U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Soil and Water Management Research: St. Paul, MN
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                                    Software
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Midwest Area St. Paul, Minnesota Soil and Water Management Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Spokas, Kurtitem
                                            Baker, Johnitem
                                            REICOSKY, D - Retired ARS Employee
  Submitted to: Plant and Soil
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 3/17/2010
                                    Publication  Date: 7/17/2010
                                    Citation: Spokas, K.A., Baker, J.M., Reicosky, D. 2010. Ethylene: Potential Key for Biochar Amendment Impacts. Plant and Soil Journal. 333:443-452.Interpretive Summary: Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide, potential global warming concerns and prospective use of soil as a sink for carbon has attracted interest from farmers and land managers. The recent potential of converting biomass into charcoal represents one potential mechanism to reduce the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by returning this charcoal back to the soil as a carbon sequestration benefit and to increase soil fertility. However, the mechanisms behind these increases in soil fertility and plant growth are not fully understood. This research showed ethylene production from the biochar, which could be an added factor in the observed benefits from biochar additions. We observed increases in ethylene production which were a function of the biochar type and production conditions. Production from the soil+biochar also increased under saturated conditions. In addition, biochar alone without soil also produced ethylene by yet an unknown mechanism. This finding could provide additional insight and direction in the focus of the benefits of biochar additions on plant and soil microbial communities. These results are significant to farmers and policy makers and will assist scientists and engineers in developing improved mechanisms of biochar additions to minimize greenhouse gas implications and improved soil carbon management.
                                Technical Abstract: Significant increases in root density, crop growth and productivity have been observed following biochar additions to soils. However, there has not been a full elucidation of the mechanisms behind these beneficial crop effects. We report the production of ethylene in biochar-amended soil, which could be a vital contributing factor to the observed plant and soil microbial effects.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov