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Carbon, Nitrogen Balances and Greenhouse Gas Emission during Cattle Feedlot Manure Composting
Author(s) -
Hao Xiying,
Chang Chi,
Larney Francis J.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2004.3700
Subject(s) - nitrous oxide , greenhouse gas , manure , straw , chemistry , compost , nitrogen , zoology , carbon dioxide , chicken manure , feedlot , carbon fibers , environmental science , agronomy , environmental chemistry , mathematics , ecology , biology , inorganic chemistry , organic chemistry , algorithm , composite number
ABSTRACT Carbon and N losses reduce the agronomic value of compost and contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study investigated GHG emissions during composting of straw‐bedded manure (SBM) and wood chip‐bedded manure (WBM). For SBM, dry matter (DM) loss was 301 kg Mg −1 , total carbon (TC) loss was 174 kg Mg −1 , and total nitrogen (TN) loss was 8.3 kg Mg −1 These correspond to 30.1% of initial DM, 52.8% of initial TC, and 41.6% of initial TN. For WBM, DM loss was 268 kg Mg −1 , TC loss was 154 kg Mg −1 , and TN loss was 1.40 kg Mg −1 , corresponding to 26.5, 34.5, and 11.8% of initial amounts. Most C was lost as CO 2 with CH 4 accounting for <6%. However, the net contribution to greenhouse gas emissions was greater for CH 4 since it is 21 times more effective at trapping heat than CO 2 Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions were 0.077 kg N Mg −1 for SBM and 0.084 kg N Mg −1 for WBM, accounting for 1 to 6% of total N loss. Total GHG emissions as CO 2 –C equivalent were not significantly different between SBM (368.4 ± 18.5 kg Mg −1 ) and WBM (349.2 ± 24.3 kg Mg −1 ). However, emission of 368.4 kg C Mg −1 (CO 2 –C equivalent) was greater than the initial TC content (330.5 kg Mg −1 ) of SBM, raising the question of the net benefits of composting on C sequestration. Further study is needed to evaluate the impact of composting on overall GHG emissions and C sequestration and to fully investigate livestock manure management options.