Environmental Pollution 265 (2020) 114869

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Environmental Pollution
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol

Biochar amendment mitigates greenhouse gases emission and global

warming potential in dairy manure based silage corn in boreal
climate*
Waqar Ashiq a, b, Muhammad Nadeem a, Waqas Ali a, Muhammad Zaeem a,
Jianghua Wu a, Lakshman Galagedara a, Raymond Thomas a, Vanessa Kavanagh c,
Mumtaz Cheema a, *
a
School of Science and the Environment, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Corner Brook, NL, A2H 5G4, Canada
b
School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G2W1, Canada
c
Department of Fisheries and Land Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Pasadena, NL, A0L 1K0, Canada

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: About 11% of the global anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions result from agricultural
Received 11 January 2020 practices. Dairy manure (DM) application to soil is regarded as a best management practice due to C
Received in revised form sequestration and improvement of soil physiochemical properties. However, GHGs emissions from the
15 April 2020
soil following the DM application could offset its advantages. Biochar (BC) is known to affect N trans-
Accepted 22 May 2020
Available online 27 May 2020
formation and GHGs emissions from soil. There had been considerably less focus on the BC amendment
and its effects on GHGs emissions following DM application under field conditions. The objectives of this
study were; i) to determine the temporal patterns and cumulative GHGs fluxes following DM and
Keywords:
Carbon dioxide
inorganic nitrogen (IN) application and, ii) to investigate BC amendment impact on DMY, GWP, direct
Methane N2O emission factor (EFd) and the response of CH4 emissions (RC) in DM based silage corn. To achieve
Nitrous oxide these objectives a two-year field experiment was conducted with these treatments: 1) DM with high N
Global warming potential conc. (DM1: 0.37% N); 2) DM with low N conc. (DM2: 0.13% N); 3) IN; 4) DM1þBC; 5) DM2þBC; 6) IN þ BC;
Emission factor and 7) Control (N0); and were laid out in randomized complete block design with four replications. BC
amendment to DM1, DM2 and IN significantly reduced cumulative CO2 emission by 16, 25.5 and 26.5%,
CH4 emission by 184, 200 and 293% and N2O emission by 95, 86 and 93% respectively. It also reduced
area-scaled and yield-scaled GWP, EFd, RC and enhanced DMY. Thus, BC application showed great po-
tential to offset the negative effects of DM application i.e GHGs emissions from the silage corn cropping
system. Further research is needed to evaluate soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics (substrates for
GHG emissions) after DM and BC application on various soil types and cropping systems under field
conditions.
Crown Copyright © 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction agricultural GHGs emissions would reduce global warming poten-

Agriculture sector contributes 11% of the global anthropogenic
greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions into the atmosphere (IPCC,
2019). It is the single largest source of anthropogenic N2O emis-
sions, more than 50% of which is contributed by fertilized soils
(Robertson and Vitousek, 2009; Smith et al., 2010). Reducing
*
This paper has been recommended for acceptance by Yong Sik Ok.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mcheema@grenfell.mun.ca (M. Cheema).
tial (GWP), and consequently improve the stability of the strato-
spheric ozone layer (Smith et al., 2010). Different agricultural
management practices increase carbon (C) sequestration but
release GHGs into the atmosphere as well (Huang et al., 2020; Hunt
et al., 2019; Thomas et al., 2017). For instance, Dairy manure (DM)
application to agricultural soils enhances soil C sequestration, de-
creases soil bulk density, improves soil aggregation, nutrient up-
take, and agronomic performance of crops (Forge et al., 2016;
Mangalassery et al., 2019; Matsi et al., 2015), however, it releases a
significant amount of GHGs (i.e. CO2, CH4, and N2O) into the at-
mosphere (Hunt et al., 2019; Leytem et al., 2019; Reddy and Crohn,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114869
0269-7491/Crown Copyright © 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 W. Ashiq et al. / Environmental Pollution 265 (2020) 114869

2019). DM application is estimated to emit 32.7% more N2O than emissions, GWP, direct N2O emission factor and the response of CH4
inorganic nitrogen (IN) fertilizers (Zhou et al., 2017b). DM and IN emission in dairy manure based silage corn production system, 3)
fertilizer applications increase inorganic nitrogen ions (NHþ 4 and to investigate the effects of BC amendment on dry matter yield of
NO 3 ) in agricultural soils after mineralization (Aita et al., 2015; Kim silage corn and correlation between GHG emissions, DMY, GWP,
et al., 2019). These ions undergo nitrification and denitrification in EFd, RC, and other environmental variables.
soils and produce N2O and other GHGs. The GHGs emissions from
DM applications may offset the benefits of improving SOC (Zhou
2. Materials and methods
et al., 2017b). Therefore, there is a need to find some innovative
approach or management practices to enhance C sequestration,
2.1. Experimental treatments and crop management
physiochemical properties and reduce GHGs emissions to harvest
the real benefits of DM application.
A field experiment was carried out at Pynn’s Brook Research
Biochar (BC) is a form of black C created by thermal degradation
of biomass (wood, manure, leaves, etc.) in an oxygen-limited Station, Pasadena (49 040 21.900 N, 57 330 37.400 W), Canada, for two
environment (Lehmann and Joseph, 2009). BC is produced under years (2016 & 2017). The soil at the experimental site was classified
limited oxygen environments and it has a high percentage of as rapidly drained, Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzol with reddish-brown
recalcitrant carbon (Spokas, 2010). Due to its high surface area and to brown color with 82% sand, 11.6% silt, and 6.4% clay particles. The
the presence of surface functional groups, it can sorb IN and native soils of this area were developed on a gravely sandy fluvial deposit
organic matter in the soil (Liang et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2016). It of mixed lithology with >100 cm depth to bedrock (Kirby, 1988).
also increases soil C sequestration, enhances ammonium (NHþ Soil samples were collected before crop seeding every year. The
4)
retention and availability in soil, prevents ammonia volatilization detailed soil analysis report of this site is available in our recent
and reduces NO publication (Ali et al., 2019). Briefly, experimental soil had 3.1%
3 leaching loss from soil (Cao et al., 2017; Feng et al.,
2019; Huang et al., 2017; Sun et al., 2017). BC demonstrated the organic matter, 12 cmol kg1 cation exchange capacity, bulk density
potential to reduce GHG after IN application (Shi et al., 2019; Singh 1.30 g cm3, and pH 6.5. The average amount of rainfall received
et al., 2010; Spokas and Reicosky, 2009; Sun et al., 2014). Shi et al. during the last 30 years (1985e2014) from mid-May to mid-
(2019) conducted a pot experiment using BC amendment with October at the study site was 457 mm (Ali et al., 2019). The
organic fertilizer (made from pig manure) and observed a signifi- experimental site was rainfed which received 628 mm and 461 mm
cant reduction in soil N2O emissions, compared to organic fertilizer rain during the 2016 and 2017 growing season (May to October),
alone. In another soil column experiment conducted in laboratory slightly higher than the last 30 years rainfall of 457 mm. Daily
conditions, BC addition to agricultural and forest soil decreased rainfall, maximum and minimum air temperature, and soil tem-
cumulative N2O emission by 20% and 25% respectively, whereas, perature (ST) at 5 cm depth and soil volumetric moisture content
cumulative CO2 emission increased by 7% from agricultural soil and for each treatment for 2016 and 2017 are presented in Fig. 3.
decreased by 31% from forest soil (Sun et al., 2014). In another soil Experimental treatments were: 1) dairy manure with high N conc.
column study conducted by Singh et al. (2010) determined the ef- (DM1: 0.37% N); 2) dairy manure with low N conc. (DM2: 0.13% N);
fects of BCs prepared from poultry manure and wood on GHGs 3) inorganic N fertilizer (IN); 4) DM1þBC; 5) DM2þBC; 6) IN þ BC;
emissions and reported that BC prepared from poultry manure 7) control (N0). The experiment was laid out in a randomized
increased N2O emissions and wood BC had inconsistent N2O complete block design with four replications. The net plot size for
emissions. However, both BCs reduced N2O emissions with aging each treatment was 4.8 m  1.5 m. DM samples were collected from
towards the end of the experiment. Spokas and Reicosky (2009) eleven dairy farms and chemical analysis was performed. Finally,
studied the impact of 16 different BCs addition to agricultural and DM with high and low N concentration was selected for filed ap-
forest soils and noted that most of the BCs reduced CH4 and N2O plications and was designated as DM1 and DM2 respectively.
emissions in both soils while inconsistent emission of CO2 was Analysis reports of DM1 and DM2 are presented in Table 1. DM was
recorded throughout the experiment. Most of the studies reported applied one day before seeding in respective treatment plots
on BC amendments following dairy manure and IN application and following local Farmers’ practice (30,000 L ha1) during both years.
its effects on GHGs emissions were conducted under controlled However, remaining required nutrients were added in respective
environmental conditions, however, results showed inconsistent treatment plots following soil analyses reports and regional rec-
effects of BC application on GHG emissions (Oo et al., 2018; Singh ommendations of the crop. Ammonium nitrate, triple superphos-
et al., 2010; Spokas and Reicosky, 2009; Wu et al., 2018). BC phate, and murate of potash were used as a source of nitrogen (N),
amendment following dairy manure and IN application to agri-
cultural soil and its impact on GHGs emissions, and dry matter yield Table 1
from field experiments have not been reported. Hence, we con- Chemical properties of dairy manure from two different farms (DM1 and DM2) used
ducted a two-year field experiment to measure GHGs emissions in this study.
following DM and IN applications and evaluated the potential of BC Characteristic DM1 DM2
in mitigating GHGs emissions, GWP, and enhancing dry matter
2016 2017 2016 2017
yield of silage corn in podzol soils under boreal climate. To the best
of our knowledge, this is the first study conducted in the Atlantic Dry matter (%) 9.33 10.9 3.57 1.70
pH 6.80 6.80 7.00 7.10
Canada and one of the fewer studies under field conditions which Total Nitrogen (%) 0.37 0.44 0.14 0.12
evaluated the effects of BC amendment in DM and IN fertilized Total Phosphorus (%) 0.06 0.08 0.02 0.01
agricultural soils on GHGs emission. We hypothesized that the BC Total Potassium (%) 0.38 0.37 0.12 0.12
amendment following DM and IN application to agricultural soils Total Calcium (%) 0.16 0.19 0.059 0.04
Total Magnesium (%) 0.07 0.07 0.02 0.01
will reduce the cumulative and temporal emissions of CO2, CH4, and
Total Iron (ppm) 49.0 68 19.0 7.00
N2O gases. To test this hypothesis a two years field experiment was Total Manganese (ppm) 23.0 21.0 9.00 5.00
conducted with the following objectives: 1) to monitor seasonal Total Copper (ppm) 4.70 4.50 33.0 20.0
cumulative and temporal GHGs emissions following DM and IN Total Zinc (ppm) 17.0 21.0 8.00 5.00
fertilizer application in podzol soils under boreal climate, 2) to Total Boron (ppm) 3.00 3.40 1.00 0.50
Total Sodium (ppm) 911 904 275 241
evaluate the potential of BC amendment in mitigating GHGs
 W. Ashiq et al. / Environmental Pollution 265 (2020) 114869
phosphorus (P), and potash (K). A detailed fertilizer application
schedule is given in Table 2. Soil samples were collected from the
experimental site each year and were sent to Soil and Plant labo-
ratory, department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods, St. John’s
NL. We followed N:P:K fertilizers rate as recommended by Soil and
Plant laboratory (115:30:160 and 115:30:155 kg ha1 during 2016
and 2017 respectively). BC for this study was acquired from Air
Terra Inc. Alberta, Canada. The feedstock used for BC was yellow
pine wood (Pinus spp.), pyrolyzed at 500  C for 30 min. Detailed
characteristics of BC are presented in Table 3. BC was mixed
manually in the top 15e20 cm soil in respective treatment plots
using rakes before seeding only once. BC was applied at the rate of
20 t ha1 (Liu et al., 2012)., Yukon-R, was used as silage corn test
hybrid based on low crop heating units (CHU), keeping in view
short and cool growing season of experimental area (Fig. 3 a&d).
The crop was seeded with SAMCO 2200 system (SAMCO Agricul-
tural Manufacturing Ltd, Netherlands) on May 24, 2016, and May
23, 2017, using 90,900 seeds ha1. The perforated plastic sheet was
used with a SAMCO system to cover corn crop rows to accumulate
extra heating units to enhance germination and seedling estab-
lishment during the early growing season. Weeds were controlled
using Roundup WeatherMax® (Monsanto Canada Inc.) following
the instructions on the label. The crop was harvested at physio-
logical maturity on October 18 & 13 during 2016, and 2017,
respectively.
2.2. Gas and plant sampling
Gas samples were collected weekly for a month after seeding
and then biweekly until harvesting of the crop using the static
chamber method (Holland et al., 1999). Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
collars were inserted between corn rows to a depth of 10 cm in each
treatment one week before first gas sampling to mitigate any
placement disturbance. A 50 cm high PVC chamber (26 cm inner
diameter) and covered with PVC lid on the top during gas sampling.
Chamber lids were covered with reflective insulation to prevent
temperature fluctuations during gas sampling. The lids had a rub-
ber seal on the inner side and tubing outlets connected with three-
way stopcocks, Luer-lock tip for sample collection. For each mea-
surement, four gas samples were collected from the tubing outlet
using a 30 mL non-sterile syringe at 10 min intervals (0, 10, 20 and
30 min after lid closure) (Chen et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2012).
Samples were collected between 10:00 a.m. - 01:00 p.m. to mini-
mize sampling bias and to account for diurnal temperature
Table 2
Total required fertilizers and amount of N:P:K compensated from dairy manure (s) and synthetic fertilizer during 2016 & 2017 growing seasons. Fertilizer sources used were
ammonium nitrate, triple super phosphate, and murate of potash for N, P and K.
Treatment Manure N:P:K (kg Fertilizer N:P:K at seeding (kg
ha1) ha1)
2016
DM1, 45:18:123 70:12:37
DM1þB
DM2, 15:09:39 100:21:121
DM2þB
IN, IN þ B e 115:30:160
N0 e 0:30:160
2017
DM1, 57:51:120 0:0:35
DM1þB
DM2, 15:09:39 0:21:116
DM2þB
IN, IN þ B e 0:30:155
N0 e e
The recommended N:P:K application rate after soil test was 115:30:160 kg ha1 during 2016 and 115:30:155 kg ha1 during 2017. Dairy manure was applied at 30,000 L ha1
during both years. The recommended available N:P:K from DM1 and DM2 were adjusted for fertilizer calculations.
3
fluctuations (Lutes et al., 2016). ST and volumetric moisture con-
tents were measured on GHG sampling days, at three places around
the chamber using integrated TDR probes (EC-TM model, Decagon
Devices Inc. Pullman WA, US). Gas samples were transferred to
clear evacuated Labco Exetainer® glass vials (3-soda glass, 101 mm
height, 15.5 mm diameter, 12 mL capacity) sealed with gas-tight
neoprene septum. Gas samples were analyzed by Gas Chromatog-
raphy (SICON GC-456, SCION Instruments, Scotland, UK.) equipped
with thermal conductivity detector (TCD), flame ionization detector
(FID), and electron capture detector (ECD) (Collier et al., 2014). All
fluxes were adjusted for headspace volume and chamber area
(Holland et al., 1999). Fluxes were calculated based on linear
regression developed by using all time points sampled: F ¼ (dC/dt)
x V/A (where, V is volume of the chamber, A is the area covered by
chamber, and dC/dt is the rate of concentration change over the
sampling period). Seasonal cumulative fluxes were calculated by
multiplying the mean fluxes of two successive determinations by
the length of the period between samplings and adding that
amount to the previous cumulative total as described in equation
(1) (Yang et al., 2017).
X
n .
Cumulative flux ¼ ðFi þ Fiþ1 Þ 2  ðtiþ1  ti Þ  24 1
i¼1
where F is the gas flux (mg m2 h1), i is the ith measurement,
(tiþ1- ti) denotes days between two adjacent sampling events, and
n is the total number of sampling events.
To determine silage corn dry matter yield (DMY), the crop was
harvested at physiological maturity from 1 m2 area from each
treatment. The whole plant (shoot, leaves, and cobs) was oven-
dried at 70  C until a constant weight was achieved and the DMY
was calculated following the method of Ali et al. (2019). The CO2
equivalents of CH4 and N2O were calculated using GWP values of 25
for CH4 and 298 for N2O (Zhou et al., 2018, 2017a, 2015).
GWPðCH4þ N2OÞ ¼ CH4  25 þ N2 O  298 2
Yield-scaled GWP(CH4þN2O) was calculated as Yield-scaled
GWP(CH4þN2O) ¼ area-scaled-GWP(CH4þN2O)/DMY (kg CO2 eq kg1
DMY) (Zhou et al., 2018, 2017a, 2015). The direct N2O emission
factors (EFd) and CH4 response (RC) induced by different experi-
mental treatments were calculated as EFd ¼ 100  (Ef - N0)/N,
where Ef is the cumulative N2O flux from respective fertilizer
treatment (Kg ha1 season1), N0 is the cumulative N2O flux (Kg
Fertilizer N:P:K at 6 leaves stage (kg Fertilizer N:P:K at 12 leaves stage (kg Total N:P:K (kg
ha1) ha1) ha1)
e e 115:30:160
e e 115:30:160
e e 115:30:160
e e 0:30:160
29:0:0 29:0:0 115:51:155
50:0:0 50:0:0 115:30:155
57.5:0:0 57.5:0:0 115:30:155
e e e
4 W. Ashiq et al. / Environmental Pollution 265 (2020) 114869
Table 3
Physicochemical properties of biochar used in this study. Biochar was amended at 20 t ha1 during 2016 before crop seeding.
Property Value
pH 9*
H (%) 0.68+
O (%) 7.84+
N (%) 0.22+
S (%) 0+
H/C 0.1+
O/C 0.07+
moisture (%) 15.2*
ash (%) 6.7+
total ash (%) 6*,7.1+
volatile matter (%) 8.5+
* represents values at fresh weight basis.
+
represents values at dry weight basis.
ha1 season1) from non-N fertilizer treatment (N0), N is the N
fertilizer application (Kg N ha1 season1) (Su et al., 2017; Zhou
et al., 2018, 2017a, 2015). The response of CH4 emissions per kg N
fertilizer was also calculated as RC ¼ (CH4F - CH4N0)/N, where CH4F
is the cumulative CH4 emissions (kg ha1 season1) from respective
fertilizer treatment, CH4N0 is the cumulative CH4 emission (kg ha1
season1) from the non-fertilized treatment, and N is the N fertil-
izer application rate (kg N ha1 season1) (Su et al., 2017; Zhou
et al., 2018, 2017a, 2015).
All statistical analyses were performed with Sigma plot 12
(Systat Software Inc.). Shapiro-Wilk test was performed to check
the normality of data. If required, necessary transformation was
done for analysis and data were back transformed for presentation.
The effects of BC amendment in DM and IN fertilizer treatments on
crop yield and CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes were assessed using ana-
lyses of variance (ANOVA), followed by the least significant differ-
ence test (LSD); p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
The relationships between CO2, CH4, and N2O fluxes and environ-
mental factors (soil temperature and soil moisture) and crop yield
were evaluated using linear regression. Finally, SigmaPlot 12 (Systat
Software, Inc., USA) was employed for figure preparation.
3. Results and discussion
DM1, DM2, and IN alone and in combination with BC had sig-
nificant effects (p < 0.05) on temporal and seasonal cumulative
emission of CO2, CH4, and N2O during the 2016 and 2017 growing
seasons. Temporal patterns of GHG emissions are shown in Fig. 1
(2016) and Fig. 2 (2017). Cumulative seasonal GHG emissions
from different treatments for both growing seasons are presented
in Table 4.
3.1. Carbon dioxide emissions
DM1, DM2, and IN treatments alone and combination with BC
had significant (p < 0.05) effects on seasonal cumulative and tem-
poral CO2 emission in both years. We observed higher cumulative
CO2 emissions (7834 ± 476 kg ha1 season1) from DM1, although
statistically at par with DM2 and IN treatments, and lowest
(5576 ± 29 kg ha1 season1) was recorded in IN þ BC treatment
during 2016 growing season (Table 4). BC amendment to DM and IN
treatments reduced significant amounts of CO2 emission. For
example, BC amendment to DM1, DM2 and IN treatments reduced
seasonal cumulative CO2 emissions from 7834 ± 476 to 6430 ± 169,
7652 ± 31 to 5666 ± 16 and 7566 ± 37 to 5576 ± 29 kg ha1 sea-
son1. In 2017, significantly higher CO2 emission (7078 ± 639) was
observed in DM1 treatment, followed by DM2 and IN treatments.
Seasonal cumulative CO2 fluxes ranged from 3800 ± 465 to
Property Value
bulk density (Mg m3) 0.23*, 0.19+
solid space (% v/v) 12.5+
void space (% v/v) 87.5+
ECe (mmhos cm1) 0.43*
fixed carbon (%) 84.5+
recalcitrant carbon (%) 64.6*,76.2+
particle density (acetone) (g cc1) 1.57+
butane activity (g per 100 g dry char) 5.1+
neutralizing value (% as CaCO3) 4.2*,4.9+
carbonate value (% as CaCO3) 0.5*,0.6+
WHC (mls water per 100 g dry char) 74.9*+
7834 ± 476 kg ha1 season1 (Table 4). Likewise, experimental
treatments had significant effects on temporal CO2 emission.
Higher temporal CO2 emission events were recorded on June 22,
August 17 during 2016; July 16, and September 22 during 2017
(Fig. 1 a-c). We observed a decrease in CO2 emissions with the BC
amendment but fluctuated with soil moisture (SM) and soil tem-
perature (ST), for example, on three events (June 22, August 17, July
16), high ST enhanced CO2 emission compared to the rest of the
growing season while on September 22, 2017, higher SM stimulated
CO2 emission (Fig. 3 c-f). During 2016, significant relationship was
seen between CO2 and ST & SM (p < 0.001), whereas, in 2017, CO2
and ST were correlated to each other (p ¼ 0.008, Table 5). High ST
increases soil CO2 emissions by increasing soil microbial activities
which mineralize manure and other organic matter and lead to CO2
emission (Abbas and Fares, 2009; Thangarajan et al., 2013). The
high CO2 emissions on September 22, 2017, showed that higher SM
stimulated CO2 emissions. Higher peaks of CO2 emission observed
with DM amendments could be attributed due to the priming effect
of C compounds present in DM on native soil C (Bol et al., 2003;
Reddy and Crohn, 2019). Generally, DM applications to agricultural
soils increase microbial activities and consequently enhanced CO2
emission (Amon et al., 2006; Pokharel and Chang, 2019). However,
BC amendment to DM1, DM2 and IN significantly (p < 0.05) reduced
seasonal cumulative CO2 emission by 17% (7834 ± 476 to
6430 ± 169 kg ha1 season1), 25% (7652 ± 31 to 5666 ± 16 kg ha1
season1) and 26% (7566 ± 37 to 5576 ± 29 kg ha1 season1) in
2016. Whereas in 2017, the reduction was 15% (7078 ± 639 to
5957 ± 714 kg ha1 season1), 26% (5601 ± 806 to
4100 ± 574 kg ha1 season1) and 27% (5248 ± 740 to
3800 ± 465 kg ha1 season1) (Table 4). Different functional groups
present on the BC surface enhanced CO2 adsorption which reduced
CO2 emissions in BC amended treatments. Moreover, reduction in
the availability of labile C due to the sorption of organic matter and
enzymes on BC surface reduced CO2 emissions (Brennan et al.,
2015; Sheng and Zhu, 2018; Zheng et al., 2018). Pokharel and
Chang (2019) reported that reduction in CO2 emission can be
attributed to the stabilization of root exudates by the formation of
organo-mineral complexes in BC amended soil, which reduced root
exudates derived CO2 emission.
3.2. Methane emissions
DM1, DM2, and IN treatments alone and in combination with BC
significantly (p < 0.05) affected seasonal cumulative and temporal
CH4 emissions during both years of study. Higher seasonal cumu-
lative CH4 emission (1.26 ± 0.9 kg ha1 season1) was observed in
DM1 treatment compared to control, although DM1, DM2 and IN
treatments were statistically non-significant. Lower CH4 emission
 W. Ashiq et al. / Environmental Pollution 265 (2020) 114869
Fig. 1. Temporal patterns of soil CO2 (a,b,c), CH4 (d,e,f) and N2O (g,h,i) emission during 2016 silage corn growing season.
(1.69 ± 0.6 kg ha1 season1) was observed in IN þ BC treatment
during 2016. A similar pattern of seasonal cumulative CH4 emission
was observed in 2017 (Table 4). The mean flux of CH4 emission
across the treatments ranged from 1.69 ± 0.6 to 1.26 ± 0.9 kg ha1
season1 during 2016 and -19 ± 5 to 11.6 ± 3 kg ha1 season1
during 2017. During both growing seasons, a significant relation-
ship was seen between CH4 and SM (p < 0.05, Table 5). DM appli-
cation in soil enhances dissolved organic carbon and availability of
short-chain volatile fatty acids which increased methanogen gene
numbers and released CH4 from soil (Chadwick et al., 2000;
Chadwick and Pain, 1997; Hrapovic and Rowe, 2002; Sherlock et al.,
2002). Soil CH4 emissions also dependent on SM and ST across
growing seasons and treatments as we observed in the present
study (Fig. 2 d-f). Significant temporal variation in CH4 emission
was also observed during both growing seasons. DM2 treatment
showed a peak CH4 emission (0.122 mg m2 h1) on June 01, 2016
[12 days after manure application (DAMA)] and the sink effect was
observed on June 08, 2016 (20 DAMA) in all BC amended
5
treatments (Fig. 1 d-f). In 2017, again DM2 treatment emitted higher
CH4 (1.785 mg m2 h1) on October 09, 2017 (144 DAMA) when SM
was high (Fig. 2 d-f). Higher CH4 emission could be explained by (a)
the higher rainfall and/or (b) lower available N concentrations in
the soil due to large N leaching loss by the extreme rainfall event. In
this study, we observed higher CH4 emission with DM application
than IN fertilizer, most likely because of that large fractions of re-
sidual N remaining in the fertilized field were lost by the extreme
rainfall event via leaching (Choudhury and Kennedy, 2005; Zhu
et al., 2009). Several studies have demonstrated that methano-
trophic bacteria have a high N requirement (Bodelier and
Laanbroek, 2004; Krüger and Frenzel, 2003). After an extreme
rainfall event, soil CH4 oxidation by methanotrophic bacteria might
have been limited by insufficient N availability due to high soil N
leaching losses to the hydrosphere. Thus, we cannot fully exclude
option (b). Moreover, processes of CH4 production and emission
interact with many site-specific factors, such as N fertilization rate,
microbial community and activity and soil C (Banger et al., 2012).
6 W. Ashiq et al. / Environmental Pollution 265 (2020) 114869
Fig. 2. Temporal patterns of soil CO2 (a,b,c), CH4 (d,e,f) and N2O (g,h,i) emission during 2017 silage corn growing season.
Unfortunately, we have not monitored these parameters in the
present study. Therefore, further studies with more N fertilization
rates and simultaneous measurements of available soil C and DOC
and CH4 production, oxidation, and transportation are necessary to
elucidate the underlying mechanisms. BC amendment significantly
reduced CH4 emission in DM and IN amended treatments in both
years (Table 4). BC inhibits methanogen activity, stimulates meth-
anotrophic activity and increases the abundance of the methano-
trophic proteobacterial community (Feng et al., 2012; Yanai et al.,
2007). BC can adsorb CH4 on its surface because of the highly
porous structure and large surface area (Fig. 4). Overall, across all
treatments, DM and IN treatments acted as net source and BC
amended treatments as a net sink of atmospheric CH4 during the
entire 2016 & 2017 growing seasons. Previous research conducted
under controlled environmental conditions on forage grasses
showed CH4 emissions were completely suppressed with BC
amendment at 20 g kg1 (Lehmann, 2007). In the present study, we
also observed a significant reduction in CH4 emission with the BC
amendment at 20 tons ha1.
3.3. Nitrous oxide emissions
DM1, DM2, and IN treatments alone and combination with BC
had significant (p < 0.05) effects on seasonal cumulative and tem-
poral N2O emissions during both years. During 2016, DM2 treat-
ment emitted higher N2O (2.17 ± 0.1 kg ha1 season1) than DM1
and IN treatments, although statistically non-significant with DM1
(1.70 ± 0.2 kg ha1 season1) and IN (1.80 ± 0.3 kg ha1 season1)
treatments. BC amendment with DM1, DM2 and IN treatments
significantly reduced N2O emission, lower N2O emission
(0.15 ± 0.1 kg ha1 season1) was observed in DM1þBC treatment.
During 2017, DM1 produced higher N2O than DM2 and IN treat-
ments, whereas, DM2þBC treatment emitted lower N2O (Table 4).
Seasonal cumulative N2O fluxes ranged from 2.17 ± 0.1
to 0.15 ± 0.1 during 2016 and 1.95 ± 0.27 to 0.01 ± 0.51 during
2017. During 2016, a significant relationship was seen between N2O
 W. Ashiq et al. / Environmental Pollution 265 (2020) 114869
Fig. 3. The average maximum (Tmax), minimum (Tmin) air temperature, total precipitation, soil temperature at 5 cm depth and soil volumetric moisture content in experimental
treatments during 2016 (a,b,c) and 2017 (d,e,f) silage corn growing seasons. Legend: Solid circle (DM1), empty circle (DM1þB), solid triangle (DM2), empty triangle (DM2þB), solid
square (IN), empty square (INþB), and solid star (N0).
and SM (p < 0.001) whereas, in 2017 growing season significant
relationship between N2O and ST was observed (p < 0.001, Table 5).
DM and IN fertilizer applications increase the concentration of
inorganic nitrogen in the soil which undergoes nitrification and
denitrification and releases N2O as a by-product (Inselsbacher et al.,
2011; Kostyanovsky et al., 2019). Furthermore, easily decomposable
C present in DM increases the N2O emission from the soil by
providing substrate for denitrification (Kamewada, 2007; Velthof
et al., 2003). BC amendment to DM1, DM2 and IN significantly
(p < 0.05) reduced seasonal cumulative N2O emission by 108%
(1.70 ± 0.02 to 0.15 ± 0.1), 72% (2.17 ± 0.1 to 0.59 ± 0.1), and 86%
(1.80 ± 0.3 to 0.24 ± 0.1) in 2016 and 82% (1.95 ± 0.27 to 0.33 ± 0.13),
100% (1.63 ± 0.10 to 0.01 ± 0.51), and 86% (1.47 ± 0.20 to
0.19 ± 0.16) kg ha1 season1 during 2017 growing seasons. BC
contains organic compounds that inhibit microbial growth. For
example, the presence of ethylene on the BC surface inhibits mi-
crobial population growth and reduces NO 3 (Spokas et al., 2010)
thereby, decreases substrate availability for denitrification (Fungo
et al., 2019; Kammann et al., 2012). BC amendment reduced N2O
emission mainly due to suppressed denitrification rates (e.g. lower
soil bulk density and higher aeration due to high porous structure),
sorption of inorganic N to BC surface and microbial N-immobili-
zation (Ameloot et al., 2013; Clough et al., 2013; Harter et al., 2014).
Increased soil pH due to the incorporation of alkaline BC increases
N2O-reductase activity, thereby enhance N2 formation from N2O
and decrease the ratio of N2O-to-N2 (Lehmann et al., 2006; Shaaban
et al., 2015; Yanai et al., 2007). BC used in this study was alkaline
that enhanced soil pH and NO 3 concentration (data not presented)
and possibly enhanced N2 formation (complete denitrification)
(Chapuis-lardy et al., 2007). High moisture retention and pH
properties of BC create local alkaline soil conditions, that might act
7
as hotspots for complete denitrification (Ameloot et al., 2013). It is
thus, highly likely that in these microsites the intermediary prod-
uct, N2O, might be completely reduced to N2. Moreover, the BC
amendment enhanced the growth of certain soil microbes (e.g.
Bradyrhizobiaceae and Hyphomicrobiaceae families) that reduced
N2O emission by supporting denitrification of NO 3 to N2 (Anderson
et al., 2011). Significant temporal variation in N2O emission was also
noted during both years. DM2 treatment recorded the highest N2O
emission of 0.256 mg m2 h1 34 DAMA (June 22, 2016). BC
amendment with IN and DM1 treatments switched from source to
net sink, N2O uptake from IN þ B and DM1þB was 0.067
and 0.051 mg m2 h1 at 103 and 117 DAMA (August 31,
September 13) respectively, during 2016. In 2017, DM1 treatment
emitted higher N2O (0.151 mg m2 h1) at 127 DAMA (September
22, 2017) and the net sink event (0.057 mg m2 h1) occurred 46
DAMA (July 03, 2017) in the DM1þBC treatment. Generally, N2O
emission peaks appeared immediately following N fertilization
(Figs. 1 and 2g-h), consistent with the fact that N fertilization
commonly induces pulses of N2O emission (Snyder et al., 2009).
N2O is produced during soil nitrification and denitrification pro-
cesses (Paul et al., 1993; Skiba et al., 1993) and these processes are
highly dependent on SM and ST change (Li et al., 2015; Weier et al.,
1993). In the present study, we observed higher N2O emission at
maximum ST and SM during 2016, and 2017 respectively.
3.4. Silage corn dry matter yield
Experimental treatments significantly (p < 0.05) affected the
DMY of silage corn during both growing seasons. During 2016,
DM1þBC treatment produced higher DMY than the rest of all
treatments and lower was recorded in control (Table 4). In the 2017
8 W. Ashiq et al. / Environmental Pollution 265 (2020) 114869

Table 4
Cumulative GHG emission CO2, CH4 and N2O (kg ha1 season1), Silage DMY (kg ha1), area-scaled GWP(CH4þN2O) (kg CO2 eq. ha1), yield-scaled GWP(CH4þN2O) (kg CO2 eq. kg1
silage corn dry matter), EFd (%), and RC (kg CH4 ha1 kg1 N) during 2016 & 2017 growing seasons.

Treatment CO2 CH4 N2O DMY Area-scaled GWP(CH4þN2O) Yield-scaled GWP(CH4þN2O) EFd RC

2016

DM1 7834 ± 476a 1.26 ± 0.9a 1.70 ± 0.2a 19797 ± 173c 537.5 ± 52a 0.027 ± 0.003a 0.7 ± 0.2a 0.012 ± 0.008a
DM1þB 6430 ± 169b 1.42 ± 0.1b 0.15 ± 0.1d 21050 ± 125a 79.8 ± 47d 0.004 ± 0.002d 0.9 ± 0.1c 0.012 ± 0.001b
A
DM2 7652 ± 31a 0.83 ± 0.5a 2.17 ± 0.1a 19567 ± 240c 667 ± 19a 0.034 ± 0.001a 1.1 ± 0.1a 0.008 ± 0.005a
DM2þB 5666 ± 16c 1.01 ± 0.4b 0.59 ± 0.1bc 20433 ± 176b 152 ± 41bc 0.008 ± 0.002c 0.3 ± 0.1b 0.008 ± 0.004b
IN 7566 ± 37a 0.86 ± 0.5a 1.80 ± 0.3a 18813 ± 135d 559 ± 101a 0.030 ± 0.005a 0.8 ± 0.3a 0.008 ± 0.005a
IN þ B 5576 ± 29c 1.69 ± 0.6b 0.24 ± 0.1cd 20533 ± 176ab 30.5 ± 57cd 0.002 ± 0.003cd 0.6 ± 0.1bc 0.014 ± 0.006b
N0 5961 ± 11bc 0.10 ± 0.2ab 0.89 ± 0.0b 15300 ± 152e 263.±7bc 0.017 ± 0.001b
2017
DM1 7078 ± 639a 11.6±3a 1.95 ± 0.27a 15983 ± 258bc 875 ± 79a 0.055 ± 0.006a 0.9 ± 0.2a 0.102 ± 0.028a
DM1þB 5957 ± 714ab 6.5±3bc 0.33 ± 0.13b 17160 ± 105a 63.5 ± 65cd 0.004 ± 0.004bc 0.5 ± 0.1b 0.056 ± 0.029b
DM2 5601 ± 806b 11.5±2a 1.63 ± 0.10a 15667 ± 218c 775 ± 47ab 0.050 ± 0.004a 0.6 ± 0.1a 0.101 ± 0.024a
DM2þB 4100 ± 754cd 9.1±5bc 0.01 ± 0.51b 16483 ± 44ab 232 ± 24d 0.014 ± 0.015c 0.8 ± 0.4b 0.078 ± 0.045b
IN 5248 ± 740bc 9.9±3a 1.47 ± 0.20a 14580 ± 408d 688 ± 80ab 0.047 ± 0.004a 0.5 ± 0.2a 0.087 ± 0.032a
IN þ B 3800 ± 465d 19±5c 0.19 ± 0.16b 16483 ± 130ab 418 ± 161d 0.025 ± 0.010c 0.6 ± 0.1b 0.165 ± 0.044b
N0 3997 ± 561cd 0.28±5ab 0.96 ± 0.56ab 11200 ± 152e 280 ± 284bc 0.025 ± 0.025ab

Yield-scaled GWP(CH4þN2O) ¼ area-scaled-GWP(CH4þN2O)/DMY (kg CO2 eq kg1 DMY); EFd ¼ 100  (Ef - N0)/N, where Ef is the cumulative N2O flux from respective fertilizer
treatment (Kg ha1 season1), N0 is the cumulative N2O flux (Kg ha1 season1) from non-N fertilizer treatment (N0), N is the N fertilizer application (Kg N ha1 season1);
RC ¼ (CH4F - CH4N0)/N, where CH4F is the cumulative CH4 emissions (kg ha1 season1) from respective fertilizer treatment, CH4N0 is the cumulative CH4 emission (kg ha1
season1) from the non-fertilized treatment, and N is the N fertilizer application rate (kg N ha1 season1).
Mean ± SD of different greenhouse gas (GHGs), GWP, dry matter yield (DMY), emission factors (EFd) and response of methane emission (RC). Means sharing common letters in
each column are not significantly different at p < 0.05.

Table 5
The dependencies (single factor linear regression) of GHG (CO2, CH4, N2O; mg m2 h1), seasonal cumulative CO2, CH4, N2O (CCO2, CCH4, CN2O; kg ha1 season1), emission
factor (EFd; %), response of CH4 emission (RC; kg CH4 ha1 kg1 N), area based GWP(CH4þN2O) (kg CO2 eq. ha1), yield-scaled GWP(CH4þN2O) (kg CO2 eq. kg1 silage corn dry
matter), on soil temperature (ST, 5 cm depth; C), soil moisture (SM; %), and dry matter yield (DMY; kg ha1).

Parameter Factor Equation n R2 P Equation n R2 P

2016 2017

CO2 ST CO2 ¼ 14.078ST-36.9 84 0.41 <0.001 CO2 ¼ 6.9STþ265.7 56 0.12 0.008

SM CO2 ¼ 2.96SMþ266 84 0.12 <0.001 CO2 ¼ 0.435SMþ127.2 56 0.002 0.722
CH4 ST CH4 ¼ 0.0003ST-0.009 84 0.0005 0.834 CH4 ¼ 0.01STþ0.18 56 0.002 0.733
SM CH4 ¼ 0.0021SMþ0.05 84 0.14 <0.001 CH4 ¼ 0.03SMþ0.84 56 0.085 0.029
N2O ST N2O ¼ 0.0019STþ0.001 84 0.02 0.19 N2O ¼ 0.009STþ0.21 56 0.38 <0.001
SM N2O ¼ 0.002SMþ0.09 84 0.19 <0.001 N2O ¼ 0.0005SMþ0.018 56 0.005 0.579
CCO2 DMY CCO2 ¼ 0.015DMYþ6380 7 0.0008 0.95 CCO2 ¼ 0.2DMYþ2046 7 0.10 0.47
CCH4 CCH4 ¼ 0.0002DMYþ3.97 7 0.11 0.44 CCH4 ¼ 0.0016DMYþ24.5 7 0.074 0.55
CN2O CN2O ¼ 0.0001DMYþ3.38 7 0.07 0.56 CN2O ¼ 0.0001DMYþ2.62 7 0.08 0.53
EFd EFd ¼ 0.0009DMYþ18.61 6 0.79 0.02 EFd ¼ 0.0005DMYþ9.06 6 0.44 0.14
RC RC ¼ 0.000012DMYþ0.240 6 0.70 0.03 RC ¼ 0.00008DMYþ1.4 6 0.46 0.13
area-scaled GWP(CH4þN2O) GWP ¼ 0.0414DMYþ1106 7 0.07 0.54 GWP ¼ 0.073DMYþ1399 7 0.07 0.54
yield-scaled GWP(CH4þN2O) GWP ¼ 0.000002DMYþ0.07 7 0.13 0.41 GWP ¼ 0.000005DMYþ1.109 7 0.12 0.43

Fig. 4. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of yellow pine wood (Pinus spp.) biochar used in study.
 W. Ashiq et al. / Environmental Pollution 265 (2020) 114869
growing season, again higher DMY was recorded in DM1þBC
treatment than DM2þBC, IN þ BC, and other treatments; lower
DMY was observed in control (Table 4). In general, BC amended
treatments produced higher DMY compared to non-BC amended
treatments and the lowest was observed in control. BC amendment
to DM1, DM2, and IN treatment plots increased DMY by 6, 4, and 8%
during 2016 and 7, 5 and 13% during 2017, respectively (Table 4).
Overall, DMY was higher during 2016 than the 2017 growing sea-
son. Drier soil condition during 2017, particularly at the active crop
growth stage could be one of the possible reasons for reduced DMY
(Fig. 3 c-f). BC amendments improve soil moisture contents and
other physicochemical properties result in increased crop yield
(Baronti et al., 2014; Duarte et al., 2019; Hass et al., 2012). Due to
high SM retention property, porous structure and large surface area
of BC and soil organic carbon accumulation enhance mineral nu-
trients uptake, photosynthesis and dry matter accumulation in crop
plants (Cao et al., 2019). We also observed a 4e13% increase in DMY
of silage corn in BC amended treatments. The combination of bio-
char with manure and IN fertilizer application might have stimu-
lated microbial activities, enhanced nutrient release (Steinbeiss
et al., 2009) which reduced nutrient losses and increased dry
matter yield (Laird et al., 2010).
3.5. Global warming potential, N2O emission factors and the
response of CH4 emission
Experimental treatments had significantly (p < 0.05) affected
area-scaled GWP and yield-scaled GWP of N2O and CH4 in both
growing seasons. During 2016, maximum area-scaled
GWP(CH4þN20) was observed from IN (559 ± 101 kg CO2 eq. ha1
season1), whereas minimum area-scaled GWP(CH4þN20) was
recorded from DM1þBC (79.8 ± 47 kg CO2 eq. ha1 season1).
During 2017, DM1 (875 ± 79 kg CO2 eq. ha1 season1) treatment
exhibited higher area-scaled GWP(CH4þN20) and lowest was
observed from IN þ B (418 ± 161 kg CO2 eq. ha1 season1)
(Table 4). BC application to DM1, DM2, and IN treatments reduced
area-scaled GWP(CH4þN20) by 114, 77 and 94% during 2016; and 107,
129 and 160% during 2017 growing seasons. The area-scaled
GWP(CH4þN20) values observed from non-BC amended treatments
in this study (263e875 kg CO2 eq. ha1 season1) during both
growing seasons were comparable to the GWP(CH4þN20) from pre-
vious corn studies in North America (Linquist et al., 2012). Negative
area-scaled GWP(CH4þN20) was observed from DM1þB in 2016 and
all BC amended treatments in 2017. These negative trends were
observed due to a reduction in GHG emissions with the BC
amendment. Significant reduction in area-scaled GWP(CH4þN20) was
observed from corn production system by using enhanced effi-
ciency fertilizers and N application timing management (Halvorson
et al., 2010; Linquist et al., 2012; Phillips et al., 2009). Previous
studies also evaluated the GWP of CH4 and N2O as a function of crop
yield (Su et al., 2017; Zhou et al., 2017a, 2015). In this study, yield-
scale GWP(CH4þN20) ranged from 0.004 ± 0.002 to 0.034 ± 0.001 kg
CO2 eq kg1 silage corn dry matter in DM1þBC and DM1 respec-
tively in 2016. Whereas, in 2017 it ranged from 0.025 ± 0.010 to
0.055 ± 0.006 kg CO2 eq. kg1 silage corn dry matter from IN þ B
and DM1 respectively. Biochar application to DM1, DM2 and IN
reduced yield-scaled GWP(CH4þN20) by 114, 78 and 94% in 2016,
while during 2017 it was decreased by 106, 128 and 153% respec-
tively (Table 4). Yield-based GWP(CH4þN20) had been reported from
corn-based on grain yield (0.185 kg CO2 eq kg1 grain yield)
(Linquist et al., 2012). But, the corn in the present experiment was
silage so yield-scaled GWP(CH4þN20) was presented based on silage
dry matter production. BC amended treatments mostly exhibited
negative yield-scale GWP(CH4þN20) which was attributed to nega-
tive N2O and CH4 emission in these treatments. Negative N2O and
9
CH4 emissions with BC application had been reported by previous
soil column and pot studies (Singla and Inubushi, 2014; Yu et al.,
2013). These negative emissions from BC amended treatments
decreased area-scaled and yield-scaled GWP of N2O and CH4 in the
present study (Table 4). During 2016, a significant relationship was
seen between DMY and EFd & RC (p < 0.05, Table 5).
Experimental treatments significantly (p < 0.05) affected direct
N2O emission factor (EFd) and the response of CH4 emission (RC)
during both growing seasons. Maximum EFd were recorded from
DM2 (1.1 ± 0.1%) in 2016 and DM1 (0.9 ± 0.2%) in 2017, whereas
maximum RC was observed from DM1 (0.012 ± 0.008% and
0.102 ± 0.028%) during both years (Table 4). Direct N2O emission
factor (EFd) observed in this study (Table 4) was comparable to
1.06% of N reported from the corn cropping system in a meta-
analysis (Linquist et al., 2012). Negative EFd and RC were
observed from all BC treatments as a result of BC addition. These
negative trends were observed due to a reduction in GHGs emis-
sions because of the BC application. BC application to DM1, DM2 and
IN reduced EFd by 228, 122 and 170% during 2016 and by 151, 221,
and 219% in 2017 respectively. It also reduced RC by 197, 196 and
265% in 2016 and by 155, 177 and 288% in 2017 respectively
(Table 4). Limited studies reported the effects of BC application on
EFd, RC and GWP of CH4 and N2O from corn production in North
America. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that
evaluated area-scaled and yield-scaled GWP of CH4 and N2O, EFd,
and RC after BC application to dairy manure and inorganic N fer-
tilizer in silage corn. Further, long terms studies are needed to
compare and evaluate the effects of BC application with different
fertilization regimes on yield-scaled GWP, EFd, and RC in silage corn
cropping systems.
3.6. Correlation between GHGs, GWP, EFd, RC, DMY and soil
moisture and temperature
The dependencies of CO2, CH4, N2O fluxes, cumulative CO2, CH4,
and N2O, area-scaled GWP(CH4þN2O), yield-scaled GWP(CH4þN2O),
EFd, RC and silage corn DMY on soil moisture and temperature are
presented in Table 5. There was significant relationship observed
between CO2 and ST (R2 ¼ 0.41, p < 0.001), CO2 and SM (R2 ¼ 0.12,
p < 0.001), CH4 and SM (R2 ¼ 0.14, p < 0.001), N2O and SM
(R2 ¼ 0.19, p < 0.001), EFd and DMY (R2 ¼ 0.79, p < 0.05), RC and
DMY (R2 ¼ 0.70, p < 0.05) during 2016 growing season. In second
year (2017), we observed significant relationships between CO2 and
ST (R2 ¼ 0.12, p ¼ 0.008), N2O and ST (R2 ¼ 0.38, p < 0.001). Some
studies reported significant relationship between crop grain yield/
straw yield and seasonal cumulative GHG emissions (Zhou et al.,
2015). But we did not find significant relations between these
factors. We observed that DMY was significantly related to EFd and
RC during 2016 but this relationship was not significant during
2017. More research is needed to quantify the relationships be-
tween crop yields and GHG emissions and yield-scaled GWP. This
could help to understand the GHG emission potential of various
crops per unit yield and their dependence on each ether and other
environmental factors like soil temperature, moisture, and
precipitation.
4. Conclusion
Intensive agricultural production systems need high input to
meet the challenges of food security without considering serious
implications associated with the environment and agroecosystems.
Therefore, effective and best management practices to mitigate
environmental implications due to excessive fertilizer applications
are urgently needed. The present field study enhanced our un-
derstandings of GHGs emissions, GWP, DMY, EFd, and RC following
10 W. Ashiq et al. / Environmental Pollution 265 (2020) 114869
manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application and mitigation
of these factors with the BC amendment. Based on the results, it can
be concluded that the BC application has great potential in reducing
GHGs emissions, GWP, EFd, and increase SM content and DMY. The
present study further demonstrates that BC as a soil amendment
could be adopted as an effective management strategy to develop
low carbon-emitting cropping systems and to enhance crop yield
which is critical to meet the food and feed insecurity challenges
under changing climate in boreal ecosystems.
Author contributions
MC conceptualized, Funding acquisition and supervised the
overall research project; MN, VK and WA performed the layout and
seeding of field experiment; WA, MN, W Ali, MZ data collection. RT,
LG and WA performed analysis. WA, JW and LG cracked first draft,
JW, RT and MC edited and interpreted the results and discussion of
the manuscript.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
Authors are thankful to the Research and Development Corpo-
ration of NL (RDC-ignite 5404-1789-101) and Atlantic Canada Op-
portunities Agency (ACOA # 208422) for providing financial
support to execute this field experiment. Special thanks to the
Department of Fisheries and Land resources, Government of NL. for
providing the land and other logistics to conduct this field
experiment.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114869.
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