Pedosphere 25(5): 666--679, 2015
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2015 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Feeding biochar to cows: An innovative solution for improving soil fertility and farm productivity |
S.JOSEPH1,2,3,10 , D. POW4, K.
DAWSON5, D. R. G. MITCHELL3, A.
RAWAL9, J. HOOK9,
S. TAHERYMOOSAVI2, L. VAN ZWIETEN6,
J. RUST6, S. DONNE1, P. MUNROE3,
B. PACE2, E. GRABER8, T. THOMAS7,
S. NIELSEN7, J. YE7, Y. LIN1,
PAN Gen-Xing10, LI Lian-Qing10 and Z. M.
SOLAIMAN11 |
1Discipline of Chemistry, University of Newcastle,
Callaghan 2308 (Australia)
2School of Materials Science and Engineering,
University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052 (Australia)
3Electron Microscopy Center, AIIM, University of
Wollongong, Wollongong 2522 (Australia)
4MarronBrook Farm, Manjimup 6258 (Australia)
5Warren Catchments Council, 52 Bath St, Manjimup 6258
(Australia)
6Wollongbar Primary Industries Institute, NSW
Department of Primary Industries,1243 Bruxner Highway,
Wollongbar 2477 (Australia)
7Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, School of
Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of
New South Wales, Sydney
(Australia)
8Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences,
The Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, POB
6, Bet Dagan
50250 (Israel)
9Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, University of New
South Wales, Kensington 2052 (Australia)
10Institute of Resources, Ecosystem and Environment of
Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing
210095 (China)
11Soil Biology and Molecular Ecology Group, School of
Earth and Environment (M087), The University of Western
Australia, Crawley 6009 (Australia) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Addition of biochar produced through thermal decomposition of biomass
has been seen as a strategy to improve soils and to sequester carbon (C), but
wide scale implementation of the technology requires to devise
innovative profitable solutions. To develop biochar utilisation with an
integrated system approach, an innovative program was implemented in
2012 on a 53-ha farm in Western Australia to determine the costs and
benefits of integrating biochar with animal husbandry and improvement
of pastures. Biochar was mixed with molasses and fed directly to cows.
The dung-biochar mixture was incorporated into the soil profile by dung
beetles. We studied the changes in soil properties over 3 years.
Biochar extracted from fresh dung and from the
soil to a depth of 40 cm was characterised.A preliminary financial
analysis of the costs and benefits of this integrated approach was also
undertaken. The preliminary investigation results suggested that this
strategy was effective in improving soil properties and increasing
returns to the farmer. It was also concluded that the
biochar adsorbed nutrients from the cow's gut and from the dung. Dung
beetles could transport this nutrient-rich biochar into the soil
profile. There was little evidence that the recalcitrant component of
the biochar was reduced through reactions inside the gut or on/in the
soil. Further research is required to quantify the long-term impact of
integrating biochar and dung beetles into the rearing of cows. |
| Key Words: animal husbandry, biochar,
C sequestration, dung beetles, financial benefit, pasture |
| Citation: Joseph, S., Pow, D., Dawson, K., Mitchell, R. G., Rawal, A., Hook, J., Taherymoosavi, S., Van, Z., Rust, J., Donne, S., Munroe, P., Pace, B., Graber, E., Thomas, T., Nielsen, S., Ye, J., Lin, Y., Pan, G. X., Li, L. Q. and Solaiman, Z. M. 2015. Feeding biochar to cows: An innovative solution for improving soil fertility and farm productivity. Pedosphere. 25(5): 666-679. |
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