Effects of biochar-based fertilizers on nutrient leaching in a tobacco-planting soil

Biochar is a soil amendment for increasing soil quality and decreasing nutrient leaching. However, there is little information on the impact of biochar-based fertilizer（BF） on soil nutrient leaching in agricultural soils. We conducted a soil column leaching experiment to study the effects of BF on the leaching of total nitrogen（TN）, total phosphorus, and total potassium（TK） in tobacco soils. The distribution characteristics of NH;-N, available P, and available K in soil profiles were analyzed after the application of BF. Biochar was prepared by pyrolysis of fluecured tobacco stems. It was applied at four levels, 0%, 3%,9%, and 15%（w/w）, respectively, to the compound fertilizer. Compared with the control, the leaching loss of soil TN decreased by 8.36%, 6.72%, and 6.45%, and the loss of soil TK decreased by 9.18%, 9.31% and 11.82% in the 3%,9%, and 15% BF treatments, respectively. However, BF had no significant effect on the P leaching due to the low movement of P in the soil profile. In addition, the BF addition increased the immobilization of NH;-N, available P, and available K in the soil profile. These results indicate that addition of BF to a tobacco-planting soil reduced nutrient leaching, and suggest that BF could be an effective method of applying biochar to agriculture fields.