The study was carried out with cavitated charcoal that were introduced into loamy sand and clay at rates of 1.76%, 3.5%, 7.0%, and 14.0%. The highest introduction rate of the material (14.0%) increased the content of total carbon (CTot) by 197% in the loamy sand and by 19% in the clay compared to that in the control treatments. The application of cavitated charcoal did not significantly change the total content of heavy metals. Regardless of the element and the soil used, the application of cavitated charcoal reduced the content of the CaCl2-extracted forms of heavy metals. Following the application of cavitated charcoal, the loamy sand soil presented an even lower content of the most mobile forms of the studied elements. It should also be noted that regardless of the soil texture, mobile forms of the elements decreased with the increased cavitated charcoal rate. The respiratory activity values of the soils into which cavitated charcoal was introduced were low, which indicates a large number of dormant microorganisms. Additionally, the results of dehydrogenase and urease activity indicated the low metabolic activity of the microbial population in the soils, especially with the relatively high rates (7.0% and 14.0%) of cavitated charcoal. However, the cavitated charcoal used in the study showed a significant, positive effect on the amount of biomass Sorghum saccharatum (L.), and its application significantly reduced the heavy metal content in the biomass of Sorghum saccharatum (

The use of straw as a soil amendment is a common practice for providing nutrients to crops and conserving soil and water. However, it can lead to negative effects on the soil environment and crop yield. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of straw and biochar amendment on the root system morphology and above-ground biomass of a red clover/grass mixture. Straw was collected from miscanthus and winter wheat and biochar was produced from the biomass of those species. The following treatments were applied: wheat straw at a rate of 5 t ha-1, miscanthus straw at a rate of 5 t ha-1, wheat biochar at a rate of 5 t ha-1 (WBH), wheat biochar at a rate of 2.25 t ha-1 , miscanthus biochar at a rate of 5 t ha-1 (MBH), and miscanthus biochar at a rate of 2.25 t ha-1 . A treatment with mineral fertilizer but without organic amendments was used, and a control treatment without amendments and mineral was also tested. The botanical composition, root morphology parameters and the aboveground yields were determined. The soil amendments resulted in increased root lengths, surface areas, volumes and mean root diameters. There were no differences between the treatments with different feedstock types (miscanthus vs. wheat), materials (straw vs. biochar) or amendment rates (5 vs. 2.25 t ha-1). The resulting root system characteristics were reflected in the aboveground biomass productivity. However, these differences were noticed only during the first and second cuts.