English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

The municipal solid waste composting process has been defined as a controlled aerobic microbial process widely used to decompose organic matter to obtain a stable product consisting of a humus-like substance (Michel et al., 1995). The end product or compost is available for agricultural use. However, the main requirement for the safe use or application of compost to agricultural lands is its degree of stability, which implies stable organic matter content (Castaldi et al., 2004, 2008; Mondini et al., 2004). This practice is becoming one of the most promising ways for the reclamation of degraded soils in semiarid areas of the Mediterranean countries like Tunisia (Bouzaiane et al., 2007 a). Optimization of the composting process depends on optimization of environmental conditions that promote the development and activity of microbial communities. In fact the microbial biomass (MB) amount plays an important role on the biochemical transformations, on the optimization and on the quality of the end product (Mondini et al., 2002; Jedidi et al., 2004). The chloroformfumigation–extraction (CFE) is currently the most common method used to quantify the microbial biomass in soil samples (Vance et al., 1987). Some authors have applied the CFE technique on compost substrates (De Nobili et al., 1996, Hellmann et al., 1997, Mondini et al., 1997; Ben Ayed et al., 2007). On the other hand, the application of molecular methods to study the composting process and the microbial communities governing the transformation of the organic matter presents some unique challenges. One such challenge is the dynamic nature of the process, characterized by rapid changes in microbial population, temperature and oxygen gradients, and the availability of nutrients for microorganisms. The analysis of nucleic acids extracted from environmental samples allows researchers to study natural microbial communities without the need for cultivation (Peters et al., 2000; Dees and Ghiorse, 2001). Although there have been many published studies on methods for the extraction DNA from environmental samples, very few have focused upon the extraction of DNA from compost. Compost samples may also contain 10–100 times greater humic acid concentrations than mineral soils (Pfaller et al., 1994). Humic acids co-purify with DNA during many purification steps (Ogram et al., 1987). These factors combine to make DNA quantification in compost

Relationship between Microbial C, Microbial N and Microbial DNA Extracts during Municipal Solid Waste Composting Process