This document discusses a study on the effects of biochar and previous soil conditions on the growth of big bluestem and sericea lespedeza. The study involves growing these two prairie plant species in different soils that previously grew either big bluestem or sericea, with and without the addition of 2% biochar. The study aims to determine how previous soil conditions and biochar addition affect the growth of these species.

1. Biochar and Prairie Restoration
Erica Gibson

2. Terra Preta (“rich earth”)
 Fertilizer used by pre- Columbian Amazonian people
 Made from bone, manure, and charcoal
 Charcoal is still present and 70% more concentrated
than surrounding soil (Kleiner, 2009)
http://www.biochar.info/biochar.terra-preta.cfml

3. Background- Biochar
 Can be made from any type of biomass (typically
plant biomass)
 Biochar- biomass -> pyrolysis
 Pyrolysis- adding heat w/out oxygen (Lehmann, 2007)
 Soil amendment (fertilizer)
 Retains lots of water & nutrients (high surface area)
(Schahczenski, 2010)
 Traps carbon in soil
 Is composed primarily of C
 Present in soil thousands of years (Kleiner, 2009)

4. Andropogon gerardii (Big Bluestem)
 Native prairie plant
 Perennial grass
 Now found in remaining prairie/ railroad tracks
 Key restoration species (Swink and Wilhelm, 1994)

5. Lespedeza cuneata (Sericea)
 Invasive weed from Asia (Swink and Wilhelm, 1994)
 Perennial
 Originally planted for soil improvement (Bryson and
DeFelice, 2010)
 Stem and leaf residues are shown to decrease
germination in big bluestem (Dudley and Fick, 2003)

6. Prairie Restoration
 Focus on restoring farmland to prairie soil
 Farm soil N is more available than in prairie soil
 More beneficial to invasive/ exotic plants
 C makes N less available
 Binds nitrogen
 Carbon treatments shown to lower competition between
native/ exotic plants (Averett et.al., 2004).
(Polston, 2010)

7. (Averett et.al., 2004).

8. Prairie Fire
 Done in spring while roots (growing points) of plants
are under soil
 Leaves carbon in soil (Kurtz, 2001)
(Stokes, 2010)

9. Procedure
 2 runs (diff. greenhouses)
 8 blocks p. run
 12 treatments
 prev. soil (3) + current plant (2) + biochar (2)
 2 soils from previous experiment; 1 sand soil
 Plant is BB or SL
 Biochar- 0 or 2%

10. Previous Soils
 Soils used:
 Soil with bluestem residue
 Soil with sericea residue
 New soil
 Disease from one plant can build in soil
 Effects same species in next gen.
 Diff. species may not be affected (Klironomos, 2002)

11. Types of Soils
0% Biochar 2% Biochar

12. Hypotheses
 Previous soil type will not affect growth (falsify)
 Biochar will increase Big Bluestem growth
 Biochar will not affect sericea growth
 Bluestem will have greater growth than the sericea
regardless of soil type

13. In the Greenhouse

14. Blocks & Runs
 2 runs- allows project to be repeated over space
instead of time
 8 blocks- single block made of one plant of each
treatment (12 total)
 Gives replicates

15. Greenhouses
Run One (11-2) Run Two (12-1)

16. The Greenhouse

17. What Was Measured
 Height
 Branches (SL)
 Tillers (BB)
 Shoots that sprout from the base of a plant (Bryson,
2010)

18. SAS (Analyzing the Data)
 Factors
 Run (no differences;
combined)
 Block
 Previous (soil)
 Current (plant)
 Biochar
 Previous*Current
Previous*Biochar
Current*Biochar

20. Biochar Response to Big bluestem Soil

21. Species Response to Big bluestem soil

22. Biochar Response to Sericea Soil

23. Species Response to Sericea Soil

24. Species Response to New Soil without
Biochar

25. Species Response to New Soil with Biochar

26. Future Plans
 Continue plant growth until seed production
 Measure height; count tillers/ branches
 Separate plant into root, stem, leaf, and seed
 Measure dry weight
 Data analysis
 Interpret data & prepare written report

27. Bibliography
 Averett, Klips, Nave, Frey, and Curtis, 2004. Society for Ecological Restoration
International. “Effects of Soil Carbon Amendment on Nitrogen Availability and Plant
Growth in an Experimental Tallgrass Prairie Restoration.”
 Bryson, C.E. and DeFelice, M.S., 2010. Georgia Press. Athens, Georgia. Weeds of
the Midwestern United States and Canada.
 Carbon Zero Project- Switzerland, 2011. Carbon Info. “Origin of Biochar.”
http://www.biochar.info/biochar.terra-preta.cfml
 Kiloronomos, 2002. Nature. “Feedback with soil biota contributes to plant rarity and
invasiveness in communities”
 Kleiner, 2009. Macmillan Publishers Limited. “The bright prospect of biochar”.
 Lehmann, 2007. The Ecological Society of America. Bio-energy in the black.
 Polston, 2010. Examiner. “Indiana geocache Epic Challenge will take you to 22 state
parks.” http://www.examiner.com/outdoor-travel-in-indianapolis/indiana-geocache-
epic-challenge-will-take-you-to-22-state-parks
 Schahczenski, 2010. ATTRA. Biochar and Sustainable Agriculture.
 Stokes, 2010. Kansas Travel. “Prairie Fire Festival.”
http://www.kansastravel.org/prairiefirefestival.htm
 Swink, S. and Wilhelm, G., 1994. The Indiana Academy of Science. Lisle, Illinois.
Plants of the Chicago Region.