Influence of the physical properties of pumice and biochar amendments on the soil’s mobile and immobile water: implications for use in saline environments
Chao Kong
A * , Marta Camps-Arbestain A and Brent Clothier B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
B Plant and Food Research, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
Soil Research 60(3) 234-241 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR20327
Submitted: 21 November 2020 Accepted: 30 September 2021 Published: 17 November 2021
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Context: Biochar and pumice have potential to improve soil water retention and mitigate salinity. However, little is known about their effect on salt transport in sandy soils.
Aims: We investigated the influence of the porosity and pore size distribution of soil amendments with pumice and biochar on the mobile water content of a New Zealand sandy soil.
Methods: Pumice and biochar (1.5-cm, 3-cm and 6-cm in diameter, Ø) were characterised using scanning electron microscope technology. The fraction of mobile water present in these amendments, previously added to a sandy soil at different application rates and particle sizes, was determined using a tracer (Na+) technique.
Key results: (1) Pumice exhibited a wider pore-size span than biochar; and (2) both materials had a predominance of pores with Ø < 30 μm; but (3) the total porosity in pumice and biochar was not significantly different; (4) pumice had a significantly larger (P < 0.05) mean absolute micro-scale porosity than biochar; and (5) a significantly greater (P < 0.05) relative resident Na+ concentration than biochar, irrespective of the particle size.
Conclusions: These results reflect a larger fraction of the mobile water in pumice than that of biochar under near-saturated conditions, irrespective of the biochar particle size; and this increased as the pumice particle size increased.
Implications: While both materials are expected to contribute to water retention and thus might alleviate salt-stress by diluting salt concentration, pumice may perform better than this specific biochar on improving the retention of plant-available water.
Keywords: dilution, miscible displacement, mobile-water fraction, particle size, physical properties, porosity, salinity, scanning electron microscopy.
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