Biochar Input to Saline-Alkali Farmland Can Improve Soil Health and Crop Yield: A Meta-Analysis
Soil salinization in farmland is a critical factor limiting global soil health, food security, and ecosystem productivity. Biochar has recently shown great application potential in agricultural fields in many domains, such as soil structure improvement, carbon sequestration, and reductions in greenh...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| author | Liqiang Zhang Baoyin Bate Jinhu Cui Yudi Feng Jianning Yu Zhengguo Cui Hongyu Wang Qiuzhu Li |
| author_facet | Liqiang Zhang Baoyin Bate Jinhu Cui Yudi Feng Jianning Yu Zhengguo Cui Hongyu Wang Qiuzhu Li |
| author_sort | Liqiang Zhang |
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| description | Soil salinization in farmland is a critical factor limiting global soil health, food security, and ecosystem productivity. Biochar has recently shown great application potential in agricultural fields in many domains, such as soil structure improvement, carbon sequestration, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Here, a meta-analysis of 113 published papers was carried out to quantify the effects of biochar on the remediation of saline-alkali soil and crop yield in terms of climatic conditions and agricultural management, with the aim of determining the optimal agricultural management strategy for biochar application to saline-alkali soils. The results show that adding biochar to saline-alkali farmland increases the TOC in soil (44.0%) and water utilization efficiency (8.7%), and decreases soil salinity (−9.6%), certain salt ion contents in particular (Na<sup>+</sup>, 12.5%; Cl<sup>−</sup>, 23.4%; HCO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>, −17.7%), along with soil pH (−2.2%), resulting in a 20.8% higher crop yield. Applying shell biochar at a rate of 10–20 t·ha<sup>−1</sup> for monoculture is the most promising way to bolster the yield in severely saline-alkali irrigated farmland. However, adding biochar raises CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> emissions by 9.8% and 31.6%, respectively, but lowers the emission of N<sub>2</sub>O by 29.4%. These findings provide scientific recommendations for the sustainable application of biochar in saline-alkali farmland areas worldwide. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-227c47729eab4975b3ec7f17e5f84d1c |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
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| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj-art-227c47729eab4975b3ec7f17e5f84d1c2025-08-20T02:53:19ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722025-03-0115556110.3390/agriculture15050561Biochar Input to Saline-Alkali Farmland Can Improve Soil Health and Crop Yield: A Meta-AnalysisLiqiang Zhang0Baoyin Bate1Jinhu Cui2Yudi Feng3Jianning Yu4Zhengguo Cui5Hongyu Wang6Qiuzhu Li7College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaCollege of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaCollege of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaCollege of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaCollege of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaSoybean Research Institute, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130033, ChinaCollege of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaCollege of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaSoil salinization in farmland is a critical factor limiting global soil health, food security, and ecosystem productivity. Biochar has recently shown great application potential in agricultural fields in many domains, such as soil structure improvement, carbon sequestration, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Here, a meta-analysis of 113 published papers was carried out to quantify the effects of biochar on the remediation of saline-alkali soil and crop yield in terms of climatic conditions and agricultural management, with the aim of determining the optimal agricultural management strategy for biochar application to saline-alkali soils. The results show that adding biochar to saline-alkali farmland increases the TOC in soil (44.0%) and water utilization efficiency (8.7%), and decreases soil salinity (−9.6%), certain salt ion contents in particular (Na<sup>+</sup>, 12.5%; Cl<sup>−</sup>, 23.4%; HCO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>, −17.7%), along with soil pH (−2.2%), resulting in a 20.8% higher crop yield. Applying shell biochar at a rate of 10–20 t·ha<sup>−1</sup> for monoculture is the most promising way to bolster the yield in severely saline-alkali irrigated farmland. However, adding biochar raises CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> emissions by 9.8% and 31.6%, respectively, but lowers the emission of N<sub>2</sub>O by 29.4%. These findings provide scientific recommendations for the sustainable application of biochar in saline-alkali farmland areas worldwide.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/561biocharsaline-alkali soilsoil pHsoil salinitysoil remediation |
| spellingShingle | Liqiang Zhang Baoyin Bate Jinhu Cui Yudi Feng Jianning Yu Zhengguo Cui Hongyu Wang Qiuzhu Li Biochar Input to Saline-Alkali Farmland Can Improve Soil Health and Crop Yield: A Meta-Analysis Agriculture biochar saline-alkali soil soil pH soil salinity soil remediation |
| title | Biochar Input to Saline-Alkali Farmland Can Improve Soil Health and Crop Yield: A Meta-Analysis |
| title_full | Biochar Input to Saline-Alkali Farmland Can Improve Soil Health and Crop Yield: A Meta-Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Biochar Input to Saline-Alkali Farmland Can Improve Soil Health and Crop Yield: A Meta-Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biochar Input to Saline-Alkali Farmland Can Improve Soil Health and Crop Yield: A Meta-Analysis |
| title_short | Biochar Input to Saline-Alkali Farmland Can Improve Soil Health and Crop Yield: A Meta-Analysis |
| title_sort | biochar input to saline alkali farmland can improve soil health and crop yield a meta analysis |
| topic | biochar saline-alkali soil soil pH soil salinity soil remediation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/561 |
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