Biochar improves the performance of Avena sativa L. grown in gasoline-polluted soils

This study investigated the efect of soil contamination by diferent concentrations of gasoline on oat (Avena sativa L.) and tested the efect of biochar supply to the polluted soils on the performance of oat plants. Oat seeds were sowed in contaminated soils with diferent concentrations of gasoline: 0% (control), 1%, 2%, 6%, and 10% (v/w), and grown for 2 weeks. Germination, fresh weight, root and stem length, photosynthetic parameters (i.e., chlorophyll content, PIABS, FV/FM, and NDVI), and total antioxidant power were analyzed. The results showed a remarkable negative efect on almost all the investigated parameters starting from the gasoline concentration of 6%. Based on these results, a new experiment was run by adding 5% (w/w) biochar (a carbon-rich byproduct of wood biomass pyrolysis) to the 6% and 10% polluted soils to test whether adding biochar had a benefcial efect on oat performance. The results showed that biochar supply greatly reduced the negative efects caused by gasoline on all the investigated parameters.