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Seminar Series 2009

Soil nutrient retention under biochar amended broadacre cropping soils in southern NSW

Time:
Date:
Venue:
Presenter: 		3.00pm
Thursday, 5 March 2009
NSW DPI Conference Room, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute
David Waters, PhD Student

Biochar has been associated with the increased productivity of highly weathered and acidic tropical Oxisols in the Amazon Basin. These Terra Preta soils have retained their fertility over hundreds of years and enhanced characteristics include soil carbon, structure, microbial activity, pH amelioration and nutrient availability resulting in improved plant growth. While t he increased retention of nutrients in biochar amended soils has previously been recorded, there has been little research on the mechanisms behind this. Furthermore, reactivity of the biochar surface has been shown to vary with time and with abiotic processes such as temperature, affecting its capacity for nutrient retention. This project will investigate the surface charge density of biochar, and its interaction with soil nutrients and soil micro-organisms in a broadacre dryland cropping context. Changes to char particle surface activity will be measured over time and under varying temperatures. The field trial will investigate the interaction of 6 rates of both green waste and cow manure biochars with fertiliser amended soils sown to wheat and canola. An understanding of the mechanisms of nutrient retention within biochar amended soils is pivotal to provide beneficial outcomes in agronomic production, environmental quality and system sustainability.

For further information about this seminar please contact:

Convenor: Mark Conyers
A/V ref: JG