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Coal Char Affects Soil Ph To Reduce Ammonia Volatilization From Sandy Loam Soil, Dinesh Panday, Maysoon M. Mikha, Bijesh Maharjan Oct 2020

Coal Char Affects Soil Ph To Reduce Ammonia Volatilization From Sandy Loam Soil, Dinesh Panday, Maysoon M. Mikha, Bijesh Maharjan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Ammonia (NH3) volatilization loss adversely affects N availability in soil-plant systems, reduces crop yield, and negatively impacts environment. Char (coal combustion residue), which contains up to 293 g kg1 total C by weight, has been shown to reduce NH3 volatilization due to its considerably high surface area and cation exchange capacity. The NH3 loss can be greatly affected by a shift in soil pH or urea hydrolysis. A 21-d laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of char on soil pH, N transformations, and subsequent NH3 volatilization in sandy loam soil. Two …


Effects Of Char On Nitrogen Management In Agricultural Soils Of Semi-Arid Western Nebraska, Dinesh Panday Jul 2020

Effects Of Char On Nitrogen Management In Agricultural Soils Of Semi-Arid Western Nebraska, Dinesh Panday

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Soils in western Nebraska are characterized by low soil organic C due to semi-arid environment in the region and further aggravated by disruption of soil aggregates and rapid C decomposition from intensive tillage, erosion, and frequent droughts. Proper management of soil C may improve soil properties, reduce N losses, and subsequently improve crop yields in this low C soil and low moisture condition. This dissertation focuses on C-rich coal char (henceforth “char”) as a potential strategy to overcome the existing problem of low C in semi-arid region. Char is an industrial by-product, resulting from inefficient coal burning during sugar beet …


Optimum Rates Of Surface-Applied Coal Char Decreased Soil Ammonia Volatilization Loss, Dinesh Panday, Maysoon M. Mikha, Harold P. Collins, Virginia L. Jin, Michael Kaiser, Jennifer Cooper, Arindam Malakar, Bijesh Maharjan Mar 2020

Optimum Rates Of Surface-Applied Coal Char Decreased Soil Ammonia Volatilization Loss, Dinesh Panday, Maysoon M. Mikha, Harold P. Collins, Virginia L. Jin, Michael Kaiser, Jennifer Cooper, Arindam Malakar, Bijesh Maharjan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Fertilizer N losses from agricultural systems have economic and environmental implications. Soil amendment with high C materials, such as coal char, may mitigate N losses. Char, a coal combustion residue, obtained from a sugar factory in Scottsbluff, NE, contained 29% C by weight. A 30-d laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of char addition on N losses via nitrous oxide (N2O) emission, ammonia (NH3) volatilization, and nitrate (NO3–N) leaching from fertilized loam and sandy loam soils. Char was applied at five different rates (0, 6.7, 10.1, 13.4, and 26.8 Mg C ha …


Continuous Cropping Alters Multiple Biotic And Abiotic Indicators Of Soil Health, Pervaiz Ahmad, Javed Iqbal, Qingming Zhang, Dima Chen, Hui Wei, Muhammad Saleem Jan 2020

Continuous Cropping Alters Multiple Biotic And Abiotic Indicators Of Soil Health, Pervaiz Ahmad, Javed Iqbal, Qingming Zhang, Dima Chen, Hui Wei, Muhammad Saleem

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The continuous cropping (CC) of major agricultural, horticultural, and industrial crops is an established practice worldwide, though it has significant soil health-related concerns. However, a combined review of the effects of CC on soil health indicators, in particular omics ones, remains missing. The CC may negatively impact multiple biotic and abiotic indicators of soil health, fertility, and crop yield. It could potentially alter the soil biotic indicators, which include but are not limited to the composition, abundance, diversity, and functioning of soil micro- and macro-organisms, microbial networks, enzyme activities, and soil food web interactions. Moreover, it could also alter various …


Soil Carbon Increased By Twice The Amount Of Biochar Carbon Applied After 6 Years: Field Evidence Of Negative Priming, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, David A. Laird, Emily A. Heaton, Samuel Rathke, Bharat Sharma Acharya Jan 2020

Soil Carbon Increased By Twice The Amount Of Biochar Carbon Applied After 6 Years: Field Evidence Of Negative Priming, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, David A. Laird, Emily A. Heaton, Samuel Rathke, Bharat Sharma Acharya

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Applying biochar to agricultural soils has been proposed as a means of sequester-ing carbon (C) while simultaneously enhancing soil health and agricultural sustain-ability. However, our understanding of the long-term effects of biochar and annual versus perennial cropping systems and their interactions on soil properties under field conditions is limited. We quantified changes in soil C concentration and stocks, and other soil properties 6 years after biochar applications to corn (Zea mays L.) and dedicated bioenergy crops on a Midwestern US soil. Treatments were as fol-lows: no-till continuous corn, Liberty switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), and low-diversity prairie grasses, 45% big bluestem …


Coal Char Affects Soil Ph To Reduce Ammonia Volatilization From Sandy Loam Soil, Dinesh Panday, Maysoon M. Mikha, Bijesh Maharjan Jan 2020

Coal Char Affects Soil Ph To Reduce Ammonia Volatilization From Sandy Loam Soil, Dinesh Panday, Maysoon M. Mikha, Bijesh Maharjan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Ammonia (NH3) volatilization loss adversely affects N availability in soil-plant systems, reduces crop yield, and negatively impacts environment. Char (coal combus- tion residue), which contains up to 293 g kg−1 total C by weight, has been shown to reduce NH3 volatilization due to its considerably high surface area and cation exchange capacity. The NH3 loss can be greatly affected by a shift in soil pH or urea hydrolysis. A 21-d laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of char on soil pH, N transformations, and subsequent NH3 volatilization in sandy loam soil. Two char rates (0 and 13.4 Mg …