Table 1. Characteristics of biochars, biofertilizers, and soil.
| Attribute | Sugar maple biochar |
Conifer granulated biochar | IY (S. cerevisiae) |
IY + Bv (B. velezensis) | Urban soil |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pH (H2O) | 7.87 (0.05) | 6.54 (0.40) | 6.20 (0.01) | 6.14 (0.01) | 7.10 (0.01) |
| Electrical Conductivity (μS cm-1) | 62.73 (3.46) | 76.80 (1.91) | 1027 (88.04) | 1895 (219.20) | 458.00 (7.55) |
| Total C (%) | 78.29 (0.30) | 60.84 (0.14) | 43.49 (0.01) | 40.24 (0.03 | 3.11 (0.12) |
| N (%) | 0.43 (0.00) | 1.46 (0.00) | 7.49 (0.01) | 8.68 (0.08) | 0.13 (0.01) |
| C:N ratio | 182.07 | 41.67 | 5.81 | 4.64 | 23.92 |
| P (%) | 0.03 (0.00) | 0.05 (0.00) | 1.21 (0.00) | 1.08 (0.01) | < 0.01 |
| K (%) | 0.40 (0.03) | 0.30 (0.01) | 1.74 (0.00) | 3.04 (0.04) | 0.01 |
| Ca (%) | 0.88 (0.10) | 1.16 (0.01) | 0.17 (0.00) | 0.15 (0.00) | 0.46 |
| Mg (%) | 0.13 (0.01) | 0.24 (0.00) | 0.16 (0.00) | 0.13 (0.00) | 0.01 |
| Na (%) | 0.03 (0.00) | 0.09 (0.01) | ND | ND | ND |
| S (%) | <1 (0.00) | <1 (0.00) | 0.36 (0.00) | 0.01 (0.01) | ND |
| Fe (ppm) | 0.23 (0.04) | 0.73 (0.02) | 73.00 (0.27) | 39.00 (0.27) | 118.00 |
| B (ppm) | ND | ND | 1.00 (0.00) | 2.00 (0.00) | ND |
| Cu (ppm) | 6.83 (1.07) | 54.1 (14.36) | 5.00 (0.00) | 10.00 (0.27) | 1.40 |
| Mn (ppm) | 595.33 (54.12) | 273.00 (3.61) | 8.00 (0.27) | 14.00 (0.27) | 22.90 |
| Mo (ppm) | 0.97 (0.62) | 3.03 (0.07) | 1.00 (0.00) | 1.00 (0.00) | ND |
| Al (ppm) | 900 (100) | 5367 (200) | 4.00 (0.27) | 5.00 (0.00) | ND |
| Zn (ppm) | 103.33 (11.05) | 141.00 (50.95) | ND | ND | 2.80 |
Values are means (±SE) of triplicate measurements, with the exception of topsoil nutrients which were provided by SGS Laboratories, Guelph, ON, Canada. Biofertilizer nutrients were measured via combustion method for C and N and ICP-OES for other elements. pH and EC of soil was measured after 24 hr on an orbital shaker using 1:3 (v:v) ratio of soil to de-ionized water; biochar and biofertilizers were measured at a 1:20 ratio.