Can hydrochar and pyrochar affect nitrogen uptake and biomass allocation in poplars?

Abstract

Abstract Positive effects of pyrochar on soil nutrient availability and plant growth are widely reported in literature. However, few studies have reported effects of hydrochars on plant nutrition. A pot trial was conducted over a period of 2 years to investigate the effect of a pyrochar (AGT) and a hydrochar (HTC) on poplar ( Populus × generosa , clone AF8) growth, biomass allocation and nitrogen (N) uptake with special emphasis on the quantification (using an isotopic mass balance approach) of char‐derived nitrogen (CDN) absorbed by plants. We found that both pyrochar and hydrochar positively affected above‐ground biomass productivity in the first year, and biomass and nitrogen (N) allocation over the 2 years by reducing the allocation of resources to fine roots. By the end of the experiment, even though the total N uptake was not affected by char, the CDN was more than 24% of the total N absorbed by HTC‐treated plants compared to a negligible amount absorbed by AGT‐treated ones. Finally, char did not affect nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in the first year of growth, but by the end of the experiment, NUE was higher in the above‐ground biomass of HTC‐treated than in AGT‐ and control poplars.