title: Biochar decreases dissolved organic carbon but not nitrate leaching in relation to vinasse application in a Brazilian sugarcane soil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sugarcane cultivation is associated with catchment-wide impacts related to application of vinasse, a nutrient-dense effluent with high eutrophication potential. We evaluated the potential for biochar (charcoal produced from pyrolyzed filtercake) to mitigate carbon and nutrient leaching in a cultivated Brazilian Ferralsol after vinasse application.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve soil columns (soil alone [S], soil with vinasse [SV], soil with vinasse and biochar [SVB], and soil with biochar [SB]) were flushed with water and then treated with water or vinasse. Samples collected via vacuum filtration were examined via UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Biochar attenuated dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leaching in soil (S vs. SB) as well as in relation to vinasse application (SV vs. SVB). Biochar-amended soil preferentially retained high-molecular weight, humic-like DOC species, as revealed by fluorescence spectroscopy and optical indices, but did not retain low-weight amino acid-like species. Vinasse application also increased total NO3(-) flux, which may have been exacerbated by biochar co-application.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vinasse treatment strongly affects carbon and NO3(-) fluxes in this tropical soil. Biochar attenuated DOC leaching, likely through stabilization of complex compounds already present in soil, but did not lessen NO3(-) fluxes. Thus, biochar amendments in vinasse application areas may decrease carbon leaching.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability, 2202 Main Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1Z4, Canada. Electronic address: a.eykelbosh@alumni.ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Angela Joy
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Eykelbosh
authors.affiliation: Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability, 2202 Main Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1Z4, Canada; Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1Z4, Canada. Electronic address: mark.johnson@ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Mark S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Fernando Corrêa da Costa, Boa Esperança, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso 78060-900, Brazil. Electronic address: couto@ufmt.br.
authors.forename: Eduardo Guimarães
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Couto
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001938:Brazil; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis*; D002606:Charcoal / Q000737:chemistry*; D009566:Nitrates / Q000032:analysis*; D031786:Saccharum; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D014866:Waste Products / Q000032:analysis*; D014872:Water Movements; D060753:Water Quality
chemical_list: D009566:Nitrates; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014866:Waste Products; C540010:biochar; D002606:Charcoal; D002244:Carbon
keywords: Biochar; Dissolved organic carbon; Leaching; Nitrate