Abstract
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•Biochar alone or in combination with manure was applied to sandy calcareous soil.•Biochar application halted the CO2–C emission rate compared to manure.•The combined addition of biochar and manure increased N, P and K contents in soil.•Biochar has potential to sequester C and improve fertility of the calcareous soil.
Many studies have reported the positive effect of biochar on soil carbon sequestration and soil fertility improvement in acidic soils. However, biochar may have different impacts on calcareous sandy soils. A 90-day incubation experiment was conducted to quantify the effects of woody waste biochar (10gkg−1) on CO2–C emissions, K2SO4-extractable C and macro-(N, P and K) and micro-(Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) nutrient availability in the presence or absence of poultry manure (5gkg−1 soil). The following six treatments were applied: (1) conocarpus (Conocarpus erectus L.) waste (CW), (2) conocarpus biochar (BC), (3) poultry manure (PM), (4) PM+CW, (5) PM+BC and (6) untreated soil (CK). Poultry manure increased CO2–C emissions and K2SO4-extractable C, and the highest increases in CO2–C emission rate and cumulative CO2–C and K2SO4-extractable C were observed for the PM+CW treatment. On the contrary, treatments with BC halted the CO2–C emission rate, indicating that the contribution of BC to CO2–C emissions is negligible compared with the soils amended with CW and PM. Furthermore, the combined addition of PM+BC increased available N, P and K compared with the PM or BC treatments. Overall, the incorporation of biochar into calcareous soils might have benefits in carbon sequestration and soil fertility improvement.