Combination of Biochar with N–Fertilizer Affects Properties of Soil and N<sub>2</sub>O emissions in Maize Crop
Tatijana Kotuš,
Vladimír Šimanský,
Katarína Drgoňová,
Marek Illéš,
Elżbieta Wójcik-Gront,
Eugene Balashov,
Natalya Buchkina,
Elena Aydın,
Ján Horák
Affiliations
Tatijana Kotuš
Institute of Landscape Engineering, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Vladimír Šimanský
Department of Soil Science, Institute of Agronomic Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Katarína Drgoňová
Institute of Landscape Engineering, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Marek Illéš
Institute of Landscape Engineering, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Elżbieta Wójcik-Gront
Department of Biometry, Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Eugene Balashov
Department of Soil Physics, Physical Chemistry and Biophysics, Agrophysical Research Institute, Grazhdansky pr. 14, 195220 St. Petersburg, Russia
Natalya Buchkina
Department of Soil Physics, Physical Chemistry and Biophysics, Agrophysical Research Institute, Grazhdansky pr. 14, 195220 St. Petersburg, Russia
Elena Aydın
Institute of Landscape Engineering, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Ján Horák
Institute of Landscape Engineering, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
One of the challenges of harnessing higher productivity levels and sustainability of agriculture related to N fertilization is in expanding soil N2O emissions, which has become a serious issue in recent years. Recent studies suggest that biochar may be the solution to this problem, but there is still a knowledge gap related to biochar application rates and its reapplication in Central Europe; therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of biochar (initial application and reapplication in 2014 and 2018, respectively, at rates of 0, 10 and 20 t ha−1) combined with N-fertilizer (N0—0 kg N ha−1; N1—108 kg N ha−1 and N2—162 kg N ha−1) during the growing season of maize in 2019 (warm temperature with normal precipitation) on the changes of soil properties and N2O emissions in the silty loam, Haplic Luvisol, in the temperate climate of Slovakia. The results showed that the application and reapplication of biochar proved to be an excellent tool for increasing soil pH (in the range 7–13%), soil organic carbon—Corg (2–212%), and reducing the soil’s NH4+ (41–69%); however, there were more pronounced positive effects when biochar was combined with N-fertilizer at the higher level (N2). The same effects were found in the case of N2O emissions (reduction in the range 33–83%). Biochar applied without N-fertilizer and combined with the higher fertilizer level had a suppressive effect on N2O emissions. Biochar did not have any effect on maize yield in 2019.
