TY - JOUR
T1 - Sustainable improvement of soil health utilizing biochar and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
T2 - A review
AU - Gujre, Nihal
AU - Soni, Ankit
AU - Rangan, Latha
AU - Tsang, Daniel C.W.
AU - Mitra, Sudip
N1 - Funding Information:
Sudip Mitra acknowledges the generous grant provided by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, Twinning (DBT-NER/AGRI/29/2015). Nihal Gujre thanks IIT Guwahati for providing him the Senior Research Fellowship.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/1/1
Y1 - 2021/1/1
N2 - Conservation of soil health and crop productivity is the central theme for sustainable agriculture practices. It is unrealistic to expect that the burgeoning crop production demands will be met by a soil ecosystem that is increasingly unhealthy and constrained. Therefore, the present review is focused on soil amendment techniques, using biochar in combination with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which is an indispensable biotic component that maintains plant-soil continuum. Globally significant progress has been made in elucidating the physical and chemical properties of biochar; along with its role in carbon sequestration. Similarly, research advances on AMF include its evolutionary background, functions, and vital roles in the soil ecosystem. The present review deliberates on the premise that biochar and AMF have the potential to become cardinal to management of agro-ecosystems. The wider perspectives of various agronomical and environmental backgrounds are discussed. The present state of knowledge, different aspects and limitations of combined biochar and AMF applications (BC + AMF), mechanisms of interaction between biochar and AMF, effects on plant growth, challenges and future opportunities of BC + AMF applications are critically reviewed. Given the severely constrained nature of soil health, the roles of BC + AMF in agriculture, bioremediation and ecology have also been examined. In spite of the potential benefits, the functionality and dynamics of BC + AMF in soil are far from being fully elucidated. Capsule: The present state of knowledge, different aspects and limitations of combined biochar and AMF applications (BC + AMF), mechanisms of interaction between biochar and AMF, effects on plant growth, challenges and future opportunities of BC + AMF applications.
AB - Conservation of soil health and crop productivity is the central theme for sustainable agriculture practices. It is unrealistic to expect that the burgeoning crop production demands will be met by a soil ecosystem that is increasingly unhealthy and constrained. Therefore, the present review is focused on soil amendment techniques, using biochar in combination with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which is an indispensable biotic component that maintains plant-soil continuum. Globally significant progress has been made in elucidating the physical and chemical properties of biochar; along with its role in carbon sequestration. Similarly, research advances on AMF include its evolutionary background, functions, and vital roles in the soil ecosystem. The present review deliberates on the premise that biochar and AMF have the potential to become cardinal to management of agro-ecosystems. The wider perspectives of various agronomical and environmental backgrounds are discussed. The present state of knowledge, different aspects and limitations of combined biochar and AMF applications (BC + AMF), mechanisms of interaction between biochar and AMF, effects on plant growth, challenges and future opportunities of BC + AMF applications are critically reviewed. Given the severely constrained nature of soil health, the roles of BC + AMF in agriculture, bioremediation and ecology have also been examined. In spite of the potential benefits, the functionality and dynamics of BC + AMF in soil are far from being fully elucidated. Capsule: The present state of knowledge, different aspects and limitations of combined biochar and AMF applications (BC + AMF), mechanisms of interaction between biochar and AMF, effects on plant growth, challenges and future opportunities of BC + AMF applications.
KW - Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
KW - Biochar
KW - Soil amendment
KW - Soil quality
KW - Sustainable agriculture
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096725348&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115549
DO - 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115549
M3 - Review article
C2 - 33246313
AN - SCOPUS:85096725348
SN - 0269-7491
VL - 268
JO - Environmental Pollution
JF - Environmental Pollution
M1 - 115549
ER -