Contrasting effects of straw and straw-derived biochar applications on soil carbon accumulation and nitrogen use efficiency in double-rice cropping systems

Abstract Increasing cropland soil carbon (C) sequestration and improving crop nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) are vital for sustainable agriculture and environmental protection. The incorporation of straw and application of straw-derived biochar to croplands may help to achieve these goals; however, the long-term effects on soil C sequestration and NUE in double-rice cropping systems are poorly understood. Here, a 6-y field experiment was conducted in a double-rice cropping system to investigate the variations in soil C sequestration and NUE with straw and straw-derived biochar amendments. The treatments were as follows: control with zero nitrogen (N0); conventional chemical fertilizer application (NPK); NPK plus 3 t rice straw dry matter (DM) incorporated per ha−1 season−1 (NPK + LS); NPK plus 6 t rice straw DM incorporated per ha−1 season−1 (NPK + HS); NPK plus 24 t straw-derived biochar DM incorporated per ha−1 (NPK + LC) applied once; and NPK plus 48 t straw-derived biochar DM incorporated per ha−1 (NPK + HC) applied once. Both the straw and biochar additions increased the soil C content in the topsoil, and the NPK + LC treatment sequestered 2.6-fold more soil C than the NPK + HS treatment over the 6-y period, when the input amounts of straw as well as the straw derived C were similar for both treatments. Besides input C directly into the fields, biochar application also increased soil original organic C accumulation in the NPK + LC treatment. Compared with NPK, 50 % and 100 % straw incorporation to the field increased the mean NUE by 22.3 % and 39.8 %, respectively, in the late rice season of 4–6 y, mainly due to increasing soil organic C. Rice grain yields decreased in the early rice season for the first 3 y of the straw treatments but increased in the first season when the biochar was applied, when compared with NPK. However, in the second 3 y after straw application, the grain yield of NPK + HS was significantly higher than that of NPK in late rice season. This investigation has indicated that biochar application had a higher potential in soil carbon sequestration than straw incorporation, and long-term (> 3 y) straw incorporation favored for the enhancement of NUE in paddy fields.