title: Reduced nitrification and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in acidic soil amended with biochar.
abstract: Adding biochar into soils has potential to manipulate soil nitrification process due to its impacts on nitrogen (N) cycling, however, the exact mechanisms underlying the alteration of nitrification process in soils are still not clear. Nitrification in an acidic orchard soil amended with peanut shell biochar (PBC) produced at 400 °C was investigated. Nitrification was weakened by PBC addition due to the decreased NH4(+)-N content and reduced ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) abundance in PBC-amended soils. Adding phenolic compounds (PHCs) free biochar (PBC-P) increased the AOB abundance and the DGGE band number, indicating that PHCs remaining in the PBC likely reduced AOB abundance and diversity. However, PBC addition stimulated rape growth and increased N bioavailability. Overall, adding PBC could suppress the nitrification process and improve N bioavailability in the agricultural soils, and thus possibly mitigate the environmental negative impacts and improving N use efficiency in the acidic soils added with N fertilizer.
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Qingdao Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China; Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.
authors.forename: Zhenyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Qingdao Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
authors.forename: Haiying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zong
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Qingdao Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China. Electronic address: zhenghao2013@ouc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Qingdao Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
authors.forename: Guocheng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Qingdao Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. Electronic address: bx@umass.edu.
authors.forename: Baoshan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xing
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002606:Charcoal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005308:Fertilizers / Q000032:analysis; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D058465:Nitrification / Q000187:drug effects*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction / Q000187:drug effects; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D012987:Soil; C540010:biochar; D002606:Charcoal; D000641:Ammonia
keywords: Acidic soil; Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria; Biochar; Nitrification; Phenolic compounds