Comprehensive Effects of Biochar and Other Soil Additives in Agricultural, Forest and Grassland Ecosystems—2nd Edition

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant–Soil Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 1008

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Interests: nitrogen cycling in soil and its environmental effects; biochar application in agricultural and forestry ecosystems; the eco-benefits of soil and water conservation engineering
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil additives, such as biochar, organic fertilizer, nitrification inhibitor, can alleviate stress and improve soil’s physical, chemical, and biological properties, thereby enhancing ecosystem services in agriculture, forestry, and grassland while having minimal negative impacts on the environment and acting as soil conditioners. For instance, biochar is a nutrient-rich and polyporous substance produced from biomass that has attracted attention for its uses in soil fertility improvement, crop yield enhancement, and carbon sequestration. In recent years, the use of biochar and other soil additives in agricultural, forest, and grassland production has increased proportionally, as they can improve soil fertility, promote soil microbial activity, reduce bulk density, and improve soil nutrients and water-holding capacity. In addition, soil amendments can increase the availability of nutrients in different soils and increase plant biomass.

This Special Issue will collect articles focusing on the following topics:

  • Improving biochar production methods for recycling agricultural and forestry residues;
  • Novel soil additives for improving soil health and quality;
  • Role of soil additives in soil ecosystems;
  • Effects of soil additives on plant and major crop production systems;
  • Roles of biochar and biochar-based fertilizers in improving soil properties and promoting plant nutrient uptake;
  • Responses of climate change to biochar and other soil additives—review or meta-analysis;
  • Soil C and N transformations and the environmental effects resulting from biochar and other soil amendments.

This Special Issue will enable a broad understanding of the sustainable applications of biochar and other typical soil additives in agricultural, forest, and grassland ecosystems.

Prof. Dr. Haijun Sun
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biochar
  • soil additives
  • soil organic carbon
  • nitrogen
  • global climate change

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 1084 KiB  
Article
Exploring Sustainable Fertilization Strategies Involving Biochar, Compost, and Inorganic Nitrogen: Impact on Nutrient Uptake, Yield, Phytochemical Accumulation, and Antioxidant Responses in Turnips
by Rui M. A. Machado, Isabel Alves-Pereira, Diogo Velez, Ana Grilo, Isabel Veríssimo and Rui Ferreira
Plants 2025, 14(4), 529; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14040529 - 9 Feb 2025
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Abstract
The effect of fertilization strategies involving biochar, compost, and inorganic N on growth and phytochemical accumulation in turnips was studied in a greenhouse pot experiment. The experiment was carried out with six fertilizer treatments: unfertilized soil (US), compost (120 g/pot) + biochar (20 [...] Read more.
The effect of fertilization strategies involving biochar, compost, and inorganic N on growth and phytochemical accumulation in turnips was studied in a greenhouse pot experiment. The experiment was carried out with six fertilizer treatments: unfertilized soil (US), compost (120 g/pot) + biochar (20 g/pot) (C + B), compost (120 g/pot) + 0.5 g N/pot (C + 0.5 N), biochar (20 g/pot) + 0.5 g N/pot (B + 0.5 N), compost (120 g/pot) + biochar (20 g/pot) + 0.5 g N/pot (C + B + 0.5 N), and inorganic fertilization (pre-plant mineral fertilizer + 1 g N/pot (PF + N)). Compost, biochar, and pre-plant mineral fertilizer were incorporated into the top 10 cm of soil, while inorganic N was applied weekly in equal amounts. The application of biochar with C + 0.5 N, compared to C + 0.5 N alone, reduced plant Ca and Mg uptake but did not affect dry biomass production. Using compost + 0.5 N, with or without biochar, proved to be a viable and sustainable strategy, achieving high dry biomass yields similar to inorganic fertilization but with lower inorganic N and no addition of the other inorganic nutrients. The biomass increase was due to enhanced nutrient uptake, resulting from the synergy between compost and the application of a reduced amount of N. The co-applications reduced nitrate levels in both shoots and roots and left the soil more fertile than soil fertilized with inorganic fertilization. Fertilization strategies differently affected the accumulation of ascorbic acid, total phenols, polyphenol oxidase, and proline in roots and shoots. Inorganic fertilization enhanced ascorbic acid and total phenols in shoots, while the combination of compost, biochar, and 0.5 N was more effective in roots, suggesting that fertilization strategies should be tailored to tissue-specific goals. Full article
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