IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v10y2020i5p158-d355359.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Short-Term Effects of Organic Amendments on Soil Properties and Maize ( Zea maize L.) Growth

Author

Listed:
  • Alessandro Calamai

    (DAGRI, Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine 18, 50144 Firenze, Italy)

  • David Chiaramonti

    (RE-CORD, Renewable Energy Consortium for R&D, Viale J. F. Kennedy, 182, 50038 Scarperia e San Piero, Italy
    POLITO, Polytechnic of Turin, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy)

  • David Casini

    (RE-CORD, Renewable Energy Consortium for R&D, Viale J. F. Kennedy, 182, 50038 Scarperia e San Piero, Italy)

  • Alberto Masoni

    (DAGRI, Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine 18, 50144 Firenze, Italy)

  • Enrico Palchetti

    (DAGRI, Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine 18, 50144 Firenze, Italy)

Abstract

In recent years, the application of biochar as soil amendment has generated a huge interest for the preservation of soil fertility by improving the physicochemical and biological properties of soil, and for the reduction of the negative effects of greenhouse emissions (climate-change adaptation). In this study, we investigated the effect of three soil amendments, namely, biochars derived from wood (BC), solid digestate (SD), and biochar derived from solid digestate (BSD), on soil parameters and their influence in maize-growth performance. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse where organic amendments were applied to the soil control (C) at different application rates: 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3% w/w (equivalent at 0, 10, 20, and 30 t ha −1 , respectively). The results indicated that all applications of organic amendments significantly enhanced soil parameters such as pH and electrical conductivity, while only BSD and SD showed a significant increase in secondary macro-(i.e., Ca, Mg) and micronutrient-element content (i.e., Na, Fe, Mn and Zn). The best maize performance (i.e., plant height, stem diameter, biomass dry weight, seed number, and weight per ear) was observed while using BSD, while plant growth in BC had reduced results, probably due to the low presence of elemental content and the relatively high volatile-matter (VM) content, which may have altered nitrogen dynamics.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandro Calamai & David Chiaramonti & David Casini & Alberto Masoni & Enrico Palchetti, 2020. "Short-Term Effects of Organic Amendments on Soil Properties and Maize ( Zea maize L.) Growth," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:10:y:2020:i:5:p:158-:d:355359
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/10/5/158/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/10/5/158/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bates, Douglas & Mächler, Martin & Bolker, Ben & Walker, Steve, 2015. "Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 67(i01).
    2. Roy, Poritosh & Dias, Goretty, 2017. "Prospects for pyrolysis technologies in the bioenergy sector: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 59-69.
    3. Johannes Lehmann & John Gaunt & Marco Rondon, 2006. "Bio-char Sequestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems – A Review," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 395-419, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kung, Chih-Chun & Mu, Jianhong E., 2019. "Prospect of China's renewable energy development from pyrolysis and biochar applications under climate change," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Malyan, Sandeep K. & Kumar, Smita S. & Fagodiya, Ram Kishor & Ghosh, Pooja & Kumar, Amit & Singh, Rajesh & Singh, Lakhveer, 2021. "Biochar for environmental sustainability in the energy-water-agroecosystem nexus," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    3. Yaming Zhao & Xiangjun Wang & Guangwei Yao & Zhizhong Lin & Laiyuan Xu & Yunli Jiang & Zewen Jin & Shengdao Shan & Lifeng Ping, 2022. "Advances in the Effects of Biochar on Microbial Ecological Function in Soil and Crop Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-11, August.
    4. JANSSENS, Jochen & DE CORTE, Annelies & SÖRENSEN, Kenneth, 2016. "Water distribution network design optimisation with respect to reliability," Working Papers 2016007, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    5. Raymond Hernandez & Elizabeth A. Pyatak & Cheryl L. P. Vigen & Haomiao Jin & Stefan Schneider & Donna Spruijt-Metz & Shawn C. Roll, 2021. "Understanding Worker Well-Being Relative to High-Workload and Recovery Activities across a Whole Day: Pilot Testing an Ecological Momentary Assessment Technique," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-17, October.
    6. Christopher Hassall & Michael Nisbet & Evan Norcliffe & He Wang, 2024. "The Potential Health Benefits of Urban Tree Planting Suggested through Immersive Environments," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-12, February.
    7. Lizhen Qin & Donghoon Shin, 2023. "Effects of UV Light Treatment on Functional Group and Its Adsorption Capacity of Biochar," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-14, July.
    8. Jie Zhao & Ji Chen & Damien Beillouin & Hans Lambers & Yadong Yang & Pete Smith & Zhaohai Zeng & Jørgen E. Olesen & Huadong Zang, 2022. "Global systematic review with meta-analysis reveals yield advantage of legume-based rotations and its drivers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    9. Elisabeth Beckmann & Lukas Olbrich & Joseph Sakshaug, 2024. "Multivariate assessment of interviewer-related errors in a cross-national economic survey (Lukas Olbrich, Elisabeth Beckmann, Joseph W. Sakshaug)," Working Papers 253, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    10. Lee, Seokhwan & Woo, Sang Hee & Kim, Yongrae & Choi, Young & Kang, Kernyong, 2020. "Combustion and emission characteristics of a diesel-powered generator running with N-butanol/coffee ground pyrolysis oil/diesel blended fuel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    11. F J Heather & D Z Childs & A M Darnaude & J L Blanchard, 2018. "Using an integral projection model to assess the effect of temperature on the growth of gilthead seabream Sparus aurata," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, May.
    12. Valentina Krenz & Arjen Alink & Tobias Sommer & Benno Roozendaal & Lars Schwabe, 2023. "Time-dependent memory transformation in hippocampus and neocortex is semantic in nature," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-17, December.
    13. Morán-Ordóñez, Alejandra & Ameztegui, Aitor & De Cáceres, Miquel & de-Miguel, Sergio & Lefèvre, François & Brotons, Lluís & Coll, Lluís, 2020. "Future trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services in Mediterranean forests under global change scenarios," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    14. Jack McDonnell & Thomas McKenna & Kathryn A. Yurkonis & Deirdre Hennessy & Rafael Andrade Moral & Caroline Brophy, 2023. "A Mixed Model for Assessing the Effect of Numerous Plant Species Interactions on Grassland Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function Relationships," Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics, Springer;The International Biometric Society;American Statistical Association, vol. 28(1), pages 1-19, March.
    15. Ana Pinto & Tong Yin & Marion Reichenbach & Raghavendra Bhatta & Pradeep Kumar Malik & Eva Schlecht & Sven König, 2020. "Enteric Methane Emissions of Dairy Cattle Considering Breed Composition, Pasture Management, Housing Conditions and Feeding Characteristics along a Rural-Urban Gradient in a Rising Megacity," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-18, December.
    16. Damian M. Herz & Manuel Bange & Gabriel Gonzalez-Escamilla & Miriam Auer & Keyoumars Ashkan & Petra Fischer & Huiling Tan & Rafal Bogacz & Muthuraman Muthuraman & Sergiu Groppa & Peter Brown, 2022. "Dynamic control of decision and movement speed in the human basal ganglia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    17. Kathrin Stenchly & Marc Victor Hansen & Katharina Stein & Andreas Buerkert & Wilhelm Loewenstein, 2018. "Income Vulnerability of West African Farming Households to Losses in Pollination Services: A Case Study from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-12, November.
    18. Dongyan Liu & Chongran Zhou & John K. Keesing & Oscar Serrano & Axel Werner & Yin Fang & Yingjun Chen & Pere Masque & Janine Kinloch & Aleksey Sadekov & Yan Du, 2022. "Wildfires enhance phytoplankton production in tropical oceans," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    19. Zhaogeng Yang & Yanhui Li & Peijin Hu & Jun Ma & Yi Song, 2020. "Prevalence of Anemia and its Associated Factors among Chinese 9-, 12-, and 14-Year-Old Children: Results from 2014 Chinese National Survey on Students Constitution and Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-10, February.
    20. Marco Lopez-Cruz & Fernando M. Aguate & Jacob D. Washburn & Natalia Leon & Shawn M. Kaeppler & Dayane Cristina Lima & Ruijuan Tan & Addie Thompson & Laurence Willard Bretonne & Gustavo los Campos, 2023. "Leveraging data from the Genomes-to-Fields Initiative to investigate genotype-by-environment interactions in maize in North America," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:10:y:2020:i:5:p:158-:d:355359. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.