Role of charcoal addition on infiltration processes and soil water content characteristics of a candy loam soil

Journal
CIGR Journal  
Volume
19
Issue
1
Start Page
9
End Page
15
Citation
Agricultural Engineering International: CIGR Journal 1 (19): 9-15 (2017)
Publisher
CIGR
Terra preta (TP) is a soil amendment which is enriched with powdered charcoal, with nutrient sources from organic residues, and that constitutes a resource to improve soils for sustainable land use systems (Glaser, 2007). Terra preta-dark soil is inspired by the highly successful historic practice of soil building in the Amazon and other parts of the world. This work involves a relatively unexplored topic: the comprehension of infiltration processes and soil water content characteristics in a sandy loam soil combined with different fractions of terra preta amendments. This analysis contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between fractions of charcoal in terms of terra preta content and soil water holding capacity. First, a physical and hydraulic characterization was performed on soil samples with different charcoal content. Then, they were exposed to a rain simulation experiment under controlled conditions. A descriptive statistical analysis was applied for a quantitative evaluation of the results. It was found that as the fraction of terra preta increased, infiltration and percolation rates decreased, but water holding capacity increased. This can influence water ponding at the surface, leading to runoff formation. However, the effect on water holding capacity is an opportunity, integrated to other sustainable practices, to overcome drought effects and reduce the need for irrigation.
Subjects
Charcoal
Infiltration
Sandy loam
Sustainable farming
Terra preta
Water holding capacity
DDC Class
500: Naturwissenschaften
More Funding Information
This work received funding from the IPSWaT Program supported by the Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) of Germany.