Abstract:
To explore the effects of coffee shell biochar, fulvic acid (FA), and N form on the growth and nutrient status of
Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis seedlings, experiments were conducted using an L
9(3
4) orthogonal design with biochar supplement levels (0, 25, 50 g/L), FA concentrations (0, 0.8, 1.6 g/L), and N forms (no nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen). A total of 9 treatments were used. The effects of factor levels and their combinations on the growth and nutrient characteristics of P. kesiya var. langbianensis seedlings were analyzed. Coffee shell biochar, FA and N significantly promoted the seedlings growth (
P < 0.05). Height, ground diameter, and biomass increased first and then decreased with increasing biochar concentration, and seedling growth was optimal at 25 g/L biochar. Biochar supplementation decreased the N content of seedlings, but increased the P and K content. With the increase in biochar, K content increased in parallel, whereas P content increased first and then decreased. FA application significantly increased the height, biomass, N, and P contents of the seedlings. N addition promoted the growth of seedlings and increased the contents of N and P. The growth and P content of seedlings treated with ammonium nitrogen were significantly higher than those of nitrate nitrogen, and ammonium nitrogen significantly increased the P content. In contrast, nitrate nitrogen had no significant effect on P content. Positive interaction effects between FA and N were observed on height and N content of the seedlings. The range of effect degree of each factor on seedling growth was coffee shell biochar > N > FA. Correlation analysis showed that seedling height, BD, and biomass increased synergistically, and growth parameters were significantly correlated with P content (
P < 0.01), indicating P was a limiting element for seedling growth. Coffee shell biochar, FA and N promote seedling growth by enhancing the absorption of N, P and K. The optimal treatment is 25 g/L biochar and 0.8 g/L FA combined with ammonium nitrogen, and it is recommended to supplement P fertilizer appropriately during production.