Effect of biochar on soil characteristics of Yellow River Delta coastal wetland, China

Coastal wetland soil quality has been threatened due to anthropogenic disturbance and thus an effective measure is urgent to be used to reclaim the degraded wetland soils. Biochar is a promising carbonaceous material that has been proved an effective strategy for soil carbon sequestration and soil remediation. However, few researches have paid attention to effect of biochar on soil characteristics under rainfall conditions in coastal wetland. Thus, we conducted a leaching experiment to explore the effect of biochar on soil pH, EC, CEC, Ex-Na+ and ESP. The results showed that biochar addition significantly decreased soil pH, EC, Ex-Na+ and ESP, and increased soil CEC. Our findings showed that biochar could be a promising soil remediation in degraded coastal wetland ecosystems with multiple benefits.