Impact of biochar application dose on soil microbial communities associated with rubber trees in North East Thailand

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 689; pp. 970 - 979
• Main Authors: Herrmann, Laetitia, Lesueur, Didier, Robin, Agnès, Robain, Henri, Wiriyakitnateekul, Wanpen, Bräu, Lambert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.11.2019; Elsevier
• Subjects: Bacterial communities; Biochar; Biodiversity and Ecology; carbon sequestration; climate change; crop yield; ecological function; Environmental Sciences; Fungal communities; Hevea brasiliensis; North East Thailand; nutrient content; plantations; rubber; Rubber tree; soil amendments; soil biota; soil fertility; soil microorganisms; soil pH; soil water; Thailand; trees; Thailand; Rubber tree; Fungal communities; Bacterial communities; Biochar; North East Thailand
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.441
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026

Biochar is a potential tool to mitigate climate change by enhancing C sequestration in soils, but its use as a soil amendment to improve soil fertility and crop yields is still a contentious subject. In North East (NE) Thailand, biochar has been promoted to restore soil fertility in rubber tree plantations. Despite this, there is scarce information on the impact of biochar application on the soil biota, particularly on microbial communities associated with rubber trees. The effects of increasing doses of biochar on microbial communities were investigated in a rubber tree plantation in NE Thailand, 28 months after application. Biochar application resulted in increases of soil pH and nutrient contents and also had an impact on both bacterial and fungal communities. Changes in microbial composition and structure were observed although fungal communities were more markedly affected than bacterial communities. The nature and magnitude of the observed changes were strongly related to soil properties (pH, soil moisture and P content), while biochar dose (5, 10 or 20 tons/ha) effect was not significant. Our results highlight the need for additional research for a better understanding of the impact of biochar application on soil microbial communities and further cascading effects on ecosystem functions. [Display omitted] •Biochar addition affected soil microbial communities associated with rubber trees.•Biochar application resulted in higher soil pH and nutrient content.•Both community composition and structure were affected by biochar application.•Fungal communities were more severely affected than bacterial communities.•The effect of soil type was stronger than that of biochar dose on all parameters.