Dose-dependence of growth and ecophysiological responses of plants to biochar

Charcoal is a ubiquitous legacy of wildfire in terrestrial systems that often contributes to rapid revegetation following disturbance; the use of charcoal soil amendments, or "biochars", to promote plant growth has received recent research attention and increasing applied use. Despite its widespread use, well-resolved quantitative estimates of dose-response relationships for biochar effects on plant growth are nonexistent, and studies of biochar dosage effects on plant ecophysiology are minimal. We investigated the effects of biochar dosage on plant growth and ecophysiology in a glasshouse experiment involving two common early-successional plants, Abutilon theophrasti and Trifolium repens. Plants were grown in disturbed temperate soils with increasing dosages of wood biochars: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 t/ha. We measured leaf-level gas-exchange traits (Amax, gs, WUE), chlorophyll concentration, and leaf area growth throughout the experiment. At the end of the experiment, we measured biomass, foliar nutrition, and soil properties (pH, EC, C and N). Responses of biomass and physiological traits were highly dose-dependent, followed primarily unimodal forms, and differed in some traits between species. Increases in the uptake of K, P, and Mg, were responsible for accelerated growth. Biochars also generally increased the concentration of micronutrients, especially B. As a result, nutrient stoichiometry shifted substantially: in A. theophrasti, biochars increased C:N, P:N, and K:N ratios, suggesting nitrogen dilution or induced deficiency at higher dosages. This work supports the general hypothesis that ecophysiological responses to biochar are dose-dependent and driven mainly by changes in nutrient availability. Additional work is necessary to understand the broader ecological impacts of heterogeneity in soil pyrogenic C levels to succession and ecosystem function.