ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Toxicology, Pollution and the Environment
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1663371
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Soil Pollution Research: Risk Assessment and Ecosystems ManagementView all 13 articles
Effects of Biochar on Phosphorus Fraction, Phosphatase Activity, and Phosphorus-Solubilizing Bacterial Abundance: A Phosphorus-depleted Biochar Design
Provisionally accepted
- 1Zhongbei College, Nanjing Normal University, Zhenjiang, China
- 2School of Environment, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
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Purpose Biochar application is considered a promising strategy for mitigating agricultural phosphorus shortages. However, it remains uncertain whether biochar enhances soil phosphorus availability for crops beyond functioning as an external phosphorus source. Additionally, the role of phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) in phosphorus transformation during biochar amendment is poorly understood, including whether PSB exert net positive or negative effects. Methods Four different soils were incubated with or without phosphorus-depleted biochar (PDB), followed by Hedley phosphorus fractionation and leaching column experiments. Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing targeting the phoD gene analyzed PSB diversity and community structure. Soil phosphatase activity and related properties were quantified. Re-sults Hedley fractionation revealed that PDB application reduced labile phosphorus while increasing HCl-extractable and residual phosphorus across all soils. Leaching experiments confirmed PDB reduced inorganic and total phosphorus leaching in all soil types. Acid phosphatase activity was inhibited by PDB in upland soils (peach orchard, tea plantation, vegetable field). phoD-based sequencing indicated in-creased relative abundance of dominant PSB genera in upland soils but decreased abundance in paddy soils under PDB treatment. PDB did not significantly alter PSB diversity. Conclusion Phosphorus-de-pleted biochar reduces potentially available phosphorus fractions and mitigates phosphorus leaching, supporting aquatic ecosystem protection. However, it does not enhance short-term soil phosphorus fertility efficiency in agricultural systems. Both the mechanisms underlying PSB abundance shifts after biochar application and how plants respond to the altered P-fractions require further investigation.
Keywords: biochar amendment, Phosphorus loss, phosphorus fractionation, Phosphatase activity, Phosphorus-solubilizing microorganisms
Received: 10 Jul 2025; Accepted: 16 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qin, Huan, Cui, Zhou, Wang, Liu, Xing and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hongyi Qin, qinhongyii@163.com
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