Effectiveness of biochar size on physical properties of psamment soil

Abstract

The ability of biochar to improve the physical and hydrological properties of Psamment soil, which has a fine texture, depends heavily on its characteristics, including particle size. This study aimed to investigate the effect of biochar particle size on the physical properties of the soil and water movement in Psamment soil. The research method employed a completely randomized design with biochar treatments prepared at pyrolysis temperatures of 450–500°C, divided into four dry sieve sizes: 2–1, 1–0.5, 0.5–0.1, and <0.1 mm, and mixed into the growing medium with Psamment soil at a 5% application rate. The growing media were incubated at room temperature for 21 days. This study consisted of 1 control and four treatments with five replicates, resulting in 25 pot experiments. Water content was maintained at field capacity throughout the experiment. This experiment measured the physical properties of the soil. The results showed an improvement in soil physical properties, specifically an increase in clay content for biochar particles <0.5 mm; however, there was an increase in soil moisture and organic matter content with the application of biochar particles <2.00 mm. It could be concluded that soil physical properties could be influenced by the application of different biochar particle sizes, particularly regarding the soil’s ability to retain water in Psamment soil.