Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Zhao, Ruirui
• Liu, Yong
• Gundale, Michael J.

Titel

Soil amendment with biochar and manure alters wood stake decomposition and fungal community composition

Ist Teil von

• Global change biology. Bioenergy, 2023-09, Vol.15 (9), p.1166-1185

Ort / Verlag

Oxford: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Wiley-Blackwell Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Biochar and manure can be used for sustainable land management. However, little is known about how soil amendments might affect surface and belowground microbial processes and subsequent wood decomposition. In a split‐split‐split plot design, we amended soil with two rates of manure (whole plot; 0 and 9 Mg ha−1) and biochar (split plot; 0 and 10 Mg ha−1). Wood stakes of three species (hybrid poplar, triploid Populus tomentosa Carr.; aspen, Populus tremuloides Michx.; and pine, Pinus taeda L.) were placed in two positions (horizontally on the soil surface, and inserted vertically in the mineral soil), which served as a substrate for fungal growth. In 3 years, the decomposition rate (density loss), moisture content, and fungal community (via high‐throughput sequencing methods) of stakes were evaluated. Results indicated that biochar and/or manure increased the wood stake decomposition rates, moisture content, and operational taxonomic unit abundance. However, the richness and diversity of fungi were dependent on wood stake position (surface > mineral), species (pine > the two Populus), and sample dates. This study highlights that soil amendment with biochar and/or manure can alter the fungal community, which in turn can enhance an important soil process (i.e., decomposition). Biochar and manure can be used for sustainable land management. However, little is known about how soil amendments might affect microbial processes and subsequent wood decomposition in short‐rotation forests. Using wood stakes of three species as an index of soil functional responses, we found that 10 Mg ha−1 biochar and/or 9 Mg ha−1 manure increased the wood stake decomposition rates, moisture content, and operational taxonomic unit abundance over 3 years. This study provided scientific data for forest management operations and subsequent forestry policy to enhance or sustain soil function and quality in temperate forest plantations using biochar and manure.