Abstract
Significant increases in root density, crop growth and productivity have been observed following soil additions of biochar, which is a solid product from the pyrolysis of biomass. In addition, alterations in the soil microbial dynamics have been observed following biochar amendments, with decreased carbon dioxide (CO2) respiration, suppression of methane (CH4) oxidation and reduction of nitrous oxide (N2O) production. However, there has not been a full elucidation of the mechanisms behind these effects. Here we show data on ethylene production that was observed from biochar and biochar-amended soil. Ethylene is an important plant hormone as well as an inhibitor for soil microbial processes. Our current hypothesis is that the ethylene is biochar derived, with a majority of biochars exhibiting ethylene production even without soil or microbial inoculums. There was increased ethylene production from non-sterile compared to sterile soil (215%), indicating a role of soil microbes in the observed ethylene production. Production varied with different biomass sources and production conditions. These observations provide a tantalizing insight into a potential mechanism behind the biochar effects observed, particularly in light of the important role ethylene plays in plant and microbial processes.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Names are necessary to report factually on available data; however, the USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and the use of the name by USDA implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable.
References
Abeles FB, Morgan PW, Saltveit ME Jr (1992) Ethylene in plant biology. Academic, London
Arshad M, Frankenberger WT (1990) Ethylene accumulation in response to organic amendments. Soil Sci Soc Am J 54:1026–1031
Arshad M, Frankenberger WT (1991) Microbial production of plant hormones. Plant Soil 133:1–8
Arshad M, Frankenberger WT (2002) Ethylene: agricultural sources and applications. Kluwer Academic, New York
Banerjee NK, Mosier AR (1989) Coated calcium carbide as a nitrification inhibitor in upland and flooded soils. J Indian Soc Soil Sci 37:306–313
Bronson KF, Mosier AR (1991) Effect of encapsulated calcium carbide on dinitrogen, nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide emission from flooded rice. Biol Fert Soils 11:116–120
Burford JR (1975) Ethylene in grassland soil treated with animal excreta. J Environ Qual 4:55–57
Campbell RB, Moreau RA (1979) Ethylene in compacted field soil and its effect on growth, tuber quality and yield of potatoes. Am Potato J 56:199–210
Cao X, Ma L, Gao B, Harris W (2009) Dairy-manure derived biochar effectively sorbs lead and atrazine. Environ Sci Technol 43:3285–3291
Chan KY, Van Zwieten L, Meszaros I, Downie A, Joseph S (2007) Agronomic values of greenwaste biochar as a soil amendment. Aust J Soil Res 45:629–634
Frankenberger WT, Arshad M (1995) Phytohormones in soils—microbial production and function. Marcel Dekker, New York
Guerro M, Ruzi MP, Alzuet MU, Bilbao R, Miller A (2005) Pyrolysis of eucalyptus at different heating rates: studies of char characterization and oxidative reactivity. J Anal Appl Pyrolysis 74:307–314
Ioannou N, Schneider RW, Grogan RG (1977) Effect of flooding on the soil gas composition and the production of microsclerotia by Verticillium dahliae in the field. Phytopathology 67:651–656
Jäckel U, Schnell S, Conrad R (2004) Microbial ethylene production and inhibition of methanotrophic activity in a deciduous forest soil. Soil Biol Biochem 36:835–840
Kashif SR, Yaseen M, Arshad M, Abbas M (2007) Evaluation of calcium carbide as a soil amendment to improve nitrogen economy of soil and yield of okra. Soil Environ 26:69–74
Lehmann J (2007) A handful of carbon. Nature 447:143–144
Lehmann J, Joseph S (2009) Biochar for environmental management: science and technology. EarthScan, London
McCarty GW, Bremner JM (1991) Inhibition of nitrification in soil by gaseous hydrocarbons. Biol Fertil Soils 11:231–233
Marris E (2006) Putting the carbon back: black is the new green. Nature 442:624–626
McDermot HL, Arnell JC, Lawton BE (1995) Charcoal sorption studies: iii. The adsorption of ethylene and perfluoroethylene by an activated charcoal. Can J Chem 33:320–329
Novak JM, Lima I, Xing B, Gaskin JW, Steiner C, Das KC, Ahmedna M, Rehrah D, Watts DW, Busscher WJ, Schomberg H (2009) Characterization of designer biochar produced at different temperatures and their effects on a loamy sand. Ann Environ Sci 3:195–206
Ortega-Martinez O, Pernas M, Carol RJ, Dolan L (2007) Ethylene modulates stem cell division in the Arabidopsis thaliana root. Science 317:507–510
Paushkin YM, Lapidus AL, Andelson SV (1994) Plant biomass as raw material for the production of olefins and motor fuels. Chem Tech Fuels Oils 30:249–252
Porter LK (1992) Ethylene inhibition of ammonium oxidation in soil. Soil Sci Soc Am J 56:102–105
Renner R (2007) Rethinking biochar. Environ Sci Technol 41:5932–5933
Rondon M, Ramirez JA, Lehmann J (2005) Charcoal additions reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. In: Proceedings of the 3rd USDA Symposium on Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture and Forestry, 2005 Mar 21-24. University of Delaware, Delaware
Rondon MA, Molina D, Hurtado M, Ramirez J, Lehmann J, Major J, Amezquita E (2006) Enhancing the productivity of crops and grasses while reducing greenhouse gas emissions through bio-char amendments to unfertile tropical soils. Presentation at the 18th World Congress of Soil Science, Philadelphia, PA, July 9–15, 2006, Presentation #138–68
Sensöz S (2003) Slow pyrolysis of wood barks from Pinus brutia Ten. and product compositions. Biores Technol 89:307–311
Sheard RW, Leyshon AJ (1976) Short-term flooding soil: its effect on the composition of gas and water phases of soil and on phosphorus uptake of corn. Can J Soil Sci 56:9–20
Smith KA, Russell RS (1969) Occurrence of ethylene, and its significance, in anaerobic soil. Nature 222:769–771
Spokas K, Reicosky D (2009) Impacts of sixteen different biochars on soil greenhouse gas production. Ann Environ Sci 3:179–193
Spokas KA, Koskinen WC, Baker JM, Reicosky DC (2009) Impacts of woodchip biochar additions on greenhouse gas production and sorption/degradation of two herbicides in a Minnesota soil. Chemosphere 77:574–581
Steinburg M, Fallon PT, Sundaram MS (1992) The flash pyrolysis and methanolysis of biomass (wood) for production of ethylene, benzene, and methanol. In: Novel production methods for ethylene, light hydrocarbons, and aromatic. Marcel Dekker, New York
Van Zwieten L, Singh B, Joseph S, Kimber S, Cowie A, Chan KY (2009) Biochar and emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases from soil. In: Lehmann J, Joseph S (eds) Biochar for environmental management: science and technology. Earthscan, London, pp 227–249
Wardle DA, Nilsson M-C, Zackrisson O (2008) Fire-derived charcoal causes loss of forest humus. Science 320:629
Warnock DD, Lehmann J, Kuypern TW, Rilling MC (2007) Mycorrhizal response to charcoal in soil—concepts and mechanisms. Plant Soil 300:9–20
Yanai Y, Toyota K, Okazani M (2007) Effects of charcoal addition on N2O emissions from soil resulting from rewetting air-dried soil in short-term laboratory experiments. Soil Sci Plant Nutri 53:181–188
Yang SF, Hoffman NE (1984) Ethylene biosynthesis and its regulation in higher plants. Ann Rev Plant Physiol 35:155–189
Yang Y, Sheng G (2003) Enhanced pesticide sorption by soils containing particulate matter from crop residue burns. Environ Sci Technol 37:3635–3639
Yaseen M, Arshad M, Khalid A (2006) Effect of acetylene and ethylene gases released from encapsulated calcium carbide on growth and yield of wheat and cotton. Pedobiologia 50:405–411
Zackrisson O, Nilsson M-C, Wardle DA (1996) Key ecological function of charcoal from wildfire in the Boreal forest. Oikos 77:10–19
Zechmeister-Boltenstern S, Smith KA (1998) Ethylene production and decomposition in soils. Biol Fert Soils 26:354–361
Acknowledgements
We thank M. DuSaire, T. Phan, L. Watson, and L. Endo for their technical laboratory assistance. This work is part of the United States Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) Biochar and Pyrolysis Initiative.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Hans Lambers.
Donald C. Reicosky-retired.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Spokas, K.A., Baker, J.M. & Reicosky, D.C. Ethylene: potential key for biochar amendment impacts. Plant Soil 333, 443–452 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0359-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0359-5