Feeding Biochar to Cows:An Innovative Solution for Improving Soil Fertility and Farm Productivity

作     者：Stephen JOSEPH Doug POW Kathy DAWSON David R.G.MITCHELL Aditya RAWAL James HOOK Sarasadat TAHERYMOOSAVI Lukas VAN ZWIETEN Joshua RUST Scott DONNE Paul MUNROE Ben PACE Ellen GRABER Torsten THOMAS Shaun NIELSEN Jun YE Yun LIN PAN Genxing LI Lianqing Zakaria M.SOLAIMAN 

作者机构：Discipline of ChemistryUniversity of Newcastle School of Materials Science and EngineeringUniversity of New South Wales Electron Microscopy CenterAIIMUniversity of Wollongong Institute of ResourcesEcosystem and Environment of AgricultureNanjing Agricultural University Marron Brook Farm Warren Catchments Council52 Bath StManjimup 6258 (Australia) Mark Wainwright Analytical CentreUniversity of New South Wales Wollongbar Primary Industries InstituteNSW Department of Primary Industries Institute of SoilWater and Environmental SciencesThe Volcani CenterAgricultural Research Organization Centre for Marine Bio-InnovationSchool of Biotechnology and Biomolecular SciencesThe University of New South Wales Soil Biology and Molecular Ecology GroupSchool of Earth and Environment (M087)The University of Western Australia 

出 版 物：《Pedosphere》 (土壤圈（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2015年第25卷第5期

页      面：666-679页

核心收录：

学科分类：090502[农学-动物营养与饲料科学] 0905[农学-畜牧学] 09[农学] 0818[工学-地质资源与地质工程] 0903[农学-农业资源与环境] 0901[农学-作物学] 

基　　金：funded by the Linkage,Infrastructure,Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) grant from the Australian Research Council (ARC) (No.LE120100104) supported by the ARC (No.LP120200418),Renewed Carbon Pty Ltd.of Australia the Department of Agriculture,Australian Government’s Carbon Farming Futures Filling the Research Gap (No.RG134978) 

主　　题：土壤肥力 生物炭 农业生产率 创新 喂牛 土壤性质 新鲜粪便 生物利用 

摘      要：Addition of biochar produced through thermal decomposition of biomass has been seen as a strategy to improve soils and to sequester carbon(C), but wide scale implementation of the technology requires to devise innovative profitable solutions. To develop biochar utilisation with an integrated system approach, an innovative program was implemented in 2012 on a 53-ha farm in Western Australia to determine the costs and benefits of integrating biochar with animal husbandry and improvement of pastures. Biochar was mixed with molasses and fed directly to cows. The dung-biochar mixture was incorporated into the soil profile by dung beetles.We studied the changes in soil properties over 3 years. Biochar extracted from fresh dung and from the soil to a depth of 40 cm was characterised. A preliminary financial analysis of the costs and benefits of this integrated approach was also undertaken. The preliminary investigation results suggested that this strategy was effective in improving soil properties and increasing returns to the farmer. It was also concluded that the biochar adsorbed nutrients from the cow s gut and from the dung. Dung beetles could transport this nutrient-rich biochar into the soil profile. There was little evidence that the recalcitrant component of the biochar was reduced through reactions inside the gut or on/in the soil. Further research is required to quantify the long-term impact of integrating biochar and dung beetles into the rearing of cows.