RECORD
Soil Greenhouse Gas, Carbon Content, and Tree Growth Response to Biochar Amendment in Western United States Forests
- Title:
- Soil Greenhouse Gas, Carbon Content, and Tree Growth Response to Biochar Amendment in Western United States Forests
- Creator:
- Sarauer, Jessica L.; Page‐Dumroese, Deborah S.; Coleman, Mark D.
- Date Created:
- 2018-12-28
- Description:
- Restoring overstocked forests by thinning and pyrolyzing residual biomass produces biochar and other value‐added products. Forest soils amended with biochar have potential to sequester carbon (C), improve soil quality, and alter greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions without depleting nutrient stocks. Yet, few studies have examined the effects of biochar on GHG emissions and tree growth in temperate forest soils. We measured GHG emissions, soil C content, and tree growth at managed forest sites in Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. We applied biochar amendments of 0, 2.5, or 25 Mg/ha to the forest soil surface. Flux of carbon dioxide and methane varied by season; however, neither were affected by biochar amendment. Flux of nitrous oxide was not detected at these nitrogen‐limited and unfertilized forest sites. Biochar amendment increased soil C content by 41% but did not affect tree growth. Overall, biochar had no detrimental effects on forest trees or soils. We conclude that biochar can be used harmlessly for climate change mitigation in forests by sequestering C in the soil. Forest soils amended with biochar made from forest residues have potential to modify tree growth, alter greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance long‐term soil carbon storage. In our study, various biochar amendments did not affect forest tree growth or greenhouse gas emissions but did increase soil carbon content up to 41%. We conclude that biochar can be safely applied to forest soils for the purpose of sequestering carbon.
- Document Type:
- Research Article
- Subjects:
- UIEF thinning restocking soil greenhouse gas emissions greenhouse gas carbon sequestration carbon storage biochar soil carbon content forest ecology
- Location:
- UIEF
- Latitude:
- 46.869607
- Longitude:
- -116.733856
- Publisher:
- Wiley
- Department:
- Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences
- Type:
- Text
Source
- Preferred Citation:
- "Soil Greenhouse Gas, Carbon Content, and Tree Growth Response to Biochar Amendment in Western United States Forests", UIEF Research Exchange, University of Idaho Library Digital Collections, https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/uief/items/uief_0169.html
Rights
- Rights:
- In copyright, educational use permitted.
- Standardized Rights:
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/