Soil incorporation of biochar appears to increase plant growth in some environments. However, the effect of biochar on root system architecture (RSA) or on weeds is not well understood. Our objective was to examine the effect of biochar on the growth and RSA of large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis L. Scop.), a common and problematic weed. Plants were grown in rhizoboxes filled with field soil ± either a low-nutrient biochar (LNB) or a high-nutrient biochar (HNB). Rhizoboxes were either filled uniformly with field soil ± biochar (solid) or with + biochar and − biochar-amended field soil so that each occupied half of the rhizobox (split). Large crabgrass biomass and RSA were affected by biochar type in the solid design rhizoboxes and large crabgrass roots proliferated in biochar-amended soil in the split rhizoboxes, regardless of biochar type. This study provides evidence that plant roots can detect and grow toward biochar and suggests that the addition of biochar to soils may increase the ability of large crabgrass to spread vegetatively.
.H. 2009 Evaluation of different soil carbon determination methods Crit. Rev. Plant Sci. 28 164 178 Cheng, C.H. Lehmann, J. Engelhard, M.H. 2008 Natural oxidation of black carbon in soils: Changes in molecular form and surface charge along a climosequence
effects on soil biota–a review Soil Biol. Biochem. 43 1812 1836 Liang, B. Lehmann, J. Solomon, D. Kinyangi, J. Grossman, J. O'Neill, B. Skjemstad, J.O. Thies, J. Luizao, F.J. Petersen, J. Neves, E.G. 2006 Black Carbon increases cation exchange capacity in
. Earthscan, London, UK Liang, B. Lehmann, J. Sohi, S.P. Thies, J.E. O’Neill, B. Trujillo, L. Gaunt, J. Solomon, D. Grossman, J. Neves, E.G. Luizão, F.J. 2010 Black carbon affects the cycling of non-black carbon in soil Org. Geochem. 41 206 213 Major, J
. 22 4 681 688 Liang, B. Lehmann, J. Sohi, S. Thies, J. O’Neill, B. Trujillo, L. Gaunt, J. Solomon, D. Grossman, J. Neves, E. Luizão, F. 2010 Black carbon affects the cycling of non-black carbon in soil Org. Geochem. 41 206 213 Liu, X. Herbet, S
Liang, B. Lehmann, J. Solomon, D. Kinyangi, J. Grossman, J. O’Neill, B. Skjemstad, J.O. Thies, J. Luizao, F.J. Petersen, J. Neves, E.G. 2006 Black carbon increases cation exchange capacity in soils Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 70 1719 1730 MacCarthy, P
.J. Petersen, J. Neves, E.G. 2006 Black carbon increases cation exchange capacity in soils Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 70 1719 1730 10.2136/sssaj2005.0383 Major, J. Steiner, C. Downie, A. Lehmann, J. 2009 Biochar effects on nutrient leaching, p. 272–285. In: J
. Solomon, D. Kinyangi, J. Grossman, J. O’Neill, B. Skjemstad, J.O. Thies, J. Luizão, F.J. Petersen, J. Neves, E.G. 2006 Black carbon increases cation exchange capacity in soils Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 70 1719 1730 Lumsden, L.D. Garcia, R. Lewis, J.A. Frias
Biochar is a term that refers to a black carbon-rich material that is produced from organic matter at temperatures lower than 700 °C in an oxygen-limited atmosphere ( Lehmann and Joseph, 2009 ) and is generally considered to be similar to charcoal
pre-incubation Biol. Fertil. Soils 53 315 326 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-017-1180-6 Major, J. Lehmann, J. Rondon, M. Goodale, C. 2010 Fate of soil-applied black carbon: Downward migration, leaching and soil respiration Glob. Change