Ji Young An1,2, Byung Bae Park3,4. 1. Institute of Agricultural Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea. 2. Department of Forest and Environmental Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea. 3. Department of Forest and Environmental Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea. bbpark@cnu.ac.kr. 4. Department of Environment and Forest Resources, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea. bbpark@cnu.ac.kr.
Abstract
Wood ash generated as a by-product of biomass combustion can be a sustainable and reasonable approach to counteract acidification and correct nutrient deficiency in forest soils. We investigated the influence of wood ash (WA) and combined WA + N (nitrogen) on soil chemical properties, growth and foliar nutrients of Zelkova serrata and their potential as a soil amender across different soil types. We applied four levels of WA (0, 5, 10, and 20 Mg ha-1) and two levels of N fertilizer (0 and 150 kg ha-1) across three different soil types: landfill saline (LS) soil, forest infertile (FI) soil, and forest acidic (FA) soil. The WA generally improved soil pH, organic matter, available P, exchangeable cations (K+, Na+, Ca2+, and Mg2+), and EC of the three soils, but its ameliorating and neutralizing effects were predominant in FA soil. N fertilizer was more effective in improving plant growth, especially for biomass production in LS and FI soils. WA application significantly increased biomass production when it was applied over 5 Mg ha-1 in FA soil, but higher dose rate of WA (i.e. 20 Mg ha-1) seems to pose negative effects. Foliar P, K, and Ca concentrations also tended to increase with the increasing amount of WA. Therefore, lower dosage of WA without N can be applied as a soil amender to counteract forest soil acidity and improve plant growth and foliar nutrient concentration, whereas N fertilizer without WA can be added to correct nutrient soil deficiencies in landfill and infertile soils. This study should enhance our understanding of WA as a sustainable and reasonable approach to counteract acidification and correct nutrient deficiency in forest soils.
Wood ash generated as a by-product of biomass combustion can be a sustainable and reasonable approach to counteract acidification and correct nutrient den>an class="Chemical">ficiency in forest soils. We investigated the influence of wood ash (WA) and combined WA + N (nitrogen) on soil chemical properties, growth and foliar nutrients of Zelkova serrata and their potential as a soil amender across different soil types. We applied four levels of WA (0, 5, 10, and 20 Mg ha-1) and two levels of N fertilizer (0 and 150 kg ha-1) across three different soil types: landfill saline (LS) soil, forest infertile (FI) soil, and forest acidic (FA) soil. The WA generally improved soil pH, organic matter, available P, exchangeable cations (K+, Na+, Ca2+, and Mg2+), and EC of the three soils, but its ameliorating and neutralizing effects were predominant in FA soil. N fertilizer was more effective in improving plant growth, especially for biomass production in LS and FI soils. WA application significantly increased biomass production when it was applied over 5 Mg ha-1 in FA soil, but higher dose rate of WA (i.e. 20 Mg ha-1) seems to pose negative effects. Foliar P, K, and Ca concentrations also tended to increase with the increasing amount of WA. Therefore, lower dosage of WA without N can be applied as a soil amender to counteract forest soil acidity and improve plant growth and foliar nutrient concentration, whereas N fertilizer without WA can be added to correct nutrient soil deficiencies in landfill and infertile soils. This study should enhance our understanding of WA as a sustainable and reasonable approach to counteract acidification and correct nutrient deficiency in forest soils.
Authors: Toke Bang-Andreasen; Jeppe T Nielsen; Jana Voriskova; Janine Heise; Regin Rønn; Rasmus Kjøller; Hans C B Hansen; Carsten S Jacobsen Journal: Front Microbiol Date: 2017-07-28 Impact factor: 5.640