Jiyong Zheng

Co‐generated fast pyrolysis biochar mitigates green‐house gas emissions and increases carbon sequestration in temperate soils

Char is a product of thermochemical conversion of biomass via pyrolysis, together with gas (syngas), liquid (bio‐oil), and heat. Fast pyrolysis is a promising process for bio‐oil generation, which leaves 10–30% of the original biomass as char. Char produced for soil application, is defined biochar (BC), and it may increase soil C storage, and reduce soil emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), such as N2O and CH4 –potentially making fast pyrolysis bioenergy generation a C‐negative system. However, differences in production conditions (e.g., feedstock, pyrolysis temperature and speed, post handling, and storage conditions) influence the chemical properties of BC and its net effect when added to soils. Understanding if fast pyrolysis BC can increase C sequestration and reduce GHG emissions will enable full assessment of the economic value and environmental benefits of this form of bioenergy. We characterized a BC produced by fast pyrolysis for bio‐oil generation and examined GHG (CO2, N2O and CH4) efflux, C partitioning using δ13C, and soil C sequestration across four temperate soils and five BC rates; 0%, 1%, 5%, 10%, and 20% w/w. The fast pyrolysis process created a highly aromatic, low N, ash‐rich BC with a O : C ratio of 0.01, which we expected to be highly recalcitrant. Across soils, CO2 emissions increased linearly and N2O emissions decreased exponentially with increasing BC addition rates. Despite still being actively respired after 2 years, total BC‐derived C‐CO2 comprised less than the BC volatile C content (4%). Expressed as CO2 equivalents, CO2 was the primary GHG emitted (97.5%), followed by N2O. All GHG emissions were small compared to the total SOC sequestered in the BC. Fast pyrolysis produced a highly recalcitrant BC that sequestered C and reduced GHG emissions. The recovery and soil application of BC would contribute to a negative carbon balance for this form of bioenergy generation.

Biochar and nitrogen fertilizer alters soil nitrogen dynamics and greenhouse gas fluxes from two temperate soils.

Biochar (BC) application to agricultural soils could potentially sequester recalcitrant C, increase N retention, increase water holding capacity, and decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Biochar addition to soils can alter soil N cycling and in some cases decrease extractable mineral N (NO and NH) and NO emissions. These benefits are not uniformly observed across varying soil types, N fertilization, and BC properties. To determine the effects of BC addition on N retention and GHG flux, we added two sizes (>250 and <250 µm) of oak-derived BC (10% w/w) to two soils (aridic Argiustoll and aquic Haplustoll) with and without N fertilizer and measured extractable NO and NH and GHG efflux (NO, CO, and CH) in a 123-d laboratory incubation. Biochar had no effect on NO, NH, or NO in the unfertilized treatments of either soil. Biochar decreased cumulative extractable NO in N fertilized treatments by 8% but had mixed effects on NH. Greenhouse gas efflux differed substantially between the two soils, but generally with N fertilizer BC addition decreased NO 3 to 60%, increased CO 10 to 21%, and increased CH emissions 5 to 72%. Soil pH and total treatment N (soil + fertilizer + BC) predicted soil NO flux well across these two different soils. Expressed as CO equivalents, BC significantly reduced GHG emissions only in the N-fertilized silt loam by decreasing NO flux. In unfertilized soils, CO was the dominant GHG component, and the direction of the flux was mediated by positive or negative BC effects on soil CO flux. On the basis of our data, the use of BC appears to be an effective management strategy to reduce N leaching and GHG emissions, particularly in neutral to acidic soils with high N content.

Effects of Pisha sandstone content on solute transport in a sandy soil.

In sandy soil, water, nutrients and even pollutants are easily leaching to deeper layers. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of Pisha sandstone on soil solute transport in a sandy soil. The miscible displacement technique was used to obtain breakthrough curves (BTCs) of Br(-) as an inert non-adsorbed tracer and Na(+) as an adsorbed tracer. The incorporation of Pisha sandstone into sandy soil was able to prevent the early breakthrough of both tracers by decreasing the saturated hydraulic conductivity compared to the controlled sandy soil column, and the impeding effects increased with Pisha sandstone content. The BTCs of Br(-) were accurately described by both the convection-dispersion equation (CDE) and the two-region model (T-R), and the T-R model fitted the experimental data slightly better than the CDE. The two-site nonequilibrium model (T-S) accurately fit the Na(+) transport data. Pisha sandstone impeded the breakthrough of Na(+) not only by decreasing the saturated hydraulic conductivity but also by increasing the adsorption capacity of the soil. The measured CEC values of Pisha sandstone were up to 11 times larger than those of the sandy soil. The retardation factors (R) determined by the T-S model increased with increasing Pisha sandstone content, and the partition coefficient (K(d)) showed a similar trend to R. According to the results of this study, Pisha sandstone can successfully impede solute transport in a sandy soil column.

Spatial variability of soil organic carbon in a catchment of the Loess Plateau

Abstract The issue of soil organic carbon (SOC) is of increasing concern. Because SOC, as an important soil component in farming systems, is essential for improving soil quality, sustaining food production and quality, and maintaining water quality and as a major part of the terrestrial carbon reservoir, it plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. In this paper, a total of 665 soil samples from different depths were collected randomly in the autumn of 2007, and the spatial variability of SOC content at a small catchment of the Loess Plateau was analysed using classical statistics and geo-statistical analysis. In nonsampled areas classical kriging was utilized for interpolation of SOC estimation. The classic statistical analysis revealed moderate spatial variability with all five layers of SOC-content. In addition, the average SOC content decreased with soil depth and the relationship can be modelled by an exponential equation (y=3.1795x −1.2015, R 2=0.9866) and all of the SOC-content data in the different depth were normally distributed. The geo-statistical analysis indicated a moderate spatial dependence in 0–60 cm, while in the 60–80 cm depth spatial dependence was strong. The semi-variogram could be fitted by an exponential model for 0–10 cm depth; by a spherical model for 10–20 cm depth and 60–80 cm depth; and by a Gaussian model for 20–60 cm depth. The range increases with increasing depth. In addition, classical kriging could successfully interpolate SOC content in the catchment. In general, the geo-statistics method on a watershed scale could be accurately used to evaluate spatial variability of the SOC content in the Loess Plateau, China.

Spatial variability and distribution of soil nutrients in a catchment of the Loess Plateau in China

Abstract Inappropriate land use is one of the main reasons for soil erosion and nutrient loss in the hilly loess area of the Liudaogou catchment of the Loess Plateau, a typical topography area of hills and gullies. Good management practices, such as the nutrient variability for the different land uses (woodland, grassland, shrub land, farmland, and gully), would help the farmers. One study of the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial analysis and geostatistic analysis was carried out in the catchment. The results showed that the trend of the content of clay and silt in the different soil ranks was: farmland < grassland < shrub land < gully soil. The sandy soil contained fewer nutrients than did the other soils. The farmland contains fewer total phosphorus (TP) and . The spatial dependence of the total nitrogen (TN) and the organic matter (OM) in the sandy soil is strong, but is only moderate in the other types of land use except for OM in farmland. The spatial dependence of TP in the different types of land use patterns is strong too, except in woodland, and the dependence of TP is moderate in grassland. The spatial dependence of and is not strong, especially in woodland, shrub land, and farmland. The dependence of is weak in grassland, gully, and farmland. In the catchment scale, the degree of spatial dependence (GD) is moderate for soil nutrients especially for TN and , but the different nutrients were modelled in different stationary models. The spatial variability of OM, TP, and was modelled by a Gaussian model, and the spatial variability of TN and was modelled by an exponential equation. The nutrients’ distribution in the catchment has been mapped by GIS. From the results, it was seen that annual grass played an important role in the conservation and improvement of soil quality in the Loess Plateau. In addition, the farmland should be given more fertilizer.

Phytoextraction of rhenium by lucerne (Medicago sativa) and erect milkvetch (Astragalus adsurgens) from alkaline soils amended with coal fly ash

Coal fly ash (CFA) is an industrial waste generated in huge amounts worldwide, and the management of CFA has become an environmental concern. Recovery of valuable metals from CFA is one of the beneficial reuse options of CFA. Rhenium (Re) is one of the rarest metals in the Earths crust and one of the most expensive metals of strategic significance in the world market. A CFA at the Jungar Thermal Power Plant, Inner Mongolia, China, contains more Re than two alkaline soils in the surrounding region. Pot experiments were undertaken to grow lucerne (Medicago sativa) and erect milkvetch (Astragalus adsurgens) in a loessial soil and an aeolian sandy soil amended with different rates (5%, 10%, 20%, and 40%) of CFA. The results show that plant growth was considerably enhanced and Re concentration in plants was significantly increased when CFA was applied to the alkaline soils at rates of ≤20%; while in some cases plant growth was also markedly enhanced by the 40% CFA treatment, which increased plant Re concentration the most of all treatments. Both lucerne and erect milkvetch showed potential for phytoextracting Re from CFA-amended alkaline soils. Using CFA for soil amendment not only offers a potential solution for the waste disposal problem of CFA, but the phytoextraction of Re by both lucerne and erect milkvetch may also bring an economic profit in the future.