Assessing the Modulatory Effects of Biochar on Soil Health Status in Response to Pesticide Application
Considering the global competition to increase food productivity due to the increasing population growth, the use of chemical pesticides has become the quick solution, but by increasing awareness about the serious dangers of wasteful chemicals in various areas of life, it has become necessary to mov...
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| author | Giovanna B. Melas Oriol Ortiz Amira M. Roshdy Mohamed Y. Hendawi Dimitrios Triantakonstantis Sameh Shaddad |
| author_facet | Giovanna B. Melas Oriol Ortiz Amira M. Roshdy Mohamed Y. Hendawi Dimitrios Triantakonstantis Sameh Shaddad |
| author_sort | Giovanna B. Melas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Considering the global competition to increase food productivity due to the increasing population growth, the use of chemical pesticides has become the quick solution, but by increasing awareness about the serious dangers of wasteful chemicals in various areas of life, it has become necessary to move immediately, albeit gradually, towards safe biological treatments. From this point of view, the use of biochar is one of the trends in reducing soil pollution with chemical pesticides. Therefore, the main objectives of this work are (i) to assess if the application of three pesticides based on imidacloprid, methyl thiophanate, and glyphosate has detectable adverse consequences on soil organisms’ activity and (ii) to evaluate if the addition of biochar modifies the effects of these chemicals. An agricultural soil was amended with different doses of biochar. The treated soil received realistic amounts of currently used pesticides. Samples were stored at 21 °C and 50% WHC (water holding capacity) for a period of 28 days under dark conditions. Oxygen consumption was measured for 12 consecutive hours after the addition of 2.5 g glucose kg<sup>−1</sup> as a stimulant for soil organisms. Biomass C was estimated from the difference between the amount of C in 0.5 M K<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> extracts of CHCl<sub>3</sub> fumigated soil and the extractable C in non-fumigated samples. Specific respiration was computed as the amount of O<sub>2</sub> consumed per unit of Biomass Carbon. The results of this work proved that the tested biochar could modulate the effects produced by the agrochemicals on soil biomass. |
| format | Article |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Earth |
| spelling | doaj-art-74e80e87b8c549e1816c3f3f4f634d9a2025-06-25T13:43:41ZengMDPI AGEarth2673-48342025-04-01622710.3390/earth6020027Assessing the Modulatory Effects of Biochar on Soil Health Status in Response to Pesticide ApplicationGiovanna B. Melas0Oriol Ortiz1Amira M. Roshdy2Mohamed Y. Hendawi3Dimitrios Triantakonstantis4Sameh Shaddad5Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d’Ecologia, Facultat de Biociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, SpainDepartemento di Ciencia Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Huesca, Universidad de Zaragoza, 22071 Huesca, SpainMicrobial Chemistry Department, Biotechnology Research Institute National Research Centre, 33 Bohouth Street, Dokki, Giza 12622, EgyptPlant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, EgyptDepartment of Sustainable Agriculture, University of Patras, 2 Seferi Str., GR30100 Agrinio, GreeceSoil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, EgyptConsidering the global competition to increase food productivity due to the increasing population growth, the use of chemical pesticides has become the quick solution, but by increasing awareness about the serious dangers of wasteful chemicals in various areas of life, it has become necessary to move immediately, albeit gradually, towards safe biological treatments. From this point of view, the use of biochar is one of the trends in reducing soil pollution with chemical pesticides. Therefore, the main objectives of this work are (i) to assess if the application of three pesticides based on imidacloprid, methyl thiophanate, and glyphosate has detectable adverse consequences on soil organisms’ activity and (ii) to evaluate if the addition of biochar modifies the effects of these chemicals. An agricultural soil was amended with different doses of biochar. The treated soil received realistic amounts of currently used pesticides. Samples were stored at 21 °C and 50% WHC (water holding capacity) for a period of 28 days under dark conditions. Oxygen consumption was measured for 12 consecutive hours after the addition of 2.5 g glucose kg<sup>−1</sup> as a stimulant for soil organisms. Biomass C was estimated from the difference between the amount of C in 0.5 M K<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> extracts of CHCl<sub>3</sub> fumigated soil and the extractable C in non-fumigated samples. Specific respiration was computed as the amount of O<sub>2</sub> consumed per unit of Biomass Carbon. The results of this work proved that the tested biochar could modulate the effects produced by the agrochemicals on soil biomass.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4834/6/2/27biocharpesticidessoil biosystemsoil biodiversitysoil micro- and macro-organismssoil vitality |
| spellingShingle | Giovanna B. Melas Oriol Ortiz Amira M. Roshdy Mohamed Y. Hendawi Dimitrios Triantakonstantis Sameh Shaddad Assessing the Modulatory Effects of Biochar on Soil Health Status in Response to Pesticide Application Earth biochar pesticides soil biosystem soil biodiversity soil micro- and macro-organisms soil vitality |
| title | Assessing the Modulatory Effects of Biochar on Soil Health Status in Response to Pesticide Application |
| title_full | Assessing the Modulatory Effects of Biochar on Soil Health Status in Response to Pesticide Application |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the Modulatory Effects of Biochar on Soil Health Status in Response to Pesticide Application |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the Modulatory Effects of Biochar on Soil Health Status in Response to Pesticide Application |
| title_short | Assessing the Modulatory Effects of Biochar on Soil Health Status in Response to Pesticide Application |
| title_sort | assessing the modulatory effects of biochar on soil health status in response to pesticide application |
| topic | biochar pesticides soil biosystem soil biodiversity soil micro- and macro-organisms soil vitality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4834/6/2/27 |
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