Functional response of the soil microbial community to biochar applications

• Published in: Global change biology. Bioenergy Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 269 - 281
• Main Authors: Xu, Wenhuan, Whitman, William B., Gundale, Michael J., Chien, Chuan‐Chi, Chiu, Chih‐Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2021
• Subjects: Abundance; Actinomycetes; Arbuscular mycorrhizas; Bacteria; biochar; Biodegradation; Biolog; Biomass; C utilization; Charcoal; Climate change; Community structure; Environmental degradation; Environmental impact; Enzymes; functional diversity; Fungi; global meta‐analysis; Markvetenskap; Mathematical models; Meta-analysis; Metabolism; Microbial activity; Microbiomes; Microorganisms; Multivariate statistical analysis; pH effects; PLFA; Pyrolysis; Ratios; Respiration; Sequestering; Soil analysis; Soil bacteria; Soil chemistry; Soil conditions; Soil degradation; Soil improvement; soil microbial community; Soil microorganisms; Soil pH; Soil properties; Soil quality; Soil Science; Soil temperature; Soils; Structure-function relationships
• DOI: 10.1111/gcbb.12773
• ISSN: 1757-1693; 1757-1707

Biochar has the potential to mitigate the impacts of climate change and soil degradation by simultaneously sequestering C in soil and improving soil quality. However, the mechanism of biochar's effect on soil microbial communities remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted a global meta‐analysis, where we collected 2,110 paired observations from 107 published papers and used structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the effects of biochar on microbial community structure and function. Our result indicated that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal abundance, microbial biomass C, and functional richness increased with biochar addition regardless of loads, time since application, and experiment types. Results from mixed linear model analysis suggested that soil respiration and actinomycetes (ACT) abundance decreased with biochar application. With the increase of soil pH, the effect of biochar on fungal abundance and C metabolic ability was lessened. Higher biochar pH associated with higher pyrolysis temperatures reduced the abundance of bacteria, fungi, ACT, and soil microbes feeding on miscellaneous C from Biolog Eco‐plate experiments. SEM that examined the effect of biochar properties, load, and soil properties on microbial community indicated that fungal abundance was the dominant factor affecting the response of the bacterial abundance to biochar. The response of bacterial abundance to biochar addition was soil dependent, whereas fungi abundance was mostly related to biochar load and pyrolysis temperature. Based on soil conditions, controlling biochar load and production conditions would be a direct way to regulate the effect of biochar application on soil microbial function and increase the capacity to sequester C. Biochar management is a potential approach to mitigate climate warming and soil degradation. However, the mechanisms biochar regulates soil microbial function is still unclear, and many studies have yielded contradictory results. We compiled and analyzed data from 107 published studies, and found that biochar increased microbial growth and functional richness, especially when applied to acidic soils. Soil fungi were directly affected by biochar, whereas bacteria were sensitive to changes in soil properties upon biochar addition. This improved understanding will allow land managers to better use biochar as a tool to improve soil quality and mitigate climate warming.