Biochar effects on CO2 emission and nitrogen mineralization in sandy and laterite soils

Abstract

An incubation study was conducted in a laterite and sandy soil to study the effect of biochar and FYM on soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization under laboratory conditions at Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Trivandrum, Kerala during May 2019 to November 2019. The Comparison of the CO2 emission by biochar and FYM showed a significant reduction in CO2 emission in biochar applied treatments both in laterite and sandy soil. In both the soil NH4-N and NO3-N fraction was found to be higher in the soil applied with FYM during the initial stages of incubation but during the final stages the highest fractions were in biochar treated soils. The study discloses that addition of biochar could reduce CO2 loss and improve nitrogen mineralization.