Journal Pre-proof

Apply biochar to ameliorate soda saline-alkali land, improve soil

function and increase corn nutrient availability in the Songnen
Plain

Wei Zhao, Qin Zhou, Zongze Tian, Yutong Cui, Ying Liang,
Hongyan Wang

PII: S0048-9697(20)30938-4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137428
Reference: STOTEN 137428

To appear in: Science of the Total Environment

Received date: 12 December 2019

Revised date: 2 February 2020
Accepted date: 17 February 2020

Please cite this article as: W. Zhao, Q. Zhou, Z. Tian, et al., Apply biochar to ameliorate
soda saline-alkali land, improve soil function and increase corn nutrient availability in
the Songnen Plain, Science of the Total Environment (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.scitotenv.2020.137428

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© 2018 Published by Elsevier.

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Apply biochar to ameliorate soda saline-alkali land, improve soil

function and increase corn nutrient availability in the Songnen Plain

Wei Zhao, Qin Zhou, Zongze Tian,Yutong Cui,Ying Liang, Hongyan Wang*
College of Resource and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, PR China

ABSTRACT
Soda saline-alkali soils are characterized by high concentration of sodium cations on the exchange complex or in
soil-water resulting in soils which are physically as well as nutritionally challenging for crop production. Biochar
application has received growing interest as a sustainable technology to improve physicochemical properties in
non-saline and non-alkali soils. However, information is inadequate regarding potential of using corn straw
derived biochar as an organic material to reduce soda saline-alkali stress. Based on the established model of corn
straw biochar-soda saline alkali soil-corn system, soil and plant samples were collected from long-term field

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experiment in soda saline-alkali land with different addition rates of corn straw biochar (CK: control, T5: 5 ton
ha−1, T10: 10 ton ha−1, T15: 15 ton ha−1, T20: 20 ton ha−1, T25: 25 ton ha−1, T30: 30 ton ha−1). In the seedling and

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harvest period, addition of corn straw biochar enhanced the contents of cation exchange capacity (CEC), organic
matter, and nutrients of 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm saline-alkali soil layers and the above ground and underground
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parts of corn. However, the results were contrary as far as pH, salt, and Na+ were concerned, and the effect of T20
was the most significant. Principal component analysis showed that CEC, pH, salinity, and organic matter could be
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used as indicators to evaluate the improvement effect of biochar on soda saline-alkali soil. Irrespective of the
application of biochar, pH, salt content, Na+, and nutrients concentrations at seedling stage were higher than those
at harvest stage, indicating that planting corn could improve soda saline-alkali soil. It may be concluded that corn
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straw biochar can be used as an organic amendment for reducing adverse effects of salinity and alkalinity on soil
functions governed by their rates of addition.
Keywords: biochar; soda saline-alkali land; soil function; corn nutrient; Songnen plain
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1. Introduction
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Saline-alkali soil is a type of degraded soil with poor agricultural production, and
approximately 11 million hectares of soil worldwide are Saline-alkali (Stille et al. 2011). The
western Songnen Plain is one of the three major regions with saline-alkali soils in the world and
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currently has over 3.0×106 ha of salt-affected soils (Yang et al. 2016). Topographical, climatic, and
human factors contribute to the initiation and evolution of soil salinization. In addition, many salt
lakes and wetlands are found in the area, resulting in low groundwater depth and high mineral
content in the water; NaHCO3 is the main mineral compound in the water (Shang et al. 2003).
These factors severely restrict the improvement and utilization of the soil. In this area,
approximately 20,000 hectares of land are salinized each year, and most of the land has been
abandoned and cannot be used (Kang et al. 2013). As an important reserve land resource for food
production, saline-alkali land can play an important role in ensuring national food security under
the background of global food crisis.
Biochar application to soil is widely recommended for a variety of reasons related to
utilizability and sustainability. Soda alkali land in Songnen Plain is a potential area in Northeast
China, which can greatly alleviate the food pressure in Northeast China through the application of
biochar. The application of biochar in salinized soil not only solves the problem of resource waste
and environmental pollution caused by agricultural and forestry wastes, but also improves the soil
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environment and the utilization ratio of water and fertilizer of crops. In addition, biochar plays an
active role in soil water conservation and fertilizer protection, improving soil microstructure,
increasing organic carbon content, promoting crop growth and yield, and boosting carbon
sequestration. These effects are of great significance in agricultural production, soil improvement,
and ecological restoration (Amini et al. 2016; Kim et al. 2016).
Biochar is a new type of carbon composite with high carbon, organic matter and inorganic
mineral contents that has received extensive attention due to its potential applications in soil
remediation, wastewater treatment, and chemical engineering (Ahmad et al. 2013; Nagodavithane
et al. 2014; Qambrani et al. 2017). Since the developed pore structure of biochar provides good
aeration and water and fertilizer retention characteristics, it can effectively maintain nutrients in
the soil, improve the hydraulic characteristics of the soil, and reduce nutrient leaching from the
soil by adsorptivity. These abilities make biochar a valuable soil amendment for achieving
efficient water and fertilizer utilization. Biochar also has high stability and can be used as a

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soil-improving agent to effectively improve soil fertility and positively affect the ecosystem. A
large number of studies in recent years have shown that the application of biochar enriches

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mineral nutrients (e.g., K, Ca, Mg, and P), improves physical, chemical and biological
characteristics of the soil, and consequently enhances plant growth (Liang et al. 2009; Hasan et al.
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2018). Kimetu (2010) and Hidetoshi et al. (2009) found that biochar increased soil organic matter
to improve soil fertility. Likewise, Zhang et al. (2012) found that the contents of soil organic
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carbon in paddy soil were increased compared with the soil without biochar in Taihu Lake. In
short, biochar applied to farmland can affect soil quality and change soil organic carbon, total
nitrogen, pH, CEC, etc (Lehmann et al. 2011; Zhang et al. 2010; Karhu K et al. 2011).
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The maize planting area in China has exceeded 35.45 Mha (No.1 globally), while the annual
production is 2.18 Pg and accounts for 22.0% of the world's total production (FAO 2016). In 2020,
the food production in China should exceed 5.50 Pg, of which maize accounts for 53.1%. In China,
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it is necessary to increase maize yield to face the wide gap between the production and
consumption. There is a need to increase the yield of maize plants and avoid the impact of salinity
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and sodicity on the growth of maize plants in saline-alkali soil.

Recently, biochar is being considered an effective organic ameliorant for degraded areas,
especially for acid soils, but with limited studies in the rehabilitation of saline-alkali soils
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(Saifullah et al. 2018). Particularly, due to different types of agricultural soils varying in texture
and mineralogy, long-term investigation on the stability and toxicity of biochar under field
conditions has almost no experience. However, biochar effects on the physicochemical properties
of degraded soils will vary with soil and feedstock type, application rate and aging of biochar with
soil (Obia et al. 2016). Therefore, long-term field trials on the applications of biochar are
necessary and valuable, not only in the laboratory or greenhouses. In this study, we established
corn straw biochar-soda saline alkali soil-corn system model to investigate the modified effect of
corn straw biochar on soda saline-alkali land through the long-term positioning test, and aimed (1)
to identify the effect of corn straw biochar on CEC, pH, salinity, organic matter, soil nutrient, and
ion concentration of the seedling and harvest periods in the soil layers of 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm;
(2) to ascertain the role of corn in improving saline alkali soil and the effects of corn straw biochar
on nutrients, ion concentrations, and yields of corn in the seedling and harvest periods; (3) to make
clear the main influencing factors and the mechanism on evaluating corn straw biochar amending
soda saline-alkali land; (4) to determine whether corn straw biochar can be used as an organic soil
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improver to ameliorate soil to increase maize yield and find out the best application rate of corn
straw biochar meliorating soda saline alkali land.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Experimental site
A long-term corn straw biochar positioning test base was established in May 2016 at Bayi
Agricultural University in Daqing city (123°35′N, 44°50′E), with an altitude of 130 m and annual
average temperature of 22.9 °C. The annual effective cumulative temperature is about 2900 °C
and the annual precipitation is 440 mm, with an annual evaporation of 1600 mm. The soil
contained 164.83 mg kg-1 available nitrogen, 21.23 mg kg-1 available phosphorus, 175.00 mg kg-1
available potassium, 16.59 g kg-1 organic matter, and 0.82% salt contents, with a pH of 8.48.
2.2. Experimental design
The soil improver used in this experiment was corn straw biochar. Its physical and chemical

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properties were 10.4 pH, 22.94% water, 0.65% total nitrogen, 0.099% total phosphorus, and 10.25
mol kg-1 CEC. Seven treatments with three replications were established: (1) CK, no biochar; (2)

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T5, corn straw biochar at 5 ton ha−1; (3) T10, corn straw biochar at 10 ton ha−1; (4) T15, corn
straw biochar at 15 ton ha−1; (5) T20, corn straw biochar at 20 ton ha−1; (6) T25, corn straw
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biochar at 25 ton ha−1; (7) T30, corn straw biochar at 30 ton ha−1.
A seed of corn cultivar was obtained Agricultural Sciences Research Academy of
Heilongjiang Province, China. Plot area was 50.05 m2 (11 m × 4.55 m). Each treatment received
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the recommended doses of corn NPK fertilization. Phosphorus was added at rate of 150 kg ha−1
before cultivation as diammonium phosphate 46% P2O5. Nitrogen doses were added in equal three
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times after 0, 40, and 65 days of planting at rate of 200 kg ha−1 as Urea 46% N. Potassium at rate
of 50 kg ha−1 as potassium sulfate 48% K2O. In 2016, corn straw biochar was applied in one time
before corn planting, mixing with soil layer of 0-20 cm. In 2018, soil and corn samples were
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collected in the seedling (3-6-2018) and harvest period (20-9-2018) for determination.Soil samples
obtained from each plot were comprised a mixture of soils collected from five places (an “S”
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distribution) at a depth of 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm. The soil samples were placed on ice for
transport to the laboratory. In the laboratory, all visible roots and stones were removed from the
field moist soil samples. Soil samples were air-dried at room temperature and crushed to pass
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through a 2-mm diamete sieve for chemical properties. In the seedling and harvest period, six
plants from a two row were taken from each plot, and the aboveg round and underground parts
were dried in an oven at 75 °C for 72 h to pass through a 0.149-mm diamete sieve for use. After
harvest, the tassel weight of corn (average weight of 20 corn tassels), 100 grain weights, and corn
yields were measured.
2.3. Measurements and methods
CEC were determined by the sodium acetate flame photometry method (Bao et al. 2005). Soil
pH was measured in a soil:water suspension (1:10) after 3 min of shaking at 25 °C using a pH
meter (Sartorius PB-10). The salt content was performed using the mass method as described by
Bao et al. (2005). Potassium dichromate oxidation external heating method was used to measure
organic matter of soil (Khandakar et al. 2013). Available N was determined by alkali diffusion
method and incubation at 40 ℃ for 24 h (Bao et al. 2005), available phosphorus was extracted with
0.5 mol/L sodium bicarbonate and determined by molybdenum antimony anti colorimetry, while
available potassium was extracted with 1 mol/L ammonium acetate and determined by a flame
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photometer (Zhao et al. 2018). Soil samples were 2 g and digested using a mixture of sulfuric acid
and perchloric acid at mixed rate of 3:1, and the digested was diluted with distilled water to a
volume of 100 ml. Then 5 ml extracted from this digest were analyzed for the content of these
nutrients as follows: Total nitrogen (TN) was determined by the macro-Kjeldahl methodand, total
phosphorus (TP) was determined by spectrophotometry, and total potassium (TK) was measured
using a flame photometer as described by Zhao et al. (2018). The concentrations of the soluble
cations Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+ were measured as described by Zhao et al. (2018).
The plant sample was 0.5 g, then digested using a mixture of sulfuric acid and perchloric acid
at mixed rate of 3:1, and the digested was diluted with distilled water to a volume of 100 ml. Then
5 ml extracted from this digest were analyzed for the contents of Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, TN, TP, and TK.
The measurement method of plant sample was the same as that of soil (Zhao et al. 2018).
All the data were performed using SPSS for Windows (version 17; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL,
USA) with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Different lowercase letters were significant at

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P < 0.05 among all the groups. Each value was represented as the mean ± standard deviation of
three individuals (n = 3).

3. Results

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3.1. CEC, pH, salinity, and organic matter in soil
As shown in Fig.1 a-d, CEC of each treatment was significantly higher than that of CK, while
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pH and salt contents were remarkably lower than those of CK except salt content of T5 treatment
(P < 0.05). At a depth of 0-20 cm, organic matter contents of treatments of seedling stage were
observably higher than that of CK except T5, but no significant difference among treatments; at
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harvest stage, organic matter content of each treatment was higher than that of CK. At a depth of
20-40 cm, organic matter contents of treatments except T5 and T10 were significantly higher than
that of CK, but no significant difference among treatments.
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With the increase of biochar application, CEC and organic matter contents of each treatment
was raised to the maximum value in T20 treatment and then decreased, while pH and salt content
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first decreased, then decreased the most in T20 treatment, and then increased. In seedling period,
pH, salt content, and CEC of each treatment and CK were all obviously higher than those in the
harvest period (P < 0.05). Organic matter contents of treatments at seedling stage were higher than
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those at harvest stage, but the difference was not significant.

Except T10 and T30 in 20-40 cm soil layer, there was significant difference in CEC of
treatments (P < 0.05). CEC of each treatment was T20 > T15 > T25 > T30 > T10 > T5. However,
at seedling stage, pH of T20 decreased the most significantly in 0-20 cm soil layer (P < 0.05), but
there was no significant difference among other treatments; in 20-40 cm soil layer, the descending
order of soil pH was T20 > T25 > T30 > T15 > T10 > T5. At harvest time, at a depth of 0-20 cm,
there was no significant difference in pH among T20, T25, T30, and T15, or between T5 and T10;
pH of T20 and T25 in 20-40 cm soil layer were significantly lower than those of T5, T10, T15,
and T30. At seedling stage, salt content of T20 was significantly lower than those of other
treatments(P < 0.05), but no significant difference among T10, T15, and T30 in 0-20 cm soil
layer,or between T15 and T30 in 20-40 cm soil layer; in the harvest period, the descending order
of salt content was T20 > T25 > T15 > T30 > T10 > T5. No matter in 0-20 cm soil layer or in
20-40 cm soil layer, there was no significant difference in organic matter contents among T20,
T30, and T25, but organic matter content of T20 was significantly higher than that of T5 (P <
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0.05), and there was no significant difference between T10 and T5.
3.2. Nutrients in soil
The concentrations of available N, available P, available K, TN, TP, TK, Ca2+, and Mg2+ of
treatments were higher than those of CK, while the concentration of Na+ of treatments was lower
than that of CK (Fig. 2). Soil nutrients except Na+ increased first with the increase of biochar,
reached the maximum value at T20, and then decreased, while the concentration of Na+ decreasing
first, and then least to T20. Available N, TP, TN, and Ca2+ concentrations of each treatment at
seedling stage were markedly higher than those at harvest stage. In 0-20 cm soil layer, only
available K contents of T10, T20, T25, and T30 at seedling stage were evidently higher than those
at harvest stage (P < 0.05). Available P, TK, Mg2+, and Na+ concentrations of treatments at
seedling stage were higher than those at harvest stage.
As shown in Fig. 2 a-c, available N content in 0-20 cm soil layer and at the seedling stage of
the 20-40 cm soil layer was T20 > T30 > T15 > T25 > T10 > T5, but in the harvest period of 20-40

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cm soil layer, available N content of T20 was distinctly higher than those of T30, T15, T10, T25,
and T5 (P < 0.05). In 0-20 cm soil layer, available P content of T20 in the seedling period was

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clearly higher than those of other treatments (P < 0.05), followed by T30, T15, T25, T10, and T5;
available P content of T20 in the harvest period was also significantly higher than those of other
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treatments. In 20-40 cm soil layer, the contents of available P of T20 and T15 were remarkably
higher than those of other treatments. Besides, in 0-20 cm soil layer, available K content was
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T20 > T30 > T25 > T15 > T10 > T5 at seedling stage and T20, T15, and T30 available K contents
at harvest stage were significantly higher than those of other treatments (P < 0.05); in 20-40 cm
soil layer, available K contents of T20 and T30 at seedling stage were significantly higher than
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those of other treatments and T20, T30, and T25 available K contents at harvest stage were
markedly higher than those of T15, T10, T5, and CK.
As shown in Fig. 2 d-f, TN contents of T20 was the highest (P < 0.05), followed by T30,
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T15, T25, and T10, the lowest was T5. In 0-20cm soil layer and 20-40cm soil layer, TP contents of
T20 and T15 at seedling stage were markedly higher than those of other treatments (P < 0.05),
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followed by T30 and T10, and the lowest were T25 and T5; while TP content of T20 at harvest
stage was the largest, followed by T15 and T10, but higher than T30, T25, and T5. In addition, in
the soil layer of 0-20cm, TK contents of T20 and T15 at seedling stage were significantly higher
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than those of other treatments (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between them; at
harvest stage, TK contents of T20, T25, and T30 were significantly higher than those of other
treatments, but there was no obvious difference among the three. In 20-40cm soil layer, there was
no clear difference between T20 and T15, T25, and T30, but significantly higher than T5.
As shown in Fig. 2 g-i, Ca2+ concentration at seedling stage of 0-20 cm soil layer, and at
seedling stage and harvest stage of 20-40 cm soil layer was T20 > T25 > T30 > T15 > T10 > T5,
but Ca2+ content at seedling stage of 0-20 cm soil layer was T20 > T25 > T15 > T30 > T10 > T5.
In the 0-20 cm soil layer, Mg2+ content of T20 was the largest, followed by T15, T25, and T30, but
the difference between T10, T5, and CK was not obvious at seedling stage; in the 20-40 cm soil
layer, Mg2+ contents of T20 were remarkably higher than those of other treatments (P < 0.05),
followed by T25 and T15, then T30 and T10 was higher than T5. Additionally, at seedling and
harvest stage in 0-20 cm soil layer and harvest stage in 20-40 cm soil layer, Na+ content of T20
was the highest (P < 0.05), but Na+ content of other treatments had no significant difference at
seedling stage of 0-20 cm soil layer and there was no significant difference between T20, T15,
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T25, and T30 at harvest time in 20-40 cm soil layer, but markedly lower than T5 and T10.
3.3. Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, TN, TP, and TK in the above ground and underground parts of corn
As shown in Fig. 3 a-f, Na+ concentrations of treatments in the above ground and
underground parts of corn were decreased significantly (P < 0.05). At the seedling stage, Ca2+,
Mg2+, TN, TP, and TK concentrations of treatments were significantly increased compared with
CK group except Mg2+ concentration of T5 in the underground part and TK contents of T5 in the
above ground and underground parts (P < 0.05). Na+ concentrations of treatments at seedling stage
were significantly higher than those at harvest stage (P < 0.05). Except Mg2+ concentration of T15
and TN content of T25, Ca2+, Mg2+, TN, TP, and TK concentrations of treatments were
significantly higher at seedling stage than those at harvest stage (P < 0.05).
Na+ concentration of T20 was markedly lower than those of other treatments in the above
ground of corn (P < 0.05), followed by T15, T25, and T30; the order of Na+ concentration in the
underground part of corn was T20 < T25 < T30 < T15 < T10 < T5. Ca2+ concentration of T20 in

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the above ground of corn of seedling and harvest period was obviously higher than that of T25,
and Ca2+ concentration of T25 was remarkably higher than those of T15 and T30 which had no

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obvious difference each other, but evidently higher than T10 and T5. Ca2+concentration of T20 in
the underground part of corn of seedling and harvest period was the highest, followed by T15 and
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T25, T10 and T30 was lower, but clearly higher than T5 (P < 0.05). In the above ground of corn,
the increasing order of Mg2+ concentration was T20 > T15 > T25 > T30 > T10 > T5, which was
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T20 > T25 > T15 > T10 > T30 > T5 in the underground part of corn.
TN content of T20 of corn was the highest, followed by T15 and T30 which had no
significant difference, but higher than T25 and T10, and T5 the lowest. TP content of treatments in
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the above ground of seedling stage was T20 > T30 > T25 > T15 > T10 > T5, but TP contents of
T20, T15, and T30 at harvest stage were distinctly higher than those of T10 and T15 (P < 0.05),
and the lowest was T5. TP contents of T20 and T25 in underground part of seedling stage were
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visibly higher than those of T30, T15, T10, and T5, while TP contents of T20 and T15 during the
harvest period were clearly higher than those of T10, T30, T5, and T25. In the above ground of
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seedling stage, TK content of T20 was evidently higher than those of T15 and T25 (P < 0.05), and
there was no significant difference among T10, T5, T30, and CK, but at the harvest stage, TK
content of T20 was markedly higher than that of T15, while TK content ofT15 was remarkably
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higher than those of T10, T5, T25, and T30. The sequence of TK content in underground part of
seedling and harvest was T20 > T25 > T15 > T30 > T10 > T5.
3.4. Principal component analysis
According to the principal component analysis of soil factors shown in Table 1, the four
factors of soil CEC, pH, salinity, and organic matter explained 94.20% of the change of soil
physical and chemical properties and the order of influence was CEC > pH > salinity > organic
matter. These four factors were the main environmental factors of changing soil physical and
chemical properties.
3.5. Yields of corn
Compared with the control, the corn yields of treatments increased significantly with the
addition of corn straw biochar except T5 (P < 0.05) (Table 2). Corn yields of treatments increased
from 5.04 ton ha−1 to 7.84 ton ha−1, of which corn yield of T20 increased the most, 50.09% more
than that of CK. Except that tassel weight and hundred-grain weight of T5 slightly were lower
than those of CK, tassel weight and hundred-grain weight of the other treatments were higher than
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those of CK, of which tassel weight increased from 93.24 g to 139.94 g, and hundred-grain weight
increased from 24.16 g to 28.89 g. The order of tassel weight and corn yield of treatment group
and control group was T20 > T25 > T15 > T30 > T10 > CK > T5, and the order of hundred-grain
weight was T20 > T25 > T15 > T10 > T30 > CK > T5.

4. Discussion
4.1. Soil function
Soil salinity and alkalinity of soda saline-alkali soil leads to nutrient deficiency, which greatly
reduces plant growth. Its salinity is mainly caused by NaHCO3 and Na2CO3 as well as a small
amount of sulfate and chloride. The results obtained in the present study indicated that
applications of corn straw biochar could mitigate part of the negative effects on corn. Through
principal component analysis, we found that the main factors affecting the saline alkali soil were
CEC, pH, salt content, and organic matter, e.g., the improvement of saline alkali soil by biochar

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had significant effects on the above four factors (Mahmoud et al. 2009; Lehmann et al. 2011;
Saifulah et al. 2018). Our result showed increases in CEC and organic matter, while decreases in

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pH, salt content, and Na+ concentration of 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm saline-alkali soil layers in the
seedling and harvest period following biochar incorporation. Biochar added to soil could produce
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positive and negative charges, reduce nutrient loss, increase CEC and nutrients in soil (Cao et al.
2010; Major et al. 2010), enhance soil buffer capacity, thus decrease the pH of saline alkali soil
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(Lehmann et al. 2011). Also acid functional groups released during the oxidation process of
biochar could be responsible for the pH decrease in soil (Zhang et al. 2012).
Additionally, since biochar has porous nature, high surface area per and strong adsorption
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capacity of hydroxyl groups, application of biochar could increase the leaching of salt and sodium
(Lakhdar et al. 2009) and the exchange point of soil colloids (Laird et al. 2010), or directly adsorb
Na+. And Na+ on these soil exchange sites could be replaced by divalent cations rich in biochar
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(Tsai et al. 2012）to promote soil flocculation and increase permeability. Moreover, biochar could
absorb the organic molecules in the soil, promote the polymerization of small organic molecules,
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and form organic matter through surface catalytic activity, and the extremely slow decomposition
of biochar helped to hold organic matter and promote the long-term fertility of the soil (Yuan et al.
2019). Soil organic matter contributed about 20%-70% to the CEC of many soils (Amlinger et al.
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2007) due to its high adsorption capacity, which caused a certain buffer effect, delayed the return
of salt to soil, neutralized soil alkalinity, improved soil nutrients, and promoted CEC increase.
In our experiment, increasing biochar addition markedly increased N, P, K, Ca2+, and Mg2+ of
0-20 cm and 20-40 cm saline-alkali soil layers in the seedling and harvest period compared to CK
treatment. Biochar rich in nutrients added to a saline-alkali soil could be as a source of Ca2+ and
Mg2+ to aid in its remediation , increase aggregate stability and hydraulic conductivity, raise soil
cushioning, improve soil structure and nutrients, and potentially might enhance salt leaching,
which helped in saline-alkali soil reclamation (Major et al. 2010; Chaganti et al. 2015; Mahmoud
et al. 2017). Also application of biochar in different soil depths effectively increased TN between
soil layers, soil nitrogen and other fertility of maize seedlings (Liu et al. 2011; Zhang et al. 2012).
This was consistent with our research. Moreover, addition of biochar activated the oxidation of
volatile matter and surface functional groups in the initial stage, and then passivated biochar
interacted with the soil to produce a protective matrix, thereby enhancing the ability of soil to
absorb nitrogen and other nutrients (Singh et al. 2010; Zhang et al. 2012).
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4.2. Corn nutrients availability and yield

The effect of biochar on the plant growth is primarily related to various factors such as
biochar type, biochar dosage rate, mixing depth, availability of nutrients, plant species and soil
texture (Zhang et al. 2017; O'Connor et al. 2018). Due to the high salt concentration, pH, ionic
toxicity, and alkalinity of soda saline-alkali soil leading to the excessive absorption of sodium,
increased osmotic pressure, and the destruction of water homeostasis in crops, thus normal
nutrient balance of crops was destroyed and the growth of crops was inhibited. In this study, of in
the seedling and harvest period, biochar application increased concentrations of TN, TP, TK, Ca2+,
and Mg2+ absorbed by the above ground and underground parts of corn, decreased Na+ absorption,
reduced toxicity of salt-based ions, which might raise the growth of corn. Apart from being a
carbon rich product, biochar can improve plant growth and yield by acting as a direct source of
nutrients or altering nutrient availability through cation exchange, surface interactions，and water
availability processes (Major et al. 2010; Mavi et al. 2018). In addition, biochar could promote the

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increase of soil saturation and increase the utilization of basic elements such as magnesium and
calcium.This may be the reason for the increase of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in our experiment.

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Likewise, the potential for biochar to trap nutrients via CEC is also an important
consideration. It has been reported that biochar increased the availability of K via the improved
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CEC (Gul and Whalen 2016), and other essential nutrients in soil, which were conductive to the
plant growth. Many studies showed that biochar could be employed for supplying high amounts of
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available K to plants, as well as Ca, Mg, and so on (Major et al. 2010; Xu et al. 2013). On the one
hand, the porous structure of biochar could not only reduce water permeability, but also easily
absorb filtered nutrients, and release nutrients in soil slowly, thus increasing nutrients of crops. On
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the other hand, the increase of soil porosity and the growth of plant roots caused by the pore
structure of biochar contributed to the absorption of nutrients and water in maize, thereby
improving maize yields. In this experiment, when biochar was applied at the rate of 20 ton ha−1,
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corn yields were increased by 50% .

The results obtained on the duality effect of biochar on NPK uptake (Gunes et al. 2014; Inal
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et al. 2015) were consistent with those in this experiment, e.g., NPK concentrations of maize
plants were increased by biochar application, where the greatest application rate of biochar at 20
ton ha−1 gave the largest NPK concentrations in maize plants, but more than 20 ton ha−1, NPK
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concentrations of maize decreased. Besides, no matter whether biochar was added or not, pH, salt
content, Na+ concentration and nutrients of soil and corn at seedling stage were higher than those
at harvest stage, indicating that planting maize could reduce salinity and alkalinity of saline-alkali
soil and maize may be suitable for planting in soda saline-alkali land.
4.3. Optimal application of biochar
Corn productivity in saline–alkali soil can be recovered through the application of biochar
due to the restorative effect of biochar on the physical, chemical and biological conditions of these
soils, in this way the corn could be cultivated in soils characterized by excess saline and alkali
problems. The results obtained on the effect of biochar on corn yield and soil nutrients in our
experiment were consistent with those previously reported by many authors, e.g., Major et al.
(2010) found that corn yield of the application rate of 20 ton ha−1 was significantly increased by
more than 140% compared with the control group and Novak et al. (2009) found that when the
application rate of biochar reached 20 ton ha−1, the Ca, Mg, and other trace elements in soil were
increased.
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However, it was also found in the present study that when application rate of biochar
exceeded 20 ton ha−1, pH, salt content and Na+ concentration were gradually raised, nutrient
contents gradually decreased, and corn yields were also reduced. This might be attributable to the
application rate of biochar over 20 ton ha−1, the salt contents of biochar were increased gradually,
salt accumulation effect of biochar itself was greater than its improvement effect on saline soil
(Jalali and Ranjbar 2009). Another reason was that corn straw biochar is alkaline, when too much
corn straw biochar was used, alkalinity of biochar itself was higher than that of saline alkali soil,
which reduced the effect of biochar decreasing alkalinity of saline-alkali soil. Nevertheless,
when application rate of biochar was 20 ton ha−1, the lowest pH and salt content in soil, the most
increased organic matter, CEC, and nutrients, and the least Na+ concentration aimed to the highest
maize yields. Therefore, the best application rate of biochar was 20 ton ha−1, which contributed to
the best improvement for soda saline-alkali land.

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5. Conclusion
Through long-term location experiment, it was found that in 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm

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saline-alkali soil layers of seedling and harvest period, the application of biochar markedly
reduced pH, salt contents, and Na+ concentrations and remarkably increased the concentrations of
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organic matter, CEC, available N, available P, available K, TN, TP, TK, Ca2+, and Mg2+ compare
to CK. In the above ground and underground parts of corn of seedling and harvest period, TN, TP,
TK, Ca2+, and Mg2+ concentrations were raised, and Na+ concentration was decreased. The effect
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of T20 was the most significant in all treatments. Through principal component analysis, CEC, pH,
salinity, and organic matter could be used as indicators to evaluate the improvement effect of
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biochar on soda saline-alkali land. Whether the application of biochar or not, pH, salt content, Na+ ,
and nutrients concentrations of soil and corn at seedling stage were higher than those at harvest
stage, indicating that corn could improve saline-alkali soil in the growing season. Decreases in the
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salt and Na+ in the soil treated by biochars are important for sustainable good soil properties,
which encouraged the water to flow down and leaching the salt out of the root zone as a main step
of salt affected soil reclamation. The best application rate was 20 ton ha−1. These findings help us
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better understand how biochar affect the soil nutrients in a saline-alkali soil and contribute to the
improvement of soil quality as well as to the efficient utilization of soil resources in soda
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saline-alkali areas. Collectively, the effects of biochar on soil nutrients and corn yields are crucial
for developing more sustainable practices and should be recommended to farmers in the western
Songnen Plain.

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Acknowledge

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We are grateful for the support of the Spark Program planned by the National Government
(No.S2015B200018). We are once again grateful for the support of the straw carbonization

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ecological engineering technology research and development project planned by the Municipal
Science and Technology Bureau (No.2017RAXXJ023). -p
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Fig. 1 CEC, pH, salinity, and organic matter in soil under different corn straw biochar treatments at a depth of
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0-20 cm and 20-40 cm in the seedling and harvest period a. CEC b. pH c. salinity d. organic matter
The lowercase letters represent the differences under different corn straw biochar treatments (P < 0.05). Capital letters indicate the

differences between the seedling and harvest period under the same corn sover biochar treatment (P < 0.05).
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Fig. 2 NPK nutrient and Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+ concentrations in soil under different corn straw biochar
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treatments at a depth of 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm in the seedling and harvest period a. available N b. available P c.
available K d.TN e. TP f.TK g. Ca2+ h. Mg2+ i. Na+
The lowercase letters represent the differences under different corn straw biochar treatments (P < 0.05). Capital letters represent the
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differences between the seedling and harvest period under the same corn straw biochar treatment (P < 0.05).

Fig. 3 Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, TN, TP, and TK in above ground and underground parts of corn under different corn
straw biochar treatments in the seedling and harvest period a. Na+ b. Ca2+ c. Mg2+ d.TN e.TP f.TK
The lowercase letters represent the differences under different corn straw biochar treatments (P < 0.05). Capital letters indicate the

differences between the seedling and harvest period under the same corn straw biochar treatment (P < 0.05).

Table 1 Principal component analysis of soil factors

Initial eigenvalue Extracting the sum of squared loads
Ingredient Percentage of Accumulation Percentage Accumulation Score
Total Total
variance % of variance %
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CEC 10.274 79.032 79.032 10.274 79.032 79.032 0.946

pH 0.916 7.043 86.075 -0.922
Soil salinity 0.585 4.502 90.576 -0.862
organic matter 0.47 3.615 94.191 0.876
available K 0.227 1.746 95.937 0.848
available P 0.191 1.471 97.408 0.67
available N 0.128 0.987 98.395 0.971
TP 0.1 0.773 99.168 0.884
TN 0.068 0.526 99.695 0.973
+
Na 0.019 0.144 99.839 -0.883
TK 0.012 0.096 99.935 0.861
Mg2+ 0.008 0.065 100 0.918

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2+
Ca 0.005 0.062 100 0.903

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Table 2 Corn yield under different corn straw biochar treatments
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hundred-grain weight
Groups Tassel weight（g） Yield（ton ha−1）
（g）
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CK 93.24±2.96d 24.16±0.15bc 5.22±0.17d
T5 90.05±3.89d 23.34±1.06d 5.04±0.22d
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T10 110.15±3.66c 25.84±0.39b 6.17±0.20c

T15 126.38±3.75b 27.9±1.23a 7.08±0.21b
T20 139.94±4.62a 28.89±1.32a 7.84±0.26a
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T25 127.21±1.34b 28.13±1.05a 7.12±0.08b

T30 115.32±1.28c 24.9±1.35bc 6.46±0.07c

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The lowercase letters represent the differences under different corn straw biochar treatments (P < 0.05) in Table 2.
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Highlights
1. We established a biochar-soda alkali soil-corn system model and comprehensively analyzed that
biochar improved the soil function, nutrients availability of corn, and corn yields through two
periods, two soil layers, and above ground and underground parts of plants.
2. Maize can reduce salinity and alkalinity of soda saline-alkaline soil in the growing season.
3. CEC, pH, salinity and organic matter can be used as indicators to evaluate the improvement
effect of soda saline alkali land.
4. The best application rate of corn straw biochar was 20 ton ha−1.

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Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3