A digestate with amendments provides plants with available nutrients and improves the microbiological properties of treated soil. Modification of a digestate through the addition of a biochar and sulphur source is less well-known. This pot experiment aimed at comparing the short- and long-time fertilization effects of a digestate enriched with biochar, with elemental sulphur, or with a combination of both on soil health and plant biomass. The experiment was carried out with maize, cultivated twice (1st-12th week = pre-cultivation; re-sowing after shoot harvest, 13th-24th = main cultivation) in soil amended with prepared digestate. The digestate used in pre-cultivation was incubated untreated (D) and was then treated with biochar (D + B), with elemental sulphur at a low (LS) and high (HS) dose, or with a combination of both (D + B + LS and D + B + HS). An additional unamended digestate (D) was added to each soil variant before the main cultivation. The application of digestate with a high dose of elemental sulphur and biochar mediated the most significant differences in the soil. The increase (compared to the unamended soil) was of short-term type (+11% and +6% increased total nitrogen and carbon after 12 weeks), then of long-term type (+54% and +30% increased sulphur and arylsulfatase activity after 24 weeks), and later emerged in the 13th to the 24th week of the experiment (+57% and +32% non-inhibited urease, increased N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase and phosphatase). No significant differences in the effect of the applied amendments on dry aboveground plant biomass were observed.

Agricultural Research Ltd Zahradni 400 1 664 41 Troubsko Czech Republic

Agrovyzkum Rapotin Ltd Vyzkumniku 267 788 13 Rapotin Czech Republic

Department of Agrochemistry Soil Science Microbiology and Plant Nutrition Faculty of AgriSciences Mendel University in Brno Zemedelska 1 613 00 Brno Czech Republic

Institute for Environmental Studies Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Benatska 2 128 00 Praha Czech Republic

Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Environmental Protection Faculty of Chemistry Brno University of Technology Purkynova 118 612 00 Brno Czech Republic

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Assessing Lettuce Exposure to a Multi-Pharmaceutical Mixture in Soil: Insights from LC-ESI-TQ Analysis and the Impact of Biochar on Pharmaceutical Bioavailability

Assessing earthworm exposure to a multi-pharmaceutical mixture in soil: unveiling insights through LC-MS and MALDI-MS analyses, and impact of biochar on pharmaceutical bioavailability