Effects of Biochar and Cover Crops On Nitrogen Leaching and Soil Physical Properties in a Central Wisconsin Soil.

Current agricultural practices performed across the U.S, degrade soils and contaminate ground water. A greenhouse experiment concerned with these issues, specifically nitrogen leaching and improving degraded soils was conducted by planting corn plants in a Rosholt loam. This experiment involved 4 treatments: the addition of biochar to soil (at ~6% mass), planting a rye cover crop, the combination of these two, and a control.   The objective of the experiment was to determine the effect of a rye cover crop and biochar (as well as the combination) on nitrogen leaching, soil carbon and nitrogen content, and soil physical properties (bulk density, water holding capacity, and hydraulic conductivity). In addition to the above, we investigated the effect of the treatments on the microbial community. Biochar and cover crops together support a greater amount of microbes by providing habitats, therefore, the soil will be more fertile.  Preliminary tests have shown that there is a higher water holding capacity in soil that was treated with biochar. The germination rate of the corn plants was lower in soil that contained biochar.  The first leaching event indicated that soil treated with biochar had a higher amount of Nitrogen leaching. Soil and plant tissue will be analyzed for Total Nitrogen, Carbon and Nitrate. These results will help us learn how to improve our agricultural practices and soils and make our farming systems more capable of the sustained production of healthier crops.

Note- Further tests are being conducted and that information will be added to this abstract.