Amend the soil with non-chemical minerals and mineral wastes

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 2
Share Tweet Email

View assessment score

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Biochar is the remains of organic matter, such as plant material or animal faeces, which has been burned under a limited oxygen supply, at temperatures less than 700 °C.

Study locations

Key messages

Two replicated studies from Australia and New Zealand measured the effects of adding minerals and mineral wastes to the soil. Both found reduced nutrient loss and one study found reduced erosion.

SOIL TYPES COVERED: Sandy clay, silt loam.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

This controlled, replicated experiment in 2004-2008 on silt loam soil in New Zealand (McDowell & Houlbrooke 2009) found that applying alum (aluminium sulphate) after grazing of forage crops by cattle or sheep reduced phosphorus loss by 29% and 26%, and fine sediment loss by 16% and 43%, respectively, compared to normal forage crop grazing. Grazing cattle or sheep on forage crops increased phosphorus loss from fields by approximately 100% (1.3 kg/ha) and 33% (0.9 kg/ha) respectively, compared to normal sheep grazing on pasture (0.6 kg/ha). Forage grazing by cattle or sheep increased fine sediment loss by 1,000% (0.7 mg/ha) and 500% (0.4 mg/ha), relative to grazing pasture with sheep (0.06 mg/ha). Twenty-eight 10 × 25 m plots included four replicates of combinations of the following treatments: cattle or sheep grazing on winter forage crops (triticale Triticosecale Wittmack, then kale Brassica oleracea), sheep pasture, restricted grazing, or alum addition on the forage crops (20 kg/ha following grazing).
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
McDowell R.W. & Houlbrooke D.J. (2009) Management options to decrease phosphorus and sediment losses from irrigated cropland grazed by cattle and sheep. Soil Use and Management, 25, 224-233.
A replicated, controlled experiment in 2011 using sandy clay in Meckering, Western Australia (Dempster et al. 2012) found that adding clay or biochar to soil reduced nitrate and ammonium loss from soil, by 25% and 20% respectively, compared to the control. Adding biochar saved more nitrate (12.9 mg nitrate remaining in pot) than adding clay (12.1 mg nitrate/pot). Soil was collected from a crop-pasture rotation including wheat Triticum aestivum or cape weed Arctotheca calendula with annual ryegrass Lolium rigidum and clover Trifolium subterraneum. Biochar and clay were either added at 25 t/ha as a layer at 10 cm depth with soil on top, or evenly incorporated into the top 10 cm of soil. Biochar was produced using jarrah Eucalyptus marginata wood and clay was taken from a clay pit close to the soil collection site. Nitrogen fertilizer was added at 40 kg N/ha. Amended soils were watered with the equivalent of 30 mm rainfall daily for 10 days, then on days 13, 15, 17 and 20.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Dempster D.N., Jones D.L. & Murphy D.V. (2012) Clay and biochar amendments decreased inorganic but not dissolved organic nitrogen leaching in soil. Soil Research, 50, 216-216.

Please cite as:

Key, G., Whitfield, M., Dicks, L.V., Sutherland, W.J. & Bardgett, R.D. (2020) Enhancing Soil Fertility. Pages 613-634 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Soil Fertility

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Change the timing of manure application Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link
Amend the soil with non-chemical minerals and mineral wastes Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	2	Synopsis Link
Amend the soil with organic processing wastes or their composts Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	2	Synopsis Link