Abstract
The 'biochar effect' depicts a phenomenon in which biochar soil amendment enhances plant performance by promoting growth and suppressing disease. Although this phenomenon has been observed in numerous studies, the mode of action that explains it is currently unknown. In order to elucidate mechanisms responsible for the 'biochar effect', we comprehensively monitored tomato plant development and resistance to the foliar fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea, in biochar-amended and nonamended soils using native biochar and washed biochar, striped of labile chemical constituents. We concomitantly assessed bacterial community succession in the rhizosphere by high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and carbon-source utilization profiling. Biochar had little impact on plant physiological parameters. However, both native and washed biochar treatments were characterized by higher rhizosphere bacterial diversity and enhanced carbohydrate and phenolic compound utilization rates coupled to stimulation of bacteria known to degrade phenolic compounds. This study indicates that the 'biochar effect' is at least partially dictated by increased diversity and changes in metabolic potential in the rhizosphere microbiome, which is primarily triggered by the recalcitrant carbon backbone of the biochar and tightly bound compounds. It corresponds to the growing consensus that soil amendments which enhance microbial diversity have important benefits to ecosystem functioning.
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Claims 4
Claim · model-written summary
Biochar had little impact on tomato physiological parameters.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicume1 - Treatment
- Biochare0
- Outcome
- plant physiological parameterse0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Biochar had little impact on plant physiological parameters”
e1“tomato plant development”
Claim · model-written summary
Native and washed biochar increased rhizosphere bacterial diversity.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- native and washed biochar treatmentse0
- Outcome
- rhizosphere bacterial diversitye0
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“both native and washed biochar treatments were characterized by higher rhizosphere bacterial diversity”
e1“tomato plant development”
Claim · model-written summary
Native and washed biochar enhanced rhizosphere carbohydrate and phenolic compound utilization rates.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- native and washed biochar treatmentse0
- Outcome
- carbohydrate and phenolic compound utilization ratese0
- Direction
- enhancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“both native and washed biochar treatments were characterized by higher rhizosphere bacterial diversity and enhanced carbohydrate and phenolic compound utilization rates”
e1“tomato plant development”
Claim · model-written summary
Native and washed biochar stimulated bacteria known to degrade phenolic compounds.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume1
- Treatment
- native and washed biochar treatmentse0
- Outcome
- bacteria known to degrade phenolic compoundse0
- Direction
- stimulatione0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“both native and washed biochar treatments were characterized by higher rhizosphere bacterial diversity and enhanced carbohydrate and phenolic compound utilization rates coupled to stimulation of bacteria known to degrade phenolic compounds”
e1“tomato plant development”
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