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
 Food Animal Environmental Systems Research: Bowling Green, KY
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                                    Software
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Models & Software
                        Sorption Isotherm Spreadsheets
                                    Annual Phosphorus Loss Estimator (APLE) Model
                                    Modified Arcsine Log Calibration Curve (ALCC)Search small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Midwest Area Bowling Green, Kentucky Food Animal Environmental Systems 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
                                            ABIT, SERGIO - Oklahoma State Universityitem
                                            Bolster, Carlitem
                                            Cantrell, Keriitem
                                            FLORES, JESSAMINE - University Of Californiaitem
                                            WALKER, SHARON - University Of California
  Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 12/2/2013
                                    Publication  Date: 1/5/2014
                                    Citation: Abit, S.M., Bolster, C.H., Cantrell, K.B., Flores, J.Q., Walker, S.L. 2014. Transport of Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and microspheres in biochar-amended soils with different textures. Journal of Environmental Quality. 43:371-378.Interpretive Summary: Biochar is a charcoal-like material generated during the thermal degradation of organic matter in the absence of air. The incorporation of biochars into soil has been suggested as an effective means of sequestering carbon and recent research has demonstrated the potential of using biochar for enhancing soil-retention of agrochemicals, heavy metals, and excess nutrients. Recent studies have also shown that addition of biochars can significantly modify transport behavior of E. coli in soils. These studies with bacteria, however, only utilized sandy soils with very minimal clay content. In this study, we compare the effects of biochar addition on bacterial transport using two soils: a fine sand with less than 1 % clay and a sandy loam with 12.5 % clay. Our results show that soil texture does affect the relative benefit of the applied biochars in limiting the transport of bacteria in soil. Indeed, in contrast to the fine sand where biochar amendments generally increased cell retention, bacterial retention in the sandy loam decreased significantly for several of the biochar treatments.
                                Technical Abstract: Biochar amendment has been shown to affect bacterial transport in soils. The effect of soil texture on the transport of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in soils amended with 2 % poultry litter or pine chip biochars pyrolyzed under two temperatures (350 and 700 'C) was evaluated in water-saturated column experiments. Adding poultry litter biochar pyrolyzed at 350 oC did not improve soil-retention of either bacteria in fine sand and even facilitated their transport in sandy loam. Addition of either biochar pyrolyzed at 700 oC generally improved retention of both bacteria in fine sand with the pine chip biochars being more effective in limiting their transport. The influence of biochar amendment in increasing retention of both bacteria was generally more pronounced in fine sand. Higher fraction of finer separates in sandy loam seems to have a normalizing effect over the possible contribution of applied biochars on retention of E. coli and S. typhimurium. This suggests that soil texture does affect the relative benefit of the applied biochars in limiting the transport of these bacteria in soils.


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