °C. The  commercially available biochars include Black Owl Premium Biochar, Black Owl Environmental  Ultra Biochar (which held the most water), Royal Oak Biochar, True Char Biochar, Soil Solutions  Biochar, and Pacific Biochar. Our objective is to create a database of biochar properties— especially for large-scale feedstock sources in the Desert Southwest—that includes salinity,  total C and N, pH, specific surface area, bulk density, and water-holding capacity.