Hydraulic characteristics and vegetation performance of the Yellow River sediment modified by biochar

The Yellow River sediment (YRS) is an important potential soil resource for the mine land reclamation and ecological restoration in the arid regions of northern China. However, it has the shortcomings of poor water-holding capacity and needs to be modified urgently. Therefore, two types of biochar,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Baoyong Liu, Mingji Liao, Yong Wan, Xingxing He, Dongli Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2024-06-01
Series:Biogeotechnics
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949929124000020
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849690583566647296
author Baoyong Liu
Mingji Liao
Yong Wan
Xingxing He
Dongli Wang
author_facet Baoyong Liu
Mingji Liao
Yong Wan
Xingxing He
Dongli Wang
author_sort Baoyong Liu
collection DOAJ
description The Yellow River sediment (YRS) is an important potential soil resource for the mine land reclamation and ecological restoration in the arid regions of northern China. However, it has the shortcomings of poor water-holding capacity and needs to be modified urgently. Therefore, two types of biochar, namely rice husk biochar (RHB) and coconut shell biochar (CSB), were utilized in this study to modify the YRS and compared with rice husk ash (RHA). Some engineering properties of the modified YRS (MYRS), including pore structure, water retention, permeability, and vegetation performance, were investigated by considering the effects of biochar types and dosages. Results showed that the addition of the three materials decreased the bulk density of the YRS and increased the volume of extremely micro pore (d<0.3 µm), as well as the effective porosity and capillary porosity, thus contributed to an increase in the water-holding capacity of the sediment. Among the three conditioners, RHB is optimal choice for improving the water-holding capacity of YRS. Furthermore, the effect becomes more pronounced with increasing application rates. With the addition of the three materials, the permeability coefficients of MYRS gradually decreased, while the water retention rate during evaporation significantly increased. The pot experiment showed that the three conditioners all had significant promoting effect on the growth of oats. In particular, compared to plain soil, the total biomass of oats grown for 21 days increased by 17.46%, 32.14%, and 49.60% after adding 2%, 4%, and 8% RHB, respectively. This study introduces a new approach for using YRS as planting soil in arid and semi-arid areas of China to facilitate mine ecological restoration.
format Article
id doaj-art-df0ba8f58033482ab971b507af33e2df
institution DOAJ
issn 2949-9291
language English
publishDate 2024-06-01
publisher KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
record_format Article
series Biogeotechnics
spelling doaj-art-df0ba8f58033482ab971b507af33e2df2025-08-20T03:21:16ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Biogeotechnics2949-92912024-06-012210007010.1016/j.bgtech.2024.100070Hydraulic characteristics and vegetation performance of the Yellow River sediment modified by biocharBaoyong Liu0Mingji Liao1Yong Wan2Xingxing He3Dongli Wang4College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin 123000, ChinaCollege of Environmental Science and Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin 123000, China; State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China; Corresponding author.State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China; Jiangsu Institute of Zoneco Co, Ltd, Yixing 214200, ChinaCollege of Environmental Science and Engineering, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin 123000, ChinaThe Yellow River sediment (YRS) is an important potential soil resource for the mine land reclamation and ecological restoration in the arid regions of northern China. However, it has the shortcomings of poor water-holding capacity and needs to be modified urgently. Therefore, two types of biochar, namely rice husk biochar (RHB) and coconut shell biochar (CSB), were utilized in this study to modify the YRS and compared with rice husk ash (RHA). Some engineering properties of the modified YRS (MYRS), including pore structure, water retention, permeability, and vegetation performance, were investigated by considering the effects of biochar types and dosages. Results showed that the addition of the three materials decreased the bulk density of the YRS and increased the volume of extremely micro pore (d<0.3 µm), as well as the effective porosity and capillary porosity, thus contributed to an increase in the water-holding capacity of the sediment. Among the three conditioners, RHB is optimal choice for improving the water-holding capacity of YRS. Furthermore, the effect becomes more pronounced with increasing application rates. With the addition of the three materials, the permeability coefficients of MYRS gradually decreased, while the water retention rate during evaporation significantly increased. The pot experiment showed that the three conditioners all had significant promoting effect on the growth of oats. In particular, compared to plain soil, the total biomass of oats grown for 21 days increased by 17.46%, 32.14%, and 49.60% after adding 2%, 4%, and 8% RHB, respectively. This study introduces a new approach for using YRS as planting soil in arid and semi-arid areas of China to facilitate mine ecological restoration.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949929124000020Biochar modificationYellow River sedimentSoil water-holding capacityPermeability coefficientVegetation performance
spellingShingle Baoyong Liu
Mingji Liao
Yong Wan
Xingxing He
Dongli Wang
Hydraulic characteristics and vegetation performance of the Yellow River sediment modified by biochar
Biogeotechnics
Biochar modification
Yellow River sediment
Soil water-holding capacity
Permeability coefficient
Vegetation performance
title Hydraulic characteristics and vegetation performance of the Yellow River sediment modified by biochar
title_full Hydraulic characteristics and vegetation performance of the Yellow River sediment modified by biochar
title_fullStr Hydraulic characteristics and vegetation performance of the Yellow River sediment modified by biochar
title_full_unstemmed Hydraulic characteristics and vegetation performance of the Yellow River sediment modified by biochar
title_short Hydraulic characteristics and vegetation performance of the Yellow River sediment modified by biochar
title_sort hydraulic characteristics and vegetation performance of the yellow river sediment modified by biochar
topic Biochar modification
Yellow River sediment
Soil water-holding capacity
Permeability coefficient
Vegetation performance
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949929124000020
work_keys_str_mv AT baoyongliu hydrauliccharacteristicsandvegetationperformanceoftheyellowriversedimentmodifiedbybiochar
AT mingjiliao hydrauliccharacteristicsandvegetationperformanceoftheyellowriversedimentmodifiedbybiochar
AT yongwan hydrauliccharacteristicsandvegetationperformanceoftheyellowriversedimentmodifiedbybiochar
AT xingxinghe hydrauliccharacteristicsandvegetationperformanceoftheyellowriversedimentmodifiedbybiochar
AT dongliwang hydrauliccharacteristicsandvegetationperformanceoftheyellowriversedimentmodifiedbybiochar