Paper · 2022 · Microorganisms

Influence of Biochar on Soil Nutrients and Associated Rhizobacterial Communities of Mountainous Apple Trees in Northern Loess Plateau China

Rafiq Ahmad; Jianen Gao; Zhe Gao; et al.

20
claims
39
verbatim quotes
21
citations
4
research areas
✓
Open access · cc-by

Abstract

Biochar application can enhance soil health and alter soil bacterial community structure. However, knowledge relating to biochar on soil nutrients of mountainous apple orchards and then assessing its effect on soil health, especially on soil microorganisms, is still scanty. Therefore, we evaluated the responses of six biochar treatments [Ck (0), T1 (2), T2 (4), T3 (6), T4 (8), and T5 (10) Mg hm−2] with a basal dose of chemical fertilizer on the soil nutrients under potted apple trees across 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, and then investigated the responses of the rhizobacterial communities. Experimental findings demonstrated that: (i) Across the months, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) compared to the control significantly enhanced soil nutrients, including soil pH (2.12 to 2.29%), soil organic matter (35 to 40%), total nitrogen (59 to 65%), ammonium nitrogen (25 to 33%), nitrate nitrogen (163 to 169%), and the activities of urease (76 to 81%), alkaline phosphatase (30 to 33%), catalase (8.89 to 11.70%), and sucrase (23 to 29%). (ii) Compared to the control, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) had a more desirable relative abundance of the bacterial phylum Proteobacteria (35.47%), followed by Actinobacteria (8.59%), Firmicutes (5.74%), and Bacteroidota (2.77%). Similarly, the relative abundance of the bacterial genera in the T5 was Sphingomonas (8.23%) followed by RB41 (3.81%), Ellin6055 (3.42%), Lachnospiracea (1.61%), Bacillus (1.43%), Kineosporia (1.37%), Massilia (0.84%), and Odoribacter (0.34%) than the control. (iii) Among the alpha diversity, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) revealed the highest Chao1 (20%) and ACE (19.23%) indexes, while Shannon (1.63%) and Simpson (1.02%) had relatively lower indexes than the control. Furthermore, positive correlations were found between the soil nutrients and some of the abundant bacterial phyla. Overall, the findings of this research demonstrated that biochar application at 10 Mg hm−2 (T5) along with the required chemical fertilizer is beneficial to improve soil health and pave the way for sustainable production in apple orchards of the northern loess plateau.

Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by. Read at the source ↗

The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.

Claims 20

Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 enhanced soil pH by 2.12 to 2.29% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
soil pHe0
Direction
enhancede0
Value
2.12 to 2.29%e0
Qualifier
Across the monthse0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Across the months, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) compared to the control significantly enhanced soil nutrients, including soil pH (2.12 to 2.29%), soil organic matter (35 to 40%), total nitrogen (59 to 65%), ammonium nitrogen (25 to 33%), nitrate nitrogen (163 to 169%), and the activities of urease (76 to 81%), alkaline phosphatase (30 to 33%), catalase (8.89 to 11.70%), and sucrase (23 to 29%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 636–1039 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 enhanced soil organic matter by 35 to 40% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
soil organic mattere0
Direction
enhancede0
Value
35 to 40%e0
Qualifier
Across the monthse0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Across the months, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) compared to the control significantly enhanced soil nutrients, including soil pH (2.12 to 2.29%), soil organic matter (35 to 40%), total nitrogen (59 to 65%), ammonium nitrogen (25 to 33%), nitrate nitrogen (163 to 169%), and the activities of urease (76 to 81%), alkaline phosphatase (30 to 33%), catalase (8.89 to 11.70%), and sucrase (23 to 29%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 636–1039 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 enhanced total nitrogen by 59 to 65% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
total nitrogene0
Direction
enhancede0
Value
59 to 65%e0
Qualifier
Across the monthse0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Across the months, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) compared to the control significantly enhanced soil nutrients, including soil pH (2.12 to 2.29%), soil organic matter (35 to 40%), total nitrogen (59 to 65%), ammonium nitrogen (25 to 33%), nitrate nitrogen (163 to 169%), and the activities of urease (76 to 81%), alkaline phosphatase (30 to 33%), catalase (8.89 to 11.70%), and sucrase (23 to 29%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 636–1039 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 enhanced ammonium nitrogen by 25 to 33% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
ammonium nitrogene0
Direction
enhancede0
Value
25 to 33%e0
Qualifier
Across the monthse0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Across the months, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) compared to the control significantly enhanced soil nutrients, including soil pH (2.12 to 2.29%), soil organic matter (35 to 40%), total nitrogen (59 to 65%), ammonium nitrogen (25 to 33%), nitrate nitrogen (163 to 169%), and the activities of urease (76 to 81%), alkaline phosphatase (30 to 33%), catalase (8.89 to 11.70%), and sucrase (23 to 29%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 636–1039 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 enhanced nitrate nitrogen by 163 to 169% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
nitrate nitrogene0
Direction
enhancede0
Value
163 to 169%e0
Qualifier
Across the monthse0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Across the months, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) compared to the control significantly enhanced soil nutrients, including soil pH (2.12 to 2.29%), soil organic matter (35 to 40%), total nitrogen (59 to 65%), ammonium nitrogen (25 to 33%), nitrate nitrogen (163 to 169%), and the activities of urease (76 to 81%), alkaline phosphatase (30 to 33%), catalase (8.89 to 11.70%), and sucrase (23 to 29%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 636–1039 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 enhanced urease by 76 to 81% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
ureasee0
Direction
enhancede0
Value
76 to 81%e0
Qualifier
Across the monthse0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Across the months, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) compared to the control significantly enhanced soil nutrients, including soil pH (2.12 to 2.29%), soil organic matter (35 to 40%), total nitrogen (59 to 65%), ammonium nitrogen (25 to 33%), nitrate nitrogen (163 to 169%), and the activities of urease (76 to 81%), alkaline phosphatase (30 to 33%), catalase (8.89 to 11.70%), and sucrase (23 to 29%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 636–1039 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 enhanced alkaline phosphatase by 30 to 33% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
alkaline phosphatasee0
Direction
enhancede0
Value
30 to 33%e0
Qualifier
Across the monthse0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Across the months, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) compared to the control significantly enhanced soil nutrients, including soil pH (2.12 to 2.29%), soil organic matter (35 to 40%), total nitrogen (59 to 65%), ammonium nitrogen (25 to 33%), nitrate nitrogen (163 to 169%), and the activities of urease (76 to 81%), alkaline phosphatase (30 to 33%), catalase (8.89 to 11.70%), and sucrase (23 to 29%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 636–1039 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 enhanced catalase by 8.89 to 11.70% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
catalasee0
Direction
enhancede0
Value
8.89 to 11.70%e0
Qualifier
Across the monthse0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Across the months, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) compared to the control significantly enhanced soil nutrients, including soil pH (2.12 to 2.29%), soil organic matter (35 to 40%), total nitrogen (59 to 65%), ammonium nitrogen (25 to 33%), nitrate nitrogen (163 to 169%), and the activities of urease (76 to 81%), alkaline phosphatase (30 to 33%), catalase (8.89 to 11.70%), and sucrase (23 to 29%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 636–1039 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivesignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 enhanced sucrase by 23 to 29% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
sucrasee0
Direction
enhancede0
Value
23 to 29%e0
Qualifier
Across the monthse0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Across the months, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) compared to the control significantly enhanced soil nutrients, including soil pH (2.12 to 2.29%), soil organic matter (35 to 40%), total nitrogen (59 to 65%), ammonium nitrogen (25 to 33%), nitrate nitrogen (163 to 169%), and the activities of urease (76 to 81%), alkaline phosphatase (30 to 33%), catalase (8.89 to 11.70%), and sucrase (23 to 29%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 636–1039 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 had Proteobacteria relative abundance of 35.47% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Interactor
ProteobacteriaPseudomonadotae0symbiont
Outcome
relative abundancee0
Direction
more desirablee0
Value
35.47%e0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Compared to the control, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) had a more desirable relative abundance of the bacterial phylum Proteobacteria (35.47%), followed by Actinobacteria (8.59%), Firmicutes (5.74%), and Bacteroidota (2.77%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1045–1275 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 had Actinobacteria relative abundance of 8.59% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Interactor
ActinobacteriaActinomycetotae0symbiont
Outcome
relative abundancee0
Direction
more desirablee0
Value
8.59%e0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Compared to the control, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) had a more desirable relative abundance of the bacterial phylum Proteobacteria (35.47%), followed by Actinobacteria (8.59%), Firmicutes (5.74%), and Bacteroidota (2.77%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1045–1275 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 had Firmicutes relative abundance of 5.74% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Interactor
FirmicutesBacillotae0symbiont
Outcome
relative abundancee0
Direction
more desirablee0
Value
5.74%e0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Compared to the control, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) had a more desirable relative abundance of the bacterial phylum Proteobacteria (35.47%), followed by Actinobacteria (8.59%), Firmicutes (5.74%), and Bacteroidota (2.77%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1045–1275 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 had Bacteroidota relative abundance of 2.77% compared with control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Interactor
BacteroidotaBacteroidotae0symbiont
Outcome
relative abundancee0
Direction
more desirablee0
Value
2.77%e0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Compared to the control, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) had a more desirable relative abundance of the bacterial phylum Proteobacteria (35.47%), followed by Actinobacteria (8.59%), Firmicutes (5.74%), and Bacteroidota (2.77%).”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1045–1275 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 had Chao1 index of 20% relative to control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
Chao1e0
Direction
higheste0
Value
20%e0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Among the alpha diversity, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) revealed the highest Chao1 (20%) and ACE (19.23%) indexes, while Shannon (1.63%) and Simpson (1.02%) had relatively lower indexes than the control.”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1543–1752 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultpositivemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 had ACE index of 19.23% relative to control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
ACEe0
Direction
higheste0
Value
19.23%e0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Among the alpha diversity, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) revealed the highest Chao1 (20%) and ACE (19.23%) indexes, while Shannon (1.63%) and Simpson (1.02%) had relatively lower indexes than the control.”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1543–1752 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultnegativemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 had Shannon index of 1.63% relative to control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
Shannone0
Direction
lowere0
Value
1.63%e0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Among the alpha diversity, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) revealed the highest Chao1 (20%) and ACE (19.23%) indexes, while Shannon (1.63%) and Simpson (1.02%) had relatively lower indexes than the control.”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1543–1752 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultnegativemeasured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 had Simpson index of 1.02% relative to control.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
biochar-applied treatment (T5)e0
Outcome
Simpsone0
Direction
lowere0
Value
1.02%e0
Comparator
controle0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Among the alpha diversity, the biochar-applied treatment (T5) revealed the highest Chao1 (20%) and ACE (19.23%) indexes, while Shannon (1.63%) and Simpson (1.02%) had relatively lower indexes than the control.”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1543–1752 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Associationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Soil nutrients correlated positively with abundant bacterial phyla.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Interactor
bacterial phylae0symbiont
Outcome
soil nutrientse0
Direction
positive correlationse0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“positive correlations were found between the soil nutrients and some of the abundant bacterial phyla”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1766–1866 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑
Recommendationauthor interpretationoriginal resultbasis n/a

Claim · model-written summary

The authors favor biochar at 10 Mg hm−2 with chemical fertilizer for orchard soil health.

Treatment
biochar application at 10 Mg hm−2 (T5)e0
Outcome
improve soil healthe0
Setting
northern loess plateaue0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“biochar application at 10 Mg hm−2 (T5) along with the required chemical fertilizer is beneficial to improve soil health and pave the way for sustainable production in apple orchards of the northern loess plateau”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1925–2136 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

T5 had Sphingomonas relative abundance of 8.23%.

Taxon
Apple TreesMalus domesticat0
Treatment
T5e0
Interactor
SphingomonasSphingomonase0symbiont
Outcome
relative abundancee0
Value
8.23%e0
Comparator
controle0

Not reportedDirection

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Malus domestica
Malus domestica · TaxonW.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗
Sphingomonas
Sphingomonas · Interactor · picture of the genus (one of its species)Alan Rockefeller · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“the relative abundance of the bacterial genera in the T5 was Sphingomonas (8.23%) followed by RB41 (3.81%), Ellin6055 (3.42%), Lachnospiracea (1.61%), Bacillus (1.43%), Kineosporia (1.37%), Massilia (0.84%), and Odoribacter (0.34%) than the control”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1287–1535 · show in text ↑
t0

“Apple Trees”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 96–107 · show in text ↑

biochar · soil: chemistry · Malus domestica (apple)Results agree

2 papers: 2 positive, 0 negative or no effect

1 paper in the same direction as this paper

  1. positive
See all 2 papers →

biochar · nutrient: content · Malus domestica (apple)Results agree

2 papers: 2 positive, 0 negative or no effect

1 paper in the same direction as this paper

  1. positive
See all 2 papers →

biochar · physiology: antioxidant enzymes · Malus domestica (apple)Results agree

3 papers: 3 positive, 0 negative or no effect

2 papers in the same direction as this paper

  1. positive
  2. positive
See all 3 papers →

Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.