Pedosphere (2): 511--526, 2026
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2026 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Unearthing potential of aluminum-modified biochar for saline-alkali soil rejuvenation and microbial diversity enhancement |
Saba BABAR1, Amanullah BALOCH2, Muhammad QASIM1, Jiyuan WANG1, Xiangling WANG1, Rashid IQBAL3,4, Ali M. ABD-ELKADER1, Khurram SHEHZAD5, Xiaoyang XIA1, Cuncang JIANG1 |
1 Microelement Research Center, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070 (China)
2 National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070 (China)
3 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100 (Pakistan)
4 Department of Life Sciences, Western Caspian University, Baku AZ1001 (Azerbaijan)
5 Hubei Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Saline-alkali soils pose a serious challenge to the agricultural production system. Although ordinary biochar application has been found to be beneficial in mitigating salt stress, its effectiveness could be further enhanced through some modifications. In this study, a soil column leaching experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential roles of original rice straw biochar (OB) and aluminum-modified rice straw biochar (AB) in the reclamation of a saline-alkali soil. Five treatments were designed: treatments amended with 1% and 3% (weight:weight) OB and AB (1% OB, 3% OB, 1% AB, and 3% AB, respectively) and without biochar (control, CK), and each treatment was repeated four times under a completely randomized design. The results reflected that the 3% AB treatment was more effective than other treatments in reducing soil pH, electrical conductivity, sodium adsorption ratio, and exchangeable sodium ions (by 7.8%, 27.4%, 36.8%, and 30.2%, respectively, relative to CK). It was mainly due to the maximum replacement of sodium ions with aluminum ions on soil exchange sites. Additionally, irrigation practices further accelerated the salt removal from the soil column via leaching. With a reduction in salt content, soil β-1,4-glucosidase and β-cellobiohydrolase activities became enhanced, particularly in the 3% AB treatment. Notably, biochar application also altered soil microbial community composition. The relative abundance of salt-tolerant bacteria, such as Proteobacteria and Actinobacteriota, was greatly improved in the 3% AB-amended soil, thereby benefiting soil health. In conclusion, this study proves the multiple enhanced impacts of AB on overall soil properties and also provides new insight into the utilization of natural resources with slight modification for reclaiming saline-alkali soils. |
| Key Words: enzyme activity,microbial community,reclamation,salinization,salt leaching,salt stress |
| Citation: Babar S, Baloch A, Qasim M, Wang J Y, Wang X L, Iqbal R, Abd-Elkader A M, Shehzad K, Xia X Y, Jiang C C. 2026. Unearthing potential of aluminum-modified biochar for saline-alkali soil rejuvenation and microbial diversity enhancement. Pedosphere. 36(2): 511-526. |
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