Restoration of shooting range soils is an emerging environmental issue for nature conservation. A large number of shooting ranges is present in Egypt without paying attention to controlling the environmental pollution. The main objective of this research was to investigate the integrated effect of applying biochar (BC) derived from sugar cane wastes for soil fertility improvement and lead (Pb) stabilization. To achieve this goal, sugar cane wastes were collected, and used for producing the BC. A small-scale BC production unit was designed by using double metal barrels; thereafter, sugar cane wastes were placed and burned inside the BC producing unit. The produced BC was used to restore the biological function of a polluted shooting range soil by immobilizing Pb and improving the soil fertility. A surface sandy loam soil was collected from a shooting range site in the Giza Governorate-Egypt and was incubated for 365 days with different application levels (0.0, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, 20.0 and 30.0% w/w) of BC. The results showed that the addition of BC significantly increased the soil water holding capacity, available nutrients (N and P) and cation exchange capacity as well as stimulated the microbial growth (bacteria and fungi) in the soil. Moreover, the addition of BC led to a significant decrease in the available Pb fraction by 97.0%, as compared to the untreated soil. The phytotoxicity test revealed that the addition of BC significantly increased maize biomass (shoots and roots), especially with applications of 3% and 5% treatments. However, no plant growth occurred on the untreated soil. Furthermore, Pb uptake by maize plants significantly decreased with increasing the level of applied BC. Our findings provide evidence that BC application decreased Pb toxicity b |
