Michaelangelica Posted May 24, 2012 Report Posted May 24, 2012 Virtual Special Issue on BiocharCompiled by: Richard Burns, The University of Queensland, Australia and Karl Ritz, Cranfield University, UK Over the past few years, the impact of adding pyrolysed organic carbon (or biochar as we usually call it) to agricultural soils has received much attention from biologists because of the possible benefits arising to soil quality and crop yields. A further impetus has been the potential to gain carbon credits by carbon sequestration. There are many different forms of biochar, determined according to such factors as nature of source material and pyrolysis temperature. Some studies have shown that biochars can apparently improve a number of soil chemical and physical properties, including exchange capacity and nutrient retention, as well as structure, water relations and nutrient availability. Others have concentrated on the impacts of biochar on soil organisms and the attendant processes that they regulate. The 29 papers presented in this Virtual Special Issue are a selection of those exploring this biochar theme and which have been published in Soil Biology & Biochemistry since 2009. They illustrate the diversity of such research as well as some of the warmly debated, but as yet equivocal, benefits. The subjects of these communications range from: impacts on community composition and C dynamics including the priming effect, nitrogen cycling processes, enzyme activities and the C cycle, to the impacts of biochar on earthworms and their activities, and, of course, effects on plant growth and yield. We hope that collating these publications under one virtual roof will stimulate informed debate and accelerate the arrival at a consensus regarding whether biochar is an important addition to our much-needed agricultural armoury or a passing trend with no lasting value or consequences for environmental management. Papers included in this virtual special issue: Papers included in this virtual special issue: Organic nitrogen mineralisation in two contrasting agro-ecosystems is unchanged by biochar additionDempster, D.N., Jones, D.L., Murphy, D.V.(2012) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 48, pp. 47-50Mechanisms of biochar decreasing methane emission from Chinese paddy soilsFeng, Y., Xu, Y., Yu, Y., Xie, Z., Lin, X.(2012) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 46, pp. 80-88Effects of slow and fast pyrolysis biochar on soil C and N turnover dynamicsBruun, E.W., Ambus, P., Egsgaard, H., Hauggaard-Nielsen, H.(2012) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 46, pp. 73-79Biochar-mediated changes in soil quality and plant growth in a three year field trialJones, D.L., Rousk, J., Edwards-Jones, G., DeLuca, T.H., Murphy, D.V.(2012) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 45, pp. 113-124Bioavailability of N released from N-rich pyrogenic organic matter: An incubation studyJosé M. de la Rosa, Heike Knicker(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (12), p.p. 2368–2373Short term soil priming effects and the mineralisation of biochar following its incorporation to soils of different pHLuo, Y., Durenkamp, M., De Nobili, M., Lin, Q., Brookes, P.C.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (11), pp. 2304-2314Localisation of nitrate in the rhizosphere of biochar-amended soilsPrendergast-Miller, M.T., Duvall, M., Sohi, S.P.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (11), pp. 2243-2246The priming potential of biochar products in relation to labile carbon contents and soil organic matter statusCross, A., Sohi, S.P.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (10), pp. 2127-2134Charcoal quality does not change over a century in a tropical agro-ecosystemMaximilian P.W. Schneider, Johannes Lehmann, Michael W.I. Schmidt(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (9), p.p. 1992-1994Pyrogenic carbon quantity and quality unchanged after 55 years of organic matter depletion in a ChernozemNadezda A. Vasilyeva, Samuel Abiven, Evgeniy Y. Milanovskiy, Michael Hilf, Oleg V. Rizhkov, Michael W.I. Schmidt(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (9), p.p. 1985–1988Effects of wood char and activated carbon on the hydrolysis of cellobiose by β-glucosidase from Aspergillus nigerLammirato, C., Miltner, A., Kaestner, M.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (9), pp. 1936-1942Biochar effects on soil biota - A reviewLehmann, J., Rillig, M.C., Thies, J., Masiello, C.A., Hockaday, W.C., Crowley, D.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (9), pp. 1812-1836Degradability of black carbon and its impact on trace gas fluxes and carbon turnover in paddy soilsKnoblauch, C., Maarifat, A.-A., Pfeiffer, E.-M., Haefele, S.M.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (9), pp. 1768-1778Earthworm avoidance of biochar can be mitigated by wettingLi, D., Hockaday, W.C., Masiello, C.A., Alvarez, P.J.J.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (8), pp. 1732-1737Short-term biochar-induced increase in soil CO2 release is both biotically and abiotically mediatedJones, D.L., Murphy, D.V., Khalid, M., Ahmad, W., Edwards-Jones, G., DeLuca, T.H.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (8), pp. 1723-1731Pyrogenic carbon soluble fraction is larger and more aromatic in aged charcoal than in fresh charcoal Abiven Samuel; Hengartner Pascal; Schneider Maximilian P. W.; et al.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (7), p.p. 1615-1617Quantitative analysis of biochar in field soilKoide, R.T., Petprakob, K., Peoples, M.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (7), pp. 1563-1568Positive and negative carbon mineralization priming effects among a variety of biochar-amended soilsZimmerman, A.R., Gao, B., Ahn, M.-Y.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (6), pp. 1169-1179Soil organic N - An under-rated player for C sequestration in soils?Heike Knicker(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (6), p.p. 1118-1129Biochar mediated alterations in herbicide breakdown and leaching in soilJones, D.L., Edwards-Jones, G., Murphy, D.V.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (4), pp. 804-813Taxa-specific changes in soil microbial community composition induced by pyrogenic carbon amendmentsKhodadad, C.L.M., Zimmerman, A.R., Green, S.J., Uthandi, S., Foster, J.S.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (2), pp. 385-392Reconciling apparent variability in effects of biochar amendment on soil enzyme activities by assay optimizationBailey, V.L., Fansler, S.J., Smith, J.L., Bolton, H.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (2), pp. 296-301Carbon and nitrogen degradation on molecular scale of grass-derived pyrogenic organic material during 28 months of incubation in soilAndré Hilscher, Heike Knicker(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (2), p.p. 261-270Carbon and trace element fluxes in the pore water of an urban soil following greenwaste compost, woody and biochar amendments, inoculated with the earthworm Lumbricus terrestrisBeesley, L., Dickinson, N.(2011) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43 (1), pp. 188-196The effect of young biochar on soil respirationSmith, J.L., Collins, H.P., Bailey, V.L.(2010) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42 (12), pp. 2345-2347Impact of black carbon addition to soil on the determination of soil microbial biomass by fumigation extractionDurenkamp, M., Luo, Y., Brookes, P.C.(2010) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42 (11), pp. 2026-2029Contrasted effect of biochar and earthworms on rice growth and resource allocation in different soilsNoguera, D., Rondón, M., Laossi, K.-R., Hoyos, V., Lavelle, P., Cruz de Carvalho, M.H., Barot, S.(2010) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42 (7), pp. 1017-1027Effect of biochar amendment on soil carbon balance and soil microbial activitySteinbeiss, S., Gleixner, G., Antonietti, M.(2009) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 41 (6), pp. 1301-1310Black carbon decomposition and incorporation into soil microbial biomass estimated by 14C labelingKuzyakov, Y., Subbotina, I., Chen, H., Bogomolova, I., Xu, X.(2009) Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 41 (2), pp. 210-219http://www.journals.elsevier.com/soil-biology-and-biochemistry/virtual-special-issues/virtual-special-issue-on-biochar/ Quote
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