Arabian Journal of Geosciences (2018) 11: 759

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-018-4133-y

S. I. BIOCHAR

Amelioration of calcareous sandy soil productivity via incorporation

between biochar and some organic manures
Abu El-Eyuoon Abu Zied Amin 1

Received: 7 June 2018 / Accepted: 30 November 2018 / Published online: 7 December 2018
# Saudi Society for Geosciences 2018

Abstract
Most arid and semi-arid soils, especially calcareous sandy soils, are widely distributed in the Middle East region; the deficiency in
their content of many nutrients particularly phosphorus and organic matter limits crops production. This study aimed to assess the
effects of adding biochar (B) with farmyard manure (FYM) and poultry manure (PM) on some soil properties, phosphorus (P)
availability, and barley growth in calcareous sandy soil. The pot experiment includes the following treatments: Control, B, B +
FYM (1:1), B + PM (1:1), B + FYM (2:1), B + PM (2:1), FYM + B (2:1), and PM + B (2:1). Biochar combined with FYM and
PM enhanced the water holding capacity (WHC) and soil organic matter (SOM) content in calcareous sandy soil. Phosphorus
availability was increased significantly by applying biochar mixed with farmyard manure and poultry manure at all treatments.
Green biomass of barley improved because of adding biochar alone, poultry manure alone, and biochar co-applied with poultry
manure at all mixing ratios. Biochar application caused significant increases in phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) by barley plants
compared to all other treatments, except for the control. We recommend adding biochar either individually or mixed with poultry
manure to improve the productivity of calcareous sandy soil.

Keywords Barley . Biochar . Biomass . Phosphorus use efficiency

Introduction properties, such as pH and moisture content, as well as calci-

um and phosphorus concentration in soil solution (Sanyal and
Phosphorus (P) in soil is an important nutrient for crop and De Datta 1991). The phosphorus adsorption, precipitation,
food production. It can be added to the soil during agricultural and immobilization into unavailable forms in soil are resulting
processes from two sources: (1) natural due to the processes of from phosphate fertilizers that are usually added in excess of
biogeochemical soil forming (2) anthropogenic P as fertilizer plant requirements. Enhancement of P acquisition and use by
and manure (Sattari et al. 2012; Zhang et al. 2017). Currently, plants is necessary for economic, humanitarian, and environ-
agriculture depends on phosphorus fertilizers produced from mental reasons (Vance et al. 2003). At recent time, it is neces-
non-renewable phosphate rock, which its reserves estimated sary to find organic alternatives to phosphate fertilizers be-
to be depleted in approximately 50–100 years. In 2030, the cause of the increase in its prices and content of radionuclides
global peak in phosphorus production is expected to happen and some heavy metals. In general, the organic matter plays an
as a result of the increasing demand of phosphorus (Cordell important role in improving the physical, chemical, and bio-
et al. 2009). Therefore, the rate and amount of phosphate rock logical properties of soils; consequently, it enhances the fertil-
dissolution attribute to several factors which are chemical ity and productivity as well as sustainable management of
composition, particle size of the phosphate rock, and soil soils (Craswell and Lefroy 2001). Fertilizing calcareous soils
by organic manures leads to maintain soil organic matter and
This article is part of the Topical Collection on Implications of Biochar improve soil physical and biochemical properties (Zhao et al.
Application to Soil Environment under Arid Conditions 2009). The pyrolysis for agricultural residues produces
amendments, that is indicated by the term biochar, which en-
* Abu El-Eyuoon Abu Zied Amin hances soil fertility (Smebye et al. 2016). Moreover, it im-
[email protected]; [email protected] proves soil water and nutrient retention, and carbon sequestra-
1
tion as well as reduces greenhouse gas emission contributing
Soils and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut
University, P.O. Box: 71526, Assiut, Egypt
to the mitigation of climate change (Qambrani et al. 2017).
759 Page 2 of 10 Arab J Geosci (2018) 11: 759

Biochar is utilized as a fertilizer because it has the potential to Table 1 Some chemical properties of biochar, farmyard manure, and
poultry manure
provide nitrogen (N), phosphorus, and potassium as well as
supplement soil organic carbon (Novak and Busscher 2013; Property Biochar Farmyard manure Poultry manure
Zheng et al. 2013). Biochar amendments are beneficial to
improve the physicochemical and biological properties of OM (g kg−1) 156.0 271.6 471.8
soils due to its high organic carbon content (Glaser et al. Total P (g kg−1) 1.96 2.08 10.85
2002). Biochar improves soil’s ability to hold essential nutri- Total N (g kg−1) 6.79 14.00 36.06
ents and provides them to plants because of increasing cation pH (1:4) 6.65 11.65 10.81
exchange capacity (Liang et al. 2006; Verheijen et al. 2010). EC (1:4) 9.25 8.49 7.71
Phosphorus bioavailability and plant growth also enhanced
because of applying biochar to soils (Lehmann et al. 2003;
Deluca et al. 2009). In sandy soil, the available phosphorus was air-dried, crushed, and passed through a 2-mm sieve.
(Olsen-P) and wheat dry matter increased with applying bio- Plastic pots contained 3 kg of the soil under study and a ran-
char (Amin 2016), because biochar can provide soils with domized complete design with a factorial arrangement of
some nutrients such as phosphorus (Xu et al. 2013; Amin treatments was used. Each treatment had three replications.
2016). Also, applying biochar combined with organic manure The soil in the pots was treated with each of these organic
improved some chemical properties of soil such as organic materials (air-dried B, FYM, and PM) at the level of 30 g
carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus as well as biological prop- per 3 kg soil (equivalent to 24 ton ha−1). The treatments ap-
erties (Elzobair et al. 2016). Incorporation between biochar plied to this experiment were as follows: Control, B, B + FYM
and organic fertilizers changed the soil structure and modified (1:1), B + PM (1:1), B + FYM (2:1), B + PM (2:1), FYM + B
nutrients supply as well as its impact extended over three (2:1), and PM + B (2:1) as well as these treatments were
cropping cycles (Carter et al. 2013). Biochar combined with mixed with soil in pots. The description of these treatments
compost improved soil organic matter content, cation ex- is shown in Table 3. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Giza
change capacity, phosphorus availability, and water holding 123) grains were sown in all pots on 17 November 2016.
capacity of sandy soil under field conditions (Liu et al. 2012). After 15 days of sowing, the plants in each pot were thinned
The objective of this study is to examine the effects of apply- to 15 plants. Nitrogen fertilizer was added to all pots at level of
ing biochar prepared from corn stalks as a substitute for phos- 117 mg pot−1 in three doses, the first dose was after 20 days of
phate fertilizers combined with farmyard manure and poultry sowing, is 48 mg N pot−1 as urea, the second dose after 33 days
manure on some soil properties, phosphorus availability, bar- of sowing, is 46 mg N pot−1 as potassium nitrate and the third
ley growth, and phosphorus use efficiency by barley in calcar- dose after 76 days of sowing, is 23 mg N pot−1 as potassium
eous sandy soil. nitrate. Potassium fertilizer was added to all pots at level of
194 mg K pot−1 in two doses, the first dose after 33 days of
sowing, is 129 mg K pot−1 as potassium nitrate and the second
Materials and methods dose after 76 days of sowing is 65 mg K pot−1 as potassium
nitrate. The barley plants in each pot were harvested after
Biochar production 84 days of planting and the total biomass weight in each pot
(g pot−1) was estimated. The plants were oven-dried at 70 °C
Biochar was made by collecting dry maize stalks from the and the total dry biomass weight for each pot (g pot−1) was
experimental Farm of Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt, then recorded, then plant samples were grinded. Soil samples were
they were cut to 30-cm pieces and burned in the absence (or
reduced supply) of oxygen at temperature about 320 °C. After Table 2 Selected
properties of the soil Property Unit Value
the burning process, they turn into biochar and the product under study
was crushed by a stainless steel mill. Some chemical proper- Sand g kg−1 896
ties of biochar, farmyard manure, and poultry manure are pre- Silt g kg−1 64
sented in Table 1. Clay g kg−1 40
Texture Sand
Pot experiment WHC g kg−1 148.2
O.M g kg−1 3.1
The calcareous sandy soil under study was collected at 0–20- CaCO3 g kg−1 103.5
cm depth from El-Qusia, Assiut, Egypt. Some physical and EC dS m−1 1.63
chemical properties of this soil are shown in (Table 2). The pH 7.82
soil under study was tentatively classified as Typic Olsen-P mg kg−1 7.1
Torripsamments in US Soil Taxonomy. The collected soil
Arab J Geosci (2018) 11: 759 Page 3 of 10 759

Table 3 Description of the treatments used in this experiment of a soil-distilled water suspension by a glass electrode
Treatment Treatment description (Jackson 1973), while pH in B, PM, and FYM was de-
termined in suspension (1:4). Electrical conductivity
Control Unamended soil (3 kg soil per pot) (EC) was measured in soil extract (1:1) using an electri-
B 30 g of biochar per 3 kg soil cal conductivity meter (Jackson 1973), while EC of B,
B:FYM (1:1) 15 g biochar plus 15 g farmyard manure per 3 kg soil PM, and FYM were measured in extract (1:4). Available
B:PM (1:1) 15 g biochar plus 15 g poultry manure per 3 kg soil phosphorus was extracted by 0.5 M NaHCO3 at pH 8.5
B:FYM (2:1) 20 g biochar plus 10 g farmyard manure per 3 kg soil according to Olsen et al. (1954) and then, it was deter-
B:PM (2:1) 20 g biochar plus 10 g poultry manure per 3 kg soil mined calorimetrically using the chlorostanous
B:FYM (1:2) 10 g biochar plus 20 g farmyard manure per 3 kg soil phosphomolybdic acid method according to Jackson
B:PM (1:2) 10 g biochar plus 20 g poultry manure per 3 kg soil (1973). The soluble potassium was determined in soil
extract (1:1) by flame photometer, while the soluble po-
tassium in biochar was determined in extract (1:5). The
taken from each pot after the harvest. The collected soil sam- organic matter in the soil, biochar, poultry manure, and
ples were air-dried, crushed, and then passed through a 2-mm farmyard manure was determined by Walkley–Black
sieve and analyzed for the chemical properties. method (Jackson 1973).

Soil analysis
Plant analysis
Water holding capacity (WHC) in this experiment was
estimated by gravimetric method after barley harvesting, The total phosphorus in plant tissues, biochar, poultry manure,
where 200 g of soil were taken from each sample and and farmyard manure was determined after digestion using
filled in PVC columns. The bottoms of columns were mixtures of nitric (HNO3) and perchloric (HC1O4) acids
covered by filter paper to prevent the loss of soil sam- (2:1) and phosphorous content in the digests was determined
ples. All columns were saturated with distilled water and colorimetrically using the chlorostannous phosphomolibdic
the top was covered to prevent the loss of water by acid method as described by Jackson (1973), while the total
evaporation. Then, the saturated columns were drained nitrogen in plant tissues, biochar, poultry manure, and farm-
for 48 h at room temperature. After 48 h, the wet soil yard manure was determined after wet digestion using H2SO4-
samples were weighted and then dried at 105 °C for H2O2 mixture as described by Parkinson and Allen (1975).
24 h. WHC was determined by the difference between Nitrogen in the digests was determined by micro-Kjeldahl
the mass of the oven-dried and the wet sample method (Jackson 1973). N and P uptake (mg pot−1) was cal-
(Mohamed et al. 2016). Soil pH was determined in 1:1 culated as follows:

−1

N or P concentration mg kg−1 in plant part ðdry matterÞ  dry biomass ðg pot−1 Þ
N or P uptake mg pot ¼
1000

The calculation of the phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) Steel and Torrie (1982). Significant differences among treat-
according to (Dobermann 2005) was as follows: ment means were determined by least significance difference
(LSD) test at the 0.05 level of probability.
ðharvest product at applied P mg pot−1 Þ
PUE ¼
ðamount of phosphorus applied; mg P pot−1 Þ
¼ mg biomass per mg P Results and discussion

The amount of applied phosphorus was calculated based on Water holding capacity, soil organic matter,
the total content of phosphorus in these amendments shown in and available phosphorus
Table 2.
Amending soil by biochar co-applied with farmyard manure
Statistical analysis and poultry manure significantly improved water holding ca-
pacity (WHC), while the addition of biochar alone showed
Statistical analysis of the data was done using a one-way anal- non-significant increase of WHC (Table 4). The relative im-
ysis of variance (ANOVA) by MSTATC program according to provements in WHC over the control were 7.3, 4.7, 14.1, 5.3,
759 Page 4 of 10 Arab J Geosci (2018) 11: 759

Table 4 Some soil properties as influenced by biochar (B) combined After barley harvesting, applications of biochar at all treat-
with farmyard manure (FYM) and poultry manure (PM) [values are mean
ments significantly enhanced phosphorus availability in soil
± standard deviation of triplicate measurements]
under study compared to the control (Table 4),where all treat-
a
Treatment WHC SOM Available P ments in this study increased phosphorus availability from
g kg−1 g kg−1 mg kg−1 6.3 mg kg−1 for control to 9.2, 10.7, 31.8, 10.5, 24.4, 11.1,
Control 150.8 ± 23.35 3.2 ± 0.03 6.3 ± 0.41
and 36.0 mg kg−1 for B, B:FYM (1:1), B:PM (1:1), B:FYM
B 161.7 ± 0.00 4.0 ± 0.01 9.2 ± 0.15
(2:1), B:PM (2:1), B:FYM (1:2), and B:PM (1:2), respective-
ly. In this study, the maximum concentration of available
B:FYM (1:1) 157.9 ± 2.60 4.2 ± 0.23 10.7 ± 1.14
phosphorus was obtained at B:PM (1:2) treatment. The result
B:PM (1:1) 172.1 ± 1.80 4.9 ± 0.11 31.8 ± 3.85
of our study suggests that organic materials application to
B:FYM (2:1) 176.3 ± 1.10 4.7 ± 0.06 10.5 ± 1.06
calcareous sandy soil improved phosphorus availability.
B:PM (2:1) 158.8 ± 23.20 4.3 ± 0.11 24.4 ± 1.53
Consequently, adding these treatments to the soil under study
B:FYM (1:2) 173.7 ± 2.10 4.3 ± 0.11 11.1 ± 0.88
showed increases in the concentration of available phosphorus
B:PM (1:2) 178.3 ± 5.15 5.1 ± 0.03 36.0 ± 1.26
b in the order of B:PM (1:2) > B:PM (1:1) > B:PM (2:1) >
LSD0.05 20.53 0.19 2.88
B:FYM (1:2) > B:FYM (1:1) > B:FYM (2:1) > B > control
WHC water holding capacity, SOM soil organic matter (Fig. 1). Nutrients released through mineralization from or-
a
Treatments: Unamended soil [Control], 30 g of B for pot [B], 15 g B plus ganic manures can supply crops nutrients requirements.
15 g FYM for pot [B:FYM (1:1)], 15 g B plus 15 g PM for pot [B:PM Phosphorus availability increased with biochar application be-
(1:1)], 20 g B plus 10 g FYM for pot [B:FYM (2:1)], 20 g B plus 10 g PM cause of the direct release of phosphorus from biochar (Xu
for pot [B:PM (2:1)], 10 g B plus 20 g FYM for pot [B:FYM (1:2)], 10 g
B plus 20 g PM for pot [B:PM (1:2)]
et al. 2013). Phosphorus availability is improved when bio-
b char mixed with organic manures used in the current study
LSD: least significant difference at the 0.05 level of probability among
treatment means which may attributed to increased phosphorus retention com-
pared to control (Amin 2018a). Furthermore, adding farmyard
manure to calcareous sandy soil led available phosphorus to
16.9, 15.2, and 18.2% for B, B:FYM (1:1), B:PM (1:1), increase (Amin 2018b). Adding Poultry manure caused trans-
B:FYM (2:1), B:PM (2:1), B:FYM (1:2), and B:PM (1:2), formation and mineralization of less-labile inorganic and or-
respectively. The values of WHC in this study raised in all ganic P into labile-Pi in the rhizosphere which in turn im-
treatment relative to the control (Fig. 1). Soil water retention proved phosphorus availability (Waldrip et al. 2011).
capacity increases with the increase in soil organic matter. Phosphorus availability in soil significantly improved using
Increasing WHC in sandy soils was because of using biochar biochar, compost, and their mixtures (Agegnehu et al. 2015)
(Dugan et al. 2010; Głąb et al. 2016). Water retention capacity
in soil showed a significant enhancement with applying farm- Green and dry biomass of barley
yard manure compared to the unfertilized treatment (Zhao
et al. 2009). In calcareous soil, biochar application improved Green and dry biomass of barley grown in the calcareous
soil water content compared to the control (Ippolito et al. sandy soil increased significantly as result of applying biochar
2016). Using biochar, compost and their mixtures increased alone and biochar mixed with poultry manure at all ratios.
soil water content (Agegnehu et al. 2015). Compared to the control, the barley green biomass increased
The biochar, its mixture with farmyard manure and poultry when biochar added alone by 11.1%, biochar combined with
manure significantly increased soil organic matter (SOM) poultry manure at ratios (1:1), (2:1), and (1:2) by 24.5, 20.5,
content in calcareous sandy soil under study after barley har- and 34.8%, respectively (Table 5). The maximum yield of
vest (Table 4). However, the additions of these amendments green and dry biomass was observed when biochar co-
increased SOM content from 3.2 (control) to 4.0, 4.2, 4.9, 4.7, applied with poultry manure at ratio (1:2) treatment, while
4.3, 4.3, and 5.1 g kg−1 for B, B:FYM (1:1), B:PM (1:1), the additions of biochar with farmyard manure at all mixing
B:FYM (2:1), B:PM (2:1), B:FYM (1:2), and B:PM (1:2), ratios insignificantly increased barley green biomass.
respectively (Fig. 1). Hence, increasing biochar application Furthermore, with the application of amendments, the relative
in calcareous soil increased SOM content (Ippolito et al. enhancements in barley dry biomass over the control were
2016; Amin and Eissa 2017). Biochar addition to sandy soil 10.8, 20.8, 22.6, and 32.5% for B, B:PM (1:1), B:PM (2:1),
led organic matter to increase (Novak et al. 2009). Farmyard and B:PM (1:2), respectively. In this study, adding organic
manure added to soil improved SOC compared to the un- materials increased green and dry biomass of barley plants.
amended soil (Zhao et al. 2009). Watts et al. (2010) found that Performance of the treatments in increasing the barley green
the addition of poultry manure to soil improved SOM. Soil biomass was in the order of B:PM (1:2) > B:PM (1:1) > B:PM
organic matter was increased by adding biochar, compost, and (2:1) > B > B:FYM (1:1) > B:FYM (1:2) > B:FYM (2:1) >
their mixtures (Agegnehu et al. 2015). control. These treatments can be ranked in the increase of
Arab J Geosci (2018) 11: 759 Page 5 of 10 759

Fig. 1 Variability of water 200

holding capacity (WHC), soil
180
organic matter (SOM), and
available P under amendments 160
addition
140

WHC (g kg-1)
120

100

80

60

40

20

4
SOM (g kg-1)

45

40

35
Available P (mg kg-1)

30

25

20

15

10

Treatment

barley dry biomass in the order of the following: B:PM availability resulting from the incorporation of biochar and
(1:2) > B:PM (2:1) > B:PM (1:1) > B > B:FYM (1:1) > some organic manures. The promoted plant growth was be-
B:FYM (1:2) > B:FYM (2:1) > control (Fig. 2). In our study, cause of amending soil by biochar through direct or indirect
the improvement of barley biomass was noticed may be due to effects; the direct effect on plants growth through nutrients
the enhanced water retention, organic matter, and phosphorus supply and the indirect effect enhances soil physical,
759 Page 6 of 10 Arab J Geosci (2018) 11: 759

Table 5 Biochar (B) mixed with farmyard manure (FYM) and poultry manure (PM) effects on yield and yield components of barley plants (values are
mean ± standard deviation of triplicate measurements)
a
Treatment Green Dry Plant N content Plant N uptake Plant P content Plant P uptake PUE
biomass biomass g kg−1 mg pot−1 mg kg−1 mg pot−1 mg mg−1
g pot−1 g pot−1

Control 44.6 ± 4.04 9.5 ± 0.16 11.9 ± 0.00 113.3 ± 1.90 773.5 ± 16.25 7.38 ± 0.24 –
B 49.6 ± 0.94 10.6 ± 0.24 11.9 ± 0.00 125.5 ± 2.78 800.8 ± 11.0 8.46 ± 0.08 179.7 ± 4.05
B:FYM (1:1) 47.2 ± 0.86 10.0 ± 0.08 14.1 ± 0.70 140.4 ± 8.01 1185.0 ± 64.80 11.79 ± 0.60 166.7 ± 1.34
B:PM (1:1) 55.6 ± 2.72 11.5 ± 0.60 17.2 ± 2.75 197.3 ± 27.44 1757.5 ± 614.47 20.36 ± 7.46 59.9 ± 3.10
B:FYM (2:1) 45.8 ± 0.33 9.5 ± 0.17 11.5 ± 1.70 109.4 ± 17.39 938.6 ± 29.90 8.96 ± 0.25 160.7 ± 2.78
B:PM (2:1) 53.6 ± 1.25 11.7 ± 0.06 10.2 ± 0.40 119.1 ± 5.55 1441.6 ± 15.40 16.87 ± 0.16 79.2 ± 0.41
B:FYM (1:2) 45.8 ± 0.71 9.6 ± 0.27 10.6 ± 0.40 101.7 ± 6.90 1081.9 ± 51.75 10.36 ± 0.21 159.7 ± 4.50
B:PM (1:2) 60.2 ± 4.61 12.6 ± 0.84 15.8 ± 2.84 200.8 ± 42.62 1905.3 ± 189.74 24.01 ± 1.53 53.4 ± 3.54
b
LSD0.05 4.27 0.68 2.69 33.66 397.50 4.69 5.47

PUE phosphorus use efficiency

a
Treatments: Unamended soil [Control], 30 g of B for pot [B], 15 g B plus 15 g FYM for pot [B:FYM (1:1)], 15 g B plus 15 g PM for pot [B:PM (1:1)],
20 g B plus 10 g FYM for pot [B:FYM (2:1)], 20 g B plus 10 g PM for pot [B:PM (2:1)], 10 g B plus 20 g FYM for pot [B:FYM (1:2)], 10 g B plus
20 g PM for pot [B:PM (1:2)]
b
LSD: least significant difference at the 0.05 level of probability among treatment means

chemical, and biological properties (Sohi et al. 2010; Enders of nitrogen in poultry manure. Agegnehu et al. (2016) found
et al. 2012; Peng et al. 2012; Xu et al. 2012). The application that the additions of biochar, compost, and biochar+compost
of biochar, compost, and their mixture to soils in presence or to some soils increased nitrogen content and nitrogen uptake
absence of nitrogen fertilizer led to a significant increase of by barley plants, while no significant differences were noticed
grain and straw yields of barley (Agegnehu et al. 2016). Thus, between the control and biochar treatments regarding N con-
the grain and straw yields of barley significantly increased centrations in grain and straw of barley in both growing sea-
with increasing N and P levels (Turk 1998). Growth and yield sons (Nelissen et al. 2015).
improvement of wheat plants with biochar amendment at each Compared to the unamended soil, phosphorus content and
soil salinity levels indicates its residual effects in mitigating uptake of barley plants were significantly positive due to adding
salinity stress (Akhtar et al. 2015). poultry manure mixed with biochar, while biochar alone or
mixed with farmyard manure increased them insignificantly, ex-
cept B:FYM (1:1) treatment’s significant increase in plant P con-
Nutrient uptake and content in barley plants tent was noticed (Table 5). Phosphorus uptake was enhanced
from 7.38 mg pot−1 for control to 20.36, 16.87, and 24.01 mg
Adding B:PM (1:1) and B:PM (1:2) treatments to calcareous pot−1 for B:PM (1:1), B:PM (2:1), and B:PM (1:2), respectively.
sandy soil increased significantly nitrogen uptake and content The effectiveness of the treatments in increasing the phosphorus
in barley plants compared to the control, while biochar alone, uptake and content in barley plants grown in calcareous sandy
B:FYM (1:1), and B:PM (2:1) led to an insignificant increase soil was in the order of B:PM (1:2) > B:PM (1:1) > B:PM
in the nitrogen uptake (Table 5). But the applications of (2:1) > B:FYM (1:1) > B:FYM (1:2) > B:FYM (2:1) > B > con-
B:FYM (2:1) and B:FYM (1:2) treatments caused insignifi- trol (Fig. 2). In the current study, the highest values of phospho-
cant decrease of nitrogen uptake by barley plants. The nitro- rus concentration and uptake by barley plants were shown when
gen content increased from 11.9 g kg−1 to 17.2 and 15.8 g kg−1 biochar combined with poultry manure at ratio of (1:2) treatment,
for B:PM (1:1) and B:PM (1:2) treatments, respectively. improvement of phosphorus content, and uptake in barley plants
Moreover, nitrogen uptake increased from 113.3 mg pot−1 was due to the application of these amendments which enhanced
for unamended pot (control) to 197.3 and 200.8 mg pot−1 some soil properties and phosphorus availability. Phosphorus
for B:PM (1:1) and B:PM (1:2) treatments, respectively. The concentration in grain and straw of barley plants insignificantly
application of poultry manure mixed with biochar enhanced differs between the control and biochar treatments during two
nitrogen content of barley plants. The results obtained proved growing seasons (Nelissen et al. 2015). Agegnehu et al. (2015)
that adding poultry manure, biochar, and their mixture in- found that the concentrations of N and P in the soil solution were
creased nitrogen uptake by barley plants (Fig. 3). Moreover, high because of amending soil by organic manures led to higher
the increase in nitrogen may be attributed to the high content uptake of N and P by the crop.
Arab J Geosci (2018) 11: 759 Page 7 of 10 759

Fig. 2 Changes in green biomass, 70

dry biomass, and phosphorus
uptake of barley plants under 60

Green biomass (g pot-1)

different treatments
50

40

30

20

10

Treatment

14

12
Dry biomass g pot-1

10

Treatment

30
Plant P uptake (mg pot-1)

25

20

15

10

Treatment
759 Page 8 of 10 Arab J Geosci (2018) 11: 759

Fig. 3 Changes in phosphorus 250.0

Phosphorus use efficiency (mg mg-1)

use efficiency and nitrogen
uptake by barley plants under
different treatments 200.0

150.0

100.0

50.0

0.0

Treatment

250
Plant N uptake (mg pot-1)

200

150

100

50

Treatment

Phosphorus use efficiency helps to maintain water and nutrient retention contributing to
the sustainability of the cropping systems and higher nutrient
The application of biochar to the calcareous sandy soil also use efficiency that could reduce fertilizer input costs, decrease
caused significant increases in phosphorus use efficiency the rate of nutrient losses, and enhance crop yields (Baligar
(PUE) by barley plants compared to the all other treatments, et al. 2001).
except for the control. Biochar alone increased PUE from 36.4
(PM) to 179.7 mg mg−1 (Table 5). Biochar treatments ap-
peared to improve the phosphorus use efficiency by barley Conclusion
plants. In this study, the effectiveness of treatments in en-
hancement the PUE was in the order of B > B:FYM (1:1) > The calcareous sandy soils in Egypt mostly suffer from low
B:FYM (1:2) > B:FYM (2:1) > B:PM (2:1) > B:PM (1:1) > water retention, organic matter, and phosphorus availability,
B:PM (1:2) (Fig. 3). PUE significantly reduced with the in- which in turn reduces the productivity of these soils. Organic
crease of applied P fertilizer (Xin-kai et al. 2012). The inte- amendments play a vital role in the modern agriculture be-
gration of biochar with inorganic fertilizer and FYM applica- cause of providing nutrients to the crops and improving soil
tion can improve the productivity of maize and provide more properties. In this study, we tried to find alternatives to indus-
sustainable input of N and P to soil (Arif et al. 2016). Organic trial phosphate fertilizers. We found that the co-application of
amendments improve the level of soil organic matter which biochar and organic manures improved water retention,
Arab J Geosci (2018) 11: 759 Page 9 of 10 759

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