title: Quality improvement of acidic soils by biochar derived from renewable materials.
abstract: Biochar derived from waste plant materials and agricultural residues was used to improve the quality of an acidic soil. The acidic soil was treated for 1 month with both soy bean stover-derived biochar and oak-derived biochar in the range of 1 to 5 wt% for pH improvement and exchangeable cation enhancement. Following 1 month of treatment, the soil pH was monitored and exchangeable cations were measured. Moreover, a maize growth experiment was performed for 14 days with selected treated soil samples to confirm the effectiveness of the treatment. The results showed that the pH of the treated acidic soil increased by more than 2 units, and the exchangeable cation values were greatly enhanced upon treatment with 5 wt% of both biochars, after 1 month of curing. Maize growth was superior in the 3 wt% biochar-treated samples compared to the control sample. The presented results demonstrate the effective use of biochar derived from renewable materials such as waste plant materials and agricultural residues for quality improvement of acidic soils.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju, 61452, Republic of Korea. dmoon10@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Deok Hyun
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1625-9642
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Inseong
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Kwangwoon University, Seoul, 01897, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yoon-Young
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New Haven, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA.
authors.forename: Agamemnon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koutsospyros
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju, 61452, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Hoon
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Cheong
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mine Reclamation Technology, Mine Reclamation Corporation, Wonju, 26464, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Won Hyun
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong-Hun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000143:Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D002606:Charcoal / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D003313:Zea mays / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D000143:Acids; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; C540010:biochar; D002606:Charcoal
keywords: Acidic soil; Biochar; Maize growth; Renewable materials; Soil pH; Soil quality improvement