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| DOI：10.13522/j.cnki.ggps.20180089 |
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| Amending Soil by Biochar Reduces the Ability of the Soil to Infiltrate Water |
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WANG Youqi, BAO Weibin, ZHAO Yunpeng, ZHANG Xing, BAI Yiru
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1.College of Resources and Environment, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China; 2.China-Arab Joint International Research Laboratory for Featured Resources and Environmental Governance in Arid Regions, Yinchuan 750021, China
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| Abstract: |
| 【Objective】Biochar has been increasingly used as an agent to improve soil quality but its impact on ability of the soil to conduct water is poorly understood. The aim of this paper is to study changes in water infiltration in soil amended with biochar at different ratios in Yinchuan Plain.【Method】 Light sierozem soil taken from the plain was amended with biochar at ratios of： 0% (CK), 2% (B1), 3% (B2), 5% (B3) and 6% (B4). Each amended soil was then packed into column, followed by infiltration test. During the infiltration process, we measured advance of the wetting front, infiltration rate and cumulative infiltration. The results were analyzed using the Kostiakov model, the Philip model, the Horton model and a general empirical model.【Result】Compared with CK, B1, B2, B3 and B4 reduced the initial infiltration rate by 5%, 12%, 32% and 38% respectively, and the steady infiltration rate by 30%, 39%, 44% and 48% respectively. After 120 min of infiltration, B1, B2, B3 and B4 reduced the wetting front by 14%, 31%, 39% and 40%, and cumulative infiltration by 13%, 24%, 36% and 42%, respectively, compared to CK. Increasing biochar amendment considerably reduced water infiltration. We also found that the Horton model was more accurate than other models to reproduce the infiltration process in all columns.【Conclusion】Amendment with biochar could significantly improve water retention in the light sierozem soil due to reduction in water flow. The practical implications of this, however, would be case-dependent. |
| Key words: soil amendment; biochar; infiltration rate; soil moisture; arid and semiarid area; model |
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