Soil organic carbon content affects the stability of biochar in paddy soil

• Rice straw biochar addition decreased total carbon mineralization in paddy soils.
• Rice staw biochar carbon cumulative mineralization rates were relatively low in paddy soils.
• Mean residence time of stable carbon components of rice straw biochar were 617–2829 years.
• Rice straw biochar carbon stability was significantly impact by native soil total organic carbon content.

Recalcitrant biochar application appears to be a promising method to decelerate global warming through increasing long-term carbon sequestration in soil. Stability of biochar carbon (C), which is the major determining factor of C sequestration effect, depends mainly on biochar physiochemical characteristics and soil properties. However, little is known about biochar C stability in paddy soil. In this study, 13C labeled rice straw (RS) biochar produced at 500 °C was incubated with five types of paddy soils to determine the key soil characteristics involved in biochar-C stability. Results showed that cumulative mineralization rates of RS biochar-C incubated with different paddy soils were relatively low (0.17–0.28%) during 390 days of incubation. The cumulative mineralization rates of RS biochar-C increased with the increasing native soil total organic carbon (TOC) content. The estimated mean residence time (MRT) of stable C components of RS biochar in paddy soil, varying from 617 to 2829 years, decreased with the increase of soil TOC content. In addition, greater atomic O/C ratio and oxygen-containing functional groups were observed in biochar samples incubated in paddy soils with higher TOC content. These results suggest that RS biochar application could be an effective method for C sequestration in paddy soil. However, the stability of RS biochar in paddy soil would be significantly impacted by soil TOC content. From the perspective of long-term C sequestration, RS biochar is more suitable for applying in paddy soils with lower TOC content.

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