Exploring the negative effects of biochars on the germination, growth, and antioxidant system of rice and corn

This study investigated the effects of biochars pyrolyzed at different temperatures on plant germination and growth and attempted to determine the mechanisms underlying those effects. The experimental results showed that phytotoxicity of biochar pyrolyzed at 500 or 800 °C was significantly higher than that of biochar pyrolyzed at 200 °C, especially at high dosages (200.0 and 300.0 g/L). However, concentrations of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) in biochar pyrolyzed at 500 and 800 °C were lower than those in biochar pyrolyzed at 200 °C. The inhibitory effect of aqueous biochar extract on seed germination was significantly weaker than that of biochar. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal intensity was enhanced with increasing pyrolysis temperature, which indicates the existence of a greater number of free radicals. Furthermore, •OH and •O2− were the primary reactive oxygen species in the biochar system. It can be concluded that the phytotoxicity of biochar pyrolyzed at high temperatures (>500 °C) enables to attributing free radical-induced oxidative damage, whereas that of biochar produced at low temperatures (200 °C) results in the presence of conventional contaminants (such as heavy metals and PAHs). The information obtained in this study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the potential risk of free radicals in plant system biochar.