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In the agricultural sector, the soil's physical and hydrological properties become a limiting factor in achieving sufficient crop yields. Biochar has emerged as a significant source of organic carbon and a tool for its sequestration and there are identified significant relationships between soil agricultural properties induced by biochar application with that of soil physical and hydrological properties. However, underlying mechanisms for changes in some physical and hydrological properties of the soil are not fully understood due to insufficient data resulting in a poor understanding of the interconnection among properties in biochar substrates amended soils. Therefore, we studied the impact of two different biochar substrates (BS: BS1 – biochar blended with farmyard manure, and BS2 – biochar blended with farmyard manure and digestate) at two rates (10 and 20 t ha−1) combined alone and with additional fertilization (F) on two contrasting soils. The two contrasting soils included a sandy Arenosol, and a loamy Chernozem in south-western Slovakia. The changes in soil physical properties and interrelationships between soil pH, sorption capacity, soil organic matter (SOM), humic substances (HS), and physical properties was regularly monitored in the field for a three-year period (2018–2020). The results showed that biochar substrates had different effects with dependence on soil textures. In sandy soil, BS improved soil properties such as pore size distribution, soil-air content, and water regimes, including water retention capacity (WRC), and soil structure. The most significant effects were determined in the case of BS compared to BS + F, and in the case of 20 than 10 t ha−1 as well as in BS1 than BS2 in sandy soil. In loamy soil, compared to the control, the volume of non-capillary pores (Pnc) values decreased significantly (by 29%) in the BS1 10 t ha−1 treatment, while in the case of BS + F a significant decrease in Pnc was observed after application of both rates o

In the agricultural sector, the soil's physical and hydrological properties become a limiting factor in achieving sufficient crop yields. Biochar has emerged as a significant source of organic carbon and a tool for its sequestration and there are identified significant relationships between soil agricultural properties induced by biochar application with that of soil physical and hydrological properties. However, underlying mechanisms for changes in some physical and hydrological properties of the soil are not fully understood due to insufficient data resulting in a poor understanding of the interconnection among properties in biochar substrates amended soils. Therefore, we studied the impact of two different biochar substrates (BS: BS1 – biochar blended with farmyard manure, and BS2 – biochar blended with farmyard manure and digestate) at two rates (10 and 20 t ha−1) combined alone and with additional fertilization (F) on two contrasting soils. The two contrasting soils included a sandy Arenosol, and a loamy Chernozem in south-western Slovakia. The changes in soil physical properties and interrelationships between soil pH, sorption capacity, soil organic matter (SOM), humic substances (HS), and physical properties was regularly monitored in the field for a three-year period (2018–2020). The results showed that biochar substrates had different effects with dependence on soil textures. In sandy soil, BS improved soil properties such as pore size distribution, soil-air content, and water regimes, including water retention capacity (WRC), and soil structure. The most significant effects were determined in the case of BS compared to BS + F, and in the case of 20 than 10 t ha−1 as well as in BS1 than BS2 in sandy soil. In loamy soil, compared to the control, the volume of non-capillary pores (Pnc) values decreased significantly (by 29%) in the BS1 10 t ha−1 treatment, while in the case of BS + F a significant decrease in Pnc was observed after application of both rates o

In the agricultural sector, the soil's physical and hydrological properties become a limiting factor in achieving sufficient crop yields. Biochar has emerged as a significant source of organic carbon and a tool for its sequestration and there are identified significant relationships between soil agricultural properties induced by biochar application with that of soil physical and hydrological properties. However, underlying mechanisms for changes in some physical and hydrological properties of the soil are not fully understood due to insufficient data resulting in a poor understanding of the interconnection among properties in biochar substrates amended soils. Therefore, we studied the impact of two different biochar substrates (BS: BS1 – biochar blended with farmyard manure, and BS2 – biochar blended with farmyard manure and digestate) at two rates (10 and 20 t ha−1) combined alone and with additional fertilization (F) on two contrasting soils. The two contrasting soils included a sandy Arenosol, and a loamy Chernozem in south-western Slovakia. The changes in soil physical properties and interrelationships between soil pH, sorption capacity, soil organic matter (SOM), humic substances (HS), and physical properties was regularly monitored in the field for a three-year period (2018–2020). The results showed that biochar substrates had different effects with dependence on soil textures. In sandy soil, BS improved soil properties such as pore size distribution, soil-air content, and water regimes, including water retention capacity (WRC), and soil structure. The most significant effects were determined in the case of BS compared to BS + F, and in the case of 20 than 10 t ha−1 as well as in BS1 than BS2 in sandy soil. In loamy soil, compared to the control, the volume of non-capillary pores (Pnc) values decreased significantly (by 29%) in the BS1 10 t ha−1 treatment, while in the case of BS + F a significant decrease in Pnc was observed after application of both rates o

It is well known that soil sealing strongly affects seedling emergence. The effect of soil sealing on the emergence of flax and turnip seedlings was studied in the laboratory. Seeds were sown in pots, watered, then covered with loamy soil and water was added. Three different doses of water were tested. Soil sealing was obtained with a paste of soil mixed with distilled water, added to each pot as a thick homogeneous, continuous and isotropic layer. The initial water content of the seal was measured. When seedling emergence was observed (or at the end of the experiment in the case of event failure), seal strength was measured in situ by a firmness pressure tester (used as a penetrometer). Relationships between water loss and initial moisture of the seal versus mechanical impedance were obtained. Differences in emergence success between species depended on the initial soil water content as well as on the initial seal moisture. A model of seedling emergence success of the two species, flax and turnip, as a function of the initial seal moisture content was obtained using a binary logistic regression model., Postprint (author's final draft)