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Biochar and Biochar with N Fertilizer Impact on Soil Physical Properties in a Silty Loam Haplic Luvisol
 
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Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra Tr. A. Hlinku 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
 
 
Publication date: 2019-07-01
 
 
Corresponding author
Ján Horák   

Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra Tr. A. Hlinku 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
 
 
J. Ecol. Eng. 2019; 20(7):31-38
 
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ABSTRACT
During the last time a lot of studies focused on the effects of biochar application to agricultural soils and its effect on the soil properties. However only few information is known about the simultaneous impact of N-fertilizer combined with biochar to soil physical propersies such as: soil moisture, soil temperature, bulk density and water filled pore space. Therefore the aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in the soil physical properties of a silty loam Haplic Luvisol affected by the biochar application and its combination with N fertilizer during the years 2014-2016 (Experimental site of SUA-Nitra, Dolná Malanta, Slovakia). The field experiment was carried out in 2014 with different biochar application doses (0, 10 and 20 t ha-1) and different rate of N fertilization (0, 1st and 2nd level of N fertilization). The results showed that the both biochar amendment and biochar with N fertilizer increased on average the soil moisture in range of 1 to 15%. The higher rate of biochar resulted in higher soil moisture in all treatments with biochar in the following order B0 (14.9) < B10 (15.1) < B20 (16.2) as well as in biochar in combination with N fertilization: B0N1 (14.6) < B10N1 (15.7) < B20N1 (16.2) as well as B0N2 (14.8) < B10N2 (15.8) < B20N2 (16.0) during the years of 2014-2016. There was observed a positive trend of water filled pore space increase by the time in all studied treatments. No significant changes in the average soil temperature were observed between the different biochar and biochar with N fertilization treatments during the growing seasons of individual years. The higher rate of biochar resulted in lower soil bulk density in all treatments with biochar in combination with N fertilization in the following order: B0N1 (1.49) > B10N1 (1.47) > B20N1 (1.44) as well as B0N2 (1.51) > B10N2 (1.47) > B20N2 (1.39) during years the studied period (2014-2016).
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